A DEATH IN PANAMA
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A Death in Panama will delight and mystify those whoa re fans of Williams' work, and for new readers, it will have the impact of a seduction. Set in Panama, Barbados and the U.S., the novel presents us with the mysterious and frightening world of the Panama of the first decade of the 20th century when the canal was being built and fortunes were made, many of those fortunes in highly unorthodox ways. Now, in 1976, a decision is made to return the canal Panama. Many corporations, descendants of companies formed when the 20th century was young, are terrified that the horrific secrets of that period will become known upon the return. At the center of this drama are two men, Rupert Barnes and Octavius Bryant, both survivors of the lawless period. They are now old men but are hardly incapacitated. As the American government moves toward return of the canal, both men find themselves drawn into a conflict that had begun decades ago in the jungles of Panama. The reader is drawn in a world of mysticism, sexuality, broken promises and lost faith. Barnes is transformed in the course of the novel from a laughing, naive boy to a man who accepts that his salvation is no longer a possibility. Ultimately, accepting that his life is a moral vacuum, Barnes decides that final act is to confront Bryant whom he blames for his moral decline. Bryant, however, is not defenseless and is, in fact, engaged in his final act: the destruction of the Panama Canal.
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About the Book
A Death in Panama confronts the frightening world of early 20th century Panama when the canal was being built. In 1976, the Americans are planning to return the canal to Panama. Many are terrified that the horrific secrets of that earlier time will be exposed. Two men, Octavius Bryant and Rupert Barnes, survivors of that lawless period, are particularly concerned and find themselves drawn into a conflict that had begun seventy years earlier. The novel depicts the transformations in both these men from ambitious youths to vengeful old men. While Barnes is determined to eliminate Bryant, Bryant has a more ambitious goal: the destruction of the Canal itself.
About the Author
Ronald A. Williams was born in Barbados and educated in the United States. As a result, his work engages both societies and the connections between them. His stories move seamlessly from sandy beaches to corporate boardrooms, and they always involved intrigue, adventure and romance. Williams has published ten novels. One of Ronald A Williams’ novels, The Dark Land, won the Prime Minister’s Prize in the Frank Collymore Literary Prize competition. A second novel, The Fall of Autum Leaves, finished first in the Frank Collymore Literary Prize competition. Williams’ novels are frequently set in the Caribbean, and he engages the social issues that people of that region confront. He has also written a series of science fiction novels that engage issues of humanity’s evolution from Planet Earth into the stars.