4 minutes read | originally published on February 6, 2025 at 2:54 p.m., modified on March 11, 2025 at 2:12 a.m.
It was said that readers were looking for a “solid piece” of fictional historical literature. The book entitled “Take Me To Mon Repos” by Dr. Travis Weeks covers exactly that.
An enthralling, palpable and difficult book to put down “Take Me To Mon Repos” by Dr. Travis Weekes published by the prestigious Caribbean Reads, is ready. Its fictional characters were created through the lives of four endearing and active participants, adopted by the name of Bwigan who plays a Maroon, Bernelle the slave in the fierce house and Bwigan’s lover, then Garnier the curious planter, who prioritizes the plantation, and lastly Catherine, Garnier’s wife and writer.
This difference in perception is referenced in the book many historical contexts, using by author and playwright Dr. Travis Weekes, born in Saint Lucia and of Trinidad and Tobago. Dr. Weekes has shown himself to be well versed in his pedigree of the subject, dating from 1794 to 1796. At the same time, within these pages are traces of a grounded approach to the subject, with great knowledge of detail, while deftly committing to the art of writing and living the cultural message in “freedom, love, self-fulfillment and companionship,” says Dr. Weekes.
When Dr. Weekes was asked what inspired him to name the book based on its title and the mantras that might be formed within its framework? He replied: “It would be great if the title of the book could generate a continual call as well as a drive to create peaceful communities.” This is exactly what reading “Take Me Ton Mon Repos” does. Also, the special possibilities of telling the work through an interesting drama led to its stage adaptation, which synchronizes the history of the former French colony of Saint Lucia with a contemporary approach to artistic creation, the differentiation of cultural identity and the formation of new historical thinking.
The dichotomy that Dr. Weekes claimed and constructed was that between French royalists and republicans, between French and British, between Blacks and Whites, between men and women. A perfect historical link that connects the author’s important discoveries that he highlights. While demonstrating the mastery of the writing style, the author and playwright is fascinated by the idea of literary opera and literacy in general. Something that can take all his readers on a journey through the historical memory of the Caribbean. In the work of Dr. Weekes and “Take Me Ton Mon Repos” there is a dedication to a distinct message about gender and race that allows the reader to dig deeper and helps to trace the data of equality in the human heart, which can be presented as a linear but not parallel confluence of the intersections we face as humanity.
“Take Me To Mon Repos” was recently read as a stage adaptation in January of this year by actors from the Miami Arts Studio, directed by the great Phillip Church and renowned professor Emeritus of Florida International University. The next project of “Take Me To Mon Repos” is to perform it in April 2025 at a theater festival in Venezuela. ‘As this next event remains in sizzling, with everything that exists in this world, you would undoubtedly hate to miss it,’ recommended by the arts and culture diem editor.
It captivates readers and viewers and invites them to enjoy this literary work, now available on Amazon and have been available since October 2024. Although there are already many reviews, readings and regular workshops on the book, Dr. Weekes has created a suitable nuance and an easily digestible story of these very bright characters, portrayed as survivors, that retains those interested in the subject. This makes “Take Me To Mon Repos” a generally accessible story that recounts a time of intense colonial rivalries in the 18th century, as a tribute to the people who lived through it. By playing with the precision of fictional storytelling, it is a beautiful intellectual record that further affirms the power of its historical values and can remind readers of what the fictional beings such as Bwigan, Bernelle, Garnier and Catherine experienced.
Likewise, “Take Me To Mon Repos”, translated by Mr. Allan Weekes, father of Dr. Travis Weekes, can provide the reader with everything necessary to navigate the book that was once a well-founded account of the arrival of the Maroons in the Caribbean, where the revolutionary period took place, to that cemented the presence of the characters in the midst of an important period in the political culture of the island of Saint Lucia.
