The Accidental Indies

Robert Finley imagines, sings, charts, and paints the story of Columbus' problematic 1492 expedition to the Caribbean, creating a vivid and compelling world. It is a wondrous journey that begins with Columbus' earliest explorations when he first 'tests the heft and roundness of this earth against his infant head' by stepping from the edge of his rocking cradle to come up short on the boards of the nursery floor. Finley charts a course through the sea voyage, its records and commentaries, into the territory of Columbus' imaginary 'Indies' and the representation of this New World on his return to Spain. Grounded in sixteenth-century sources, this incisive story illuminates the power that 'naming' has to create the world - in this case a world still haunted by being the accidental Indies. It is a book about how we perceive and represent the world around us, and about the creative and destructive power of language. Through its elaboration of the rich ironies of the Columbus story, "The Accidental Indies" looks at the nature of storytelling itself.