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Not many
books come with a money-back guarantee, but publisher Akashic
Books is so sure that readers of Arthur C. Winkler's The
Duppy will laugh out loud, it will refund people's money
if they do not. Luckily for Akashic, safer bets are hard to
find. Reading this novel without laughing is like wearing
'80s fashion without irony: It's a possible sign that the
person in question desperately needs an intervention.
The
Duppy begins with Taddeus Baps, a rather opinionated but
otherwise genial Jamaican shopkeeper, suddenly dropping dead
one Saturday morning and becoming a duppy (Jamaican patois
for "soul" or "spirit"). After watching his employees steal
the money from his wallet and attempting unsuccessfully to
grope his still-living maid, Baps is escorted to heaven. Much
to his indignation, however, Baps discovers that the road
to Jamaican heaven is not via the fiery chariot or long tunnels
of light depicted in American cinema. Instead, Jamaican heaven
is reached by taking a crowded minibus to a field of sugar
cane and crawling down a culvert. That's right, folks: The
entrance to Jamaican heaven is a drain pipe.
Heaven,
as it turns out, looks exactly like Jamaica, which helps Baps
adjust to his new surroundings, though not the way of life.
Anything a duppy may require—from all-night sex romps
to daily car crashes—is readily available and easily
accessible. Regardless of class, faith, race, or gender, everyone
in heaven is equal and without want. It sounds ideal, but
for a businessman like Baps, who sees price gouging and abuse
of power as a part of the social order, universal equality
is an affront to common decency.
Interacting
with others also requires readjusting because certain feelings
and emotions no longer exist. There is no unhappiness or pain,
and any dissatisfaction one may feel is always counteracted
with feelings of bliss. Acts of violence turn into hilarious
fits of physical joy—the more violent the act, the more
pleasurable the effects. Here, Baps attempts to fight a group
of American college students for disrespecting God:
As
the rumble died down, one of the sullen youths muttered, "Ignorant
Jamaican," loud enough for me to hear. I lunged into the crowd
and thumped him right on his top lip, causing him to squeal
with ecstasy, and the professor had to restrain the others
from charging me and inflicting the joys of pummeling on my
person.
American
heaven is a far cry from the familiar, however, as Baps discovers
after he befriends God and vacations with Him Stateside. Though
American heaven once comprised the same skyscrapers and freeways
as the cities on earth, the spirits of dead Americans were
dissatisfied with God's rather unbiblical heaven. Thus, the
American government de-paved Paradise and tore down the parking
lots, leaving behind clouds perfect for day-long harp plucking
and tending to the innumerable sheep which safely graze…most
of the time.
Americans
also feel immensely shortchanged by God's egalitarian approach
to heaven. Because there is no hell, murderers, heathens,
and other sinners are able to walk among good Christian duppies,
reaping the same benefits given to those who had lived devout,
upright lives. These indignant souls cannot accept that they
were wrong about the word of God and are so obsessed with
the unfairness of heaven that they have a warrant out for
God's capture so that they can try to convince Him to change
heaven. They even hold parades celebrating their rather morbid
belief in hell, complete with floats depicting their ideal
punishment of the damned. Of course, because the participants
are unable to feel pain, each fiery spectacle is accented
with shouts of pleasure and glee. Sadly, getting one's head
chopped off is quite fun!
Winkler's
satirical humor is anything but irreverent, poking fun at
human indignities and the moral standards by which we claim
to judge and be judged. Like a modern day Mark Twain with
an ear for Jamaican patois, Winkler reminds readers of the
absurdity of human self-righteousness and gently encourages
open-mindedness. Not once does he lecture or proselytize.
On the contrary, Winkler's humor is rather self-deprecating,
showing readers what we often take too seriously.
Despite
the religious overtones of a story about spirits and friendships
with God, The Duppy is not a book about spirituality
or the Church. Winkler is an equal opportunity spoofer, taking
the mick out of religious zealots, atheists, and armchair
Christians alike. As Baps comes to realize, there is no way
for the living to know if their beliefs are correct; the only
thing one can do while alive is to be a good person without
expecting rewards for goodness or fearing punishment for indiscretion.
The message is so simple yet so satisfying that it becomes
inspiring, making The Duppy a rare treat: a thoughtful,
socially stimulating novel that is also uplifting and highly
entertaining.
(June,
2008)
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