In the Path of the Wind: Recollection of Montserrat

Description

144 pages
Contains Bibliography
$14.95
ISBN 0-9681603-0-1
DDC C811'.54

Publisher

Year

1997

Contributor

Illustrations by Larry Rowdon
Reviewed by J.H. Galloway

J.H. Galloway is a professor of geography at the University of Toronto.

Review

Margaret and Larry Rowdon, missionaries of the Bahai faith, arrived on
Montserrat in July 1986 and stayed there for six years. Their aim was to
make contact with Bahais living on the island, to lend them support, and
to strengthen the Bahai community. In this book, Larry Rowdon describes
their work and their impressions of the island and its inhabitants. He
recalls an earthquake and devotes several pages to the dramatic
experience of living through Hurricane Hugo. The Rowdons left the island
before it was destroyed by the volcanic eruptions that began in 1995.

These attractively illustrated recollections may appeal to devotees of
missionary memoirs, but they contain little of interest for scholars.
Rowdon has in fact little knowledge of Caribbean life and often
registers surprise at island social conventions. His book contributes
little to the history of the Bahai faith in the Caribbean. It does not
describe the process of missionary work or discuss the sociology of
religion on Montserrat. What it does is describe a small aspect of a
lost island life.

Citation

Rowdon, Larry., “In the Path of the Wind: Recollection of Montserrat,” Canadian Book Review Annual Online, accessed December 3, 2024, https://cbra.library.utoronto.ca/items/show/2580.