When the idyllic Caribbean island of Saint Roger is nearly destroyed by a devastating hurricane, desperate times call for desperate measures, and the island's Prefect comes up with an original and off-beat idea to regenerate Saint Roger’s fortunes. It’s a well-written, if pretty nonsensical tale and on the surface at least a light-hearted romp. But the scheme itself – capitalising on the “heroism” of one of the island's inhabitants, has a darker side to it, not least because the book is set in the 1950s and the war is still very much on everyone’s mind. It’s also a wry and satirical look at advertising and publicity, and how easily fervour can be whipped up in a gullible population, and used for political ends. The novel also has a very contemporary relevance with the recent hurricane devastation in the Caribbean. There’s no doubt the novel is of its time, with some very dated attitudes, but it just has to be accepted for what it is, and offending passages can easily be ignored. All in all, a good fun read, with something to ponder upon as a bonus.