Overview

"In 1995 the paradise island of Montserrat, a tiny British Crown Colony in the Caribbean, has reggae and calypso in the air and cricket on the village greens. The new governor and police commissioner are enjoying the local combination of Irish and African heritage in a place where ""the only crime is stealin' time"". But towering over the St Patrick's Day revellers is the silent presence of Chance's Peak. If anyone ever knew it was a sleeping volcano, they have forgotten it for now. Until the mountain begins to wake. As the eruptions grow progressively worse, international experts descend on the island, trying to analyse the terrifying giant; a stream of refugees is moving the other way. Eventually the capital itself, Plymouth, is buried under burning clouds of red-hot rock and ash. Those caught in the eruptions - people, wildlife, farm animals or abandoned pets - have little chance; though there are some hair's breadth escapes, there are also tragic losses. Meanwhile, refugees crammed into shelters, their homes destroyed, are told by Clare Short, the British minister responsible, that ""they'll be wanting golden elephants next"". The story of Montserrat is a tale of natural horrors and political questions, of the overwhelming power of the most terrifying of the earth's phenomena - and of the undefeated spirit of the people of this lost paradise."

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In the carefree, laid-back days before 1995, Montserrat was seen by most people as an idyllic little Caribbean island, a stamping ground for the occasional celebrity, but at the same time an unaffected place where everyone looked out for each other and having a good time was a priority. The tranquillity of this island paradise was to be cruelly shattered when Montserrat's ring of mountains, known as the Soufriere Hills, woke from a long slumber. The nightmare years following the first rumblings from the sleeping giant and ending with the annihilation of the town of St Patrick's are described in meticulous, sensitive detail in Phil Davison's compelling book. This is the story of Montserrat during the years from 1995 up to the present day, when the islanders are still trying to come to terms with their experiences. This is the story not only of the island and how it went through cataclysmic change, but also about its people. Descended from Irish Catholics and African slaves, the people of Montserrat are brave, hard-working, God-fearing and compassionate. From July 18 1995, when the volcanic activity first began, their qualities of endurance were to be severely tested. Davison's account of how the eruptions of Montserrat's volcano affected the lives of ordinary people on the island is deeply moving. Packed with fascinating detail, this is a powerful, factual account that presents the socio-economic impact of tragedy in a calm, compassionate way, without descending into sensationalism. Phil Davison covered the events of 1995 and the aftermath when he was working on the island as a foreign correspondent. His intimate knowledge of Montserrat's culture and customs, his insights into the personalities and idiosyncrasies of her people and above all his deep affection for many of the individuals he interviewed in the course of this book have resulted in a work of great emotional intensity. This is undeniably the story of a tragedy, but Davison convinces us that the hopes of the people of Montserrat are like the branches of the Evergreen Tree, thrusting determinedly through the rocky, volcanic landscape of Plymouth to face a new dawn. (Kirkus UK)

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