Breakout from Sugar Island
In 1773, English landed gentry are laying heavy hands on Ireland. More money can be made from livestock and export crops than from rent, so Irish tenants are being forced from lands they’ve farmed for years. Worse – the sugar cane growers in Barbados are paying good money for slaves, and not all of those unfortunates hail from Africa. Irish lawbreakers, and those unlucky enough to be kidnapped, are sent over in chains. Most are never heard from again.
In Breakout from Sugar Island, a debut novel by Seamus Beirne, Michael Redferne is a laborer for one of the despised English lords. After he is accused of murder, Redferne is transported to Barbados as a sugar slave. He knows of one person who returned to Ireland. Can he manage to duplicate that unlikely feat?
Breakout is a fast-paced, enjoyable tale that introduces readers to the largely forgotten Irish slaves of Barbados. A couple of plot elements were introduced but never resolved to my satisfaction; others appeared seemingly from thin air. However, Mr. Beirne’s novel has an approachable style and adds plenty of twists that kept my interest piqued. If you like a tough protagonist who never gives up, give Michael Redferne and Breakout a try.
