The Adventures of Ali Thunda

About the Book

The Adventures of Ali Thunda is a historical novel inspired by the life of a Jamaican Rastafari Mr. Noel Dyer who hitch-hiked from England to Ethiopia in 1964. The Author met him in Addis Ababa in 1968. Ali Thunda described himself as 'a symbol of the Rastafarian Faith'. He was illiterate. Illiteracy does not mean lack of intelligence, as the Author can attest, because illiterates compensate by expanding their imagination and their retentive skills. Ali Tunda's journey reflects the experiences of the Jamaican working class in mid-20th Century and opens up room for debate on the impact of faith, race and education on the individual within the social structures of the time. The book captures the restlessness and the search for identity of poor Jamaicans in the early 1960's and their sense of connectedness to Africa as expressed through the Rastafarian movement. The Adventures of Ali Thunda traces Ali Thunda's journey from Jamaica to Ethiopia via England, France, Spain, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt and Sudan. "It is a fascinating story of extraordinary heroism in the face of unbelievable suffering. It celebrates the genius of the Rastafari and the Jamaican spirit." The Author's style is designed to use language to establish situations in which the hero finds himself as well as to highlight his thought process by incorporating his personal musings naturally within the dialogue. The dialogue therefore emphasizes character development and plot motivation so that each successive adventure keeps the reader wanting to see what comes next.

About the Author

Kathleen R. Eaton, B.A.(Pol.Sc.), B.A.(Hons.Admin.), B.Ed. Kathleen Eaton was born Kathleen Bell in the tiny hamlet of Marchmont in Westmoreland, Jamaica, West Indies. Her first school, often referred to as The Verandah School, was on the verandah of her parent's home where, at different times, all of her nine siblings got a head start from a hired teacher in the Three R's - (reading, 'riting, 'rithmetic) before they reached the legal age of entry to the public elementary school at St. Leonard's. After a year at St. Leonard's, she left for Kingston to attend private schools at Suthermere Preparatory School in Half-Way-Tree, St. Andrew and then secondary school at Wolmer's High School for Girls in Kingston, the oldest private school in the British Commonwealth founded 1729 by John Wolmer. Two years after graduating from High School, Kathleen Bell married George Eaton. They both left Jamaica shortly thereafter to attend University in Canada. She pursued tertiary education in Canada at York University and the University of Toronto. Kathleen and her husband Professor George Eaton have lived in Toronto, Ontario, Canada since 1954. Kathleen's career encompassed teaching part-time at York University, founding President of a charitable cancer Foundation, Assistant Director of a Literacy Foundation, and running a small business while bringing up five children. Their children and fourteen grandchildren spread across two Continents - the U.K., U.S.A. and Canada. Now fully retired from work, Kathleen has undertaken the pleasant task of sharing The Adventures of Ali Thunda with a wider audience.