The Serpent and the Rainbow

I came to this because I'd read some of Wade Davis's other work, but I had no real interest in Haiti or Voodoo, so all credit to the author for keeping me glued to the page throughout. The initial motivation for Davis's investigation, back in the nineteen-eighties, was to find out whether psychoactive drugs which many academics believed were used in Voodoo practices, specifically to create Zombies, were real, were psychoactive, and perhaps useful for other medical purposes.Where the book is really interesting is that not only does he crack the puzzle of what drugs are used and how they operate, but he also delves deep into Haitian history and society to explain what Voodoo, and specifically Zombies, represent within Haitian culture. It's a book full of historical narrative and anecdotes about Voodoo practitioners the author meets, as well as a biochemistry puzzle (although the biochemistry is interesting in itself).His ultimate point is that you can't explain a cultural phenomenon like the Zombie without a multi-disciplinary approach which takes into account not only the sophisticated poisons used, but also the place they hold within Haitian religion and society. In other words, you can't understand the drug without understanding the 'set and setting' of its consumption. He also uses this insight as a jumping-off point to show that whilst it is certainly a very distinct set of beliefs, the role of intoxication and trance in Haitian Voodoo actually has many parallels to other religions.All in all it's an exciting, interesting account which can be thought-provoking and definitely taught me that much of what I thought I knew about Haiti and Voodoo was misleading. The only reason I've given it 4 stars and not 5 is that Davis clearly became very involved in the practice of Voodoo to write this book, and opened his mind to its possibilities. Whilst this is admirable in an anthropologist, there are passages here where he tries to evoke the spiritual power of religion in contrast with the rationally-driven societies of the modern West which are, quite frankly, wishy-washy New Age bunkum and stick out from the normally smart, thoughtful text like a sore thumb.

My sister recommended this book and I purchased this and One River by the same offer for my partner. He tells me both books are a journey of discovery. Magnificent original thoughts on each page.

Have just started this book after watching the quite dated film. It took a very long time to arrive but it was worth the wait.

It'interesting to read how the issue about zombification can be scientifically explained.

Interesting read after watching film