Friday, March 20, 2020

A Reason For Living Book by Julian Jingles

Join Us For This Book Tour from Mar 9 to Mar 20, 2020!

Book Details:

Book Title A Reason for Living by Julian Jingles
Category Adult Fiction (18 +),  372 pages
Genre:  Historical Fiction
Publisher URLink Print & Media
Release date:  November, 2019
Content Rating R: There are explicit sex scenes, violence, bad language.
 
"Julian Jingles was a teenager living in Kingston, Jamaica during the 1960s when he started writing a book he eventually titled A Reason For Living. Drawing from eye-witness incidents he experienced living in the hub of the Caribbean’s most progressive nation, the ambitious youth documented his island’s social, political and economic frailties and masked his observations by penning a fictitious novel which spotlights the Rastafarian movement, the Black power and Civil Rights movements in the USA and corruption on the tiny island," writes Caribbean Life about Julian Jingle's novel A Reason for Living.

Book Description:

It is the mid-1960s in Kingston, Jamaica, and the country is steeped in social, political, and economic inequities. Howard Baxter, the heir to a real estate empire, has no interest in seeking or managing wealth. Painting and deflowering Jamaican maidens are his passions. As he combs the streets looking for greater meaning in his pathetic life, it soon becomes apparent that Howard’s journey will not be easy. Bernaldo Lloyd, a member of the Baxter clan, is a medical student who is sensitive to the hopelessness of the Jamaican masses. Inspired by his close friend and Howard’s cousin, Ras Robin Pone, and their ties with the Rastafari movement that calls for social and economic equity, Bernaldo is determined to overthrow the corrupt government. As Howard, Bernaldo and Robin become influenced by The American Black Power and Civil Rights movements demanding equal rights for African Americans, the women in their lives both love and criticize them. But when revolution breaks out, Howard finally discovers a purpose for his twisted life that leads him in a direction he never anticipated. In this tale of love, passion, and self-discovery, three Jamaican men become caught up in a 1960s revolution that reveals injustices, oppression, and a purpose for one of them.

I rated this book 4 ****'s 

Fighter, lust and freedom

This book is a slow read for me. It takes me awhile to finished reading the book but I did enjoy the story. I liked the setting. Jamaica would be in my bucket list. I hope that I can cross it out one day.

The story is indeed for matured audience. There are scenes that are too hard to read. Abused is around during Civil War and I do not understand why these women are in for it. There are reasons to survive in that illicit situations.

Fighter never stops to fight to achieved that freedom. It is a beautiful thing once you reach the goal. Women always controls men especially lust and being loved in return, watch out we are good in that. 

Indeed, an interesting book to read. Perfect to learn about story.


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Meet the Author:
Raymond Arthur Julian Reynolds aka Julian Jingles, is a writer, filmmaker, and entrepreneur and operates in New York, USA, and Jamaica, W.I. He began his writing career in 1966 at 16 years old, writing A Reason For Living about a family caught up in a revolution in Jamaica in the mid-1960s. It was written in three drafts and completed in 1968.

He pursued a career in journalism at the Gleaner Company in Kingston, Jamaica writing extensively on the Jamaican music industry, cultural, and social issues. At age 22 he was a columnist writing Merry Go Round, and In the Saddle for the Gleaner, and Record Shop for the Star. He has published several articles, short stories, and essays in Swing, and Cooyah, magazines, the Abeng, and Public Opinion newspapers, in Jamaica.

He immigrated to the United States in 1972 to write two screenplays, “Half Breed,” and “One Way Out.” In New York he has written for the New York Amsterdam News, the Jamaica Weekly Gleaner (NA), Everybody’s magazine, JET, the Daily Challenge, the New York Daily News, the Carib News, and as a foreign correspondent for the Gleaner in Jamaica. He developed an interest in film and television production, and received training in script writing, film, theater, and television directing and production, with the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, and wrote and produced three documentary films, “Jamaican Gun Court” (1974), “It All Started With The Drums” (1987), and “Jammin' In Jamaica--With The Mystic Revelation of Rastafari” (1996), and directed the latter two. He has also worked as production manager on several music videos with performers such as Kool & the Gang, the Manhattans, and Steel Pulse.

Between 1998 to 2018 he contributed frequently to the In Focus section of the Jamaica Sunday Gleaner, writing on socio-economic and cultural issues. He has been an entrepreneur as he pursues his literary career, involved in business consultancy with the National Minority Business Council in New York, and the importing, exporting and distribution of agro-products between Jamaica and the United States, and have produced several music concerts, and stage plays in New York, and Kingston.

He was married in 1972 to Charmaine Jasmine, who is deceased. He has three children, 11 grandchildren, and one great grand, and continues living in New York, and Jamaica.

Connect with the Author:      website


Tour Schedule:
Mar 9 – Working Mommy Journal – book review / giveaway
Mar 10 – Over Coffee Conversations – book review / guest post / giveaway
Mar 11 – Olio by Marilyn – book spotlight / giveaway
Mar 12 – Locks, Hooks and Books – book review / guest post / giveaway
Mar 13 – Leels Loves Books - book review / giveaway
Mar 16 – A Mama's Corner Of the World – book review / giveaway
Mar 17 – She Just Loves Books – book review / giveaway
Mar 18 – My Reading Journeys – book review / giveaway
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Mar 20 - Adventurous Jessy – book review / giveaway
Mar 20 - Nighttime Reading Center - book review / giveaway

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1 comment:

Lauren Carr said...

Thank you so much for sharing this powerful novel.