Banana Shout “The Book” - Review
February 11, 2007
Banana Shout is the great novel of Negril, and Mark Conklin the grand old man (well, not that old).
I first heard of the book on my April ‘04 Trip to Negril, and the day I got home I went to Amazon.com to order me a copy.
About two weeks later Irene Conklin, Mark’s wife, emailed me to thank me for ordering the book. She also asked me when I planned on coming back. I told her I was thinking of an October ‘04 trip. Banana Shout, the resort, moved to the top of my list.
When the book arrived I tore into it. By this time I was a full fledged boardie, and I was hungry for anything Negril. I read the book twice in a three weeks, after which I stuffed it into a FedEx envelope, and I sent it to my buddy Nick so he could read it before our October trip.
The book is a lot of fun, a light hearted romp though the trials and tribulations of finding one’s way in the world. The story of our beleaguered hero Tavo Gripps makes us all wish we had discovered Negril years earlier. Crazy wannabe pirates, an eccentric bar owner, and even unfriendly drug dealers, but Tavo wins the day. You gotta love that!
Now, as a piece of literature Banana Shout may not stack up with Twain or Melville, but in spirit and tone it captures the essence of Negril in the early years. It is the quintessential history of Negril, albeit in a quazi-fictional format. Nowhere else will you read of the early years; the development of Negril from a “sleepy fishing village” into a resort town. This is it.
I did stay at Banana Shout in October ‘04 right after hurricane Ivan, and I had the honor of hanging out with Mark Conklin as he managed the rebuilding of the resort. It’s under new management now, but on my last visit it looked as good as than ever.
You Rock Mark 
Vinny 
Banana Shout “The Book” - Review
February 11, 2007
Banana Shout is the great novel of Negril, and Mark Conklin the grand old man (well, not that old).
I first heard of the book on my April ‘04 Trip to Negril, and the day I got home I went to Amazon.com to order me a copy.
About two weeks later Irene Conklin, Mark’s wife, emailed me to thank me for ordering the book. She also asked me when I planned on coming back. I told her I was thinking of an October ‘04 trip. Banana Shout, the resort, moved to the top of my list.
When the book arrived I tore into it. By this time I was a full fledged boardie, and I was hungry for anything Negril. I read the book twice in a three weeks, after which I stuffed it into a FedEx envelope, and I sent it to my buddy Nick so he could read it before our October trip.
The book is a lot of fun, a light hearted romp though the trials and tribulations of finding one’s way in the world. The story of our beleaguered hero Tavo Gripps makes us all wish we had discovered Negril years earlier. Crazy wannabe pirates, an eccentric bar owner, and even unfriendly drug dealers, but Tavo wins the day. You gotta love that!
Now, as a piece of literature Banana Shout may not stack up with Twain or Melville, but in spirit and tone it captures the essence of Negril in the early years. It is the quintessential history of Negril, albeit in a quazi-fictional format. Nowhere else will you read of the early years; the development of Negril from a “sleepy fishing village” into a resort town. This is it.
I did stay at Banana Shout in October ‘04 right after hurricane Ivan, and I had the honor of hanging out with Mark Conklin as he managed the rebuilding of the resort. It’s under new management now, but on my last visit it looked better than ever.
You Rock Mark
Vinny
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1.
Scott | February 15, 2007 at 9:38 pm
Am almost finished with Banana Shout…just about 50 more pages. I have been to Negril 4 times but until just after Christmas I had not read either Walk Good or Banana Shout.
You mentioned that BS is under new management? What happened to Mark Conklin? I was going to visit BS when we go back in July. We usually stay at Tensing Pen or Catcha Falling Star. I have enjoyed your website.
Looking forward to our next trips (July and November)
Scott (aka Churchill 103 on Trip Advisor/Negril.
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