I tried hard to like Deborah Laton, author of Seductive Poison: A Jonestown Survivor's Story of Life and Death in the Peoples Temple. Most of the time, by actively reminding myself that she was only a teenager when her involvement began, I was able to do so. At least sort of. Overall my reaction to Deborah Layton and her story was similar to how I felt about Carolyn Jessop and her escape from a Morman town that actively supported the lifestyle of one man, many wives. Granted, they both achieved amazing fetes, and Deborah Layton seemed a tad more aware of the problems left in her wake, but I would still be troubled about granting either the status of "hero.
Enough with comparisons. Onto the specifics about Seductive Poison.
1) In a forward Charles Kraus writes, "Even today, I suspect there are few Americans over the age of thirty-five who don't remember where they were when they first heard that more than nine hundred of their fellow countrymen had killed themselves, having drunk Flavour-aide laced with cyanide, in a place called Jonestown." (page xii) My reaction: "Oh, come on. Get over yourself." People remember what they were doing when JFK was shot. I remember where I was when I heard that Challenger exploded but probably because Huntsville is so much a part of the space program. But when I heard about Jonestown? Give me a break. It happened in the 1970s, so I was still teaching at A&M. And that's all I remember. If a student gave a speech on it, memories of even that speech are well buried in my subconscious. Now, as I write, I wonder how much the overblown sense of self-importance I inferred from that statement influenced my opinion of the book. So be warned: Keep my own prejudice in mind as you read the review. The statement, in a forward, not even in the book itself, kicked off my evaluation.
2) After Ms Layton's first exposure to Jim Jones and his teachings, she completes a year of school in England where she tells a friend "about having met the reincarnation of Jesus, who was now living in Ukiah (CA) as a revolutionary." (page 50) I sense not even a grain of doubt in Ms Layton's belief. Remember, Martha, she's a teenager. Grrr.
3) A good way into the book, Ms Layton wonders, "Could Father (Jim Jones) possibly say one thing and practice another?" (page 119) By this point Jones has already raped Ms Layton. And she still trusts him? Teenager, Martha. Grrrr.
4) Life in Jonestown: "I wondered what it was like to sleep in in the morning with no one there to 'write you up,' to eat whatever you'd like, to look in a refrigerator and make your own meals." (page 141) Sure makes me want to live there if you're only wondering about things like that.
5) Ms Layton is starting her first trip inland in Guyana to Jonestown: "For all but two of us, Mark and me, this ride would be our last before leaving this earth." (page 149) Pretty good keep-'em-reading technique, I'm forced to admit.
6) Ms Layton writes that "friendships and camaraderie that weren't strictly in the context of socialistic principles were frowned upon." (page 159) Oh, yes! Yet another selling point for Jim Jones' form of socialism. Actually here I'm reminded of the scene in Doctor Zhivago where Strelnikov tells Yuri Zhivago that in Russia the personal life is dead. And people wonder why communism and socialism don't work. Go figure.
7) Many radio transmissions contain segments similar to the following:
Quote:
Eight Arr One, do you read me?
This is Eight Arr One. (page 230)
What's "Arr"?
8) Ms Layton has Jim Jones say, "You cannot help the common man by becoming one with him …" (page 259) That from a man working to build a classless society. Bah! Humbug!
9) Ms Layton, having escaped, begins to work in the real world (albeit on "the trade floor of a small yet prestigious bank): "In this fraternity of 'evil capitalists,' I found understanding and compassion." (page 282) Again I'm reminded of Carolyn Jessop who in Escape was surprised when she found kindness is a non-Mormon hospital. Of course, I'm reminded also of Ms Jessop's hypocrisy (IMHO) when we have in Ms Layton a socialist ultimately becoming an investment banker. Sigh.
One final comment on Deborah Layton: She abandoned her cancer-stricken in Jonestown. Granted, she was pretty much forced to do. Also I'll grant that her remorse for doing so does seem genuine. And her mother did die from cancer a few days before the mass poisoning, which Layton's escape may have caused. But still …
Bottom line: Once I got past the first few chapters about Layton's family, I did find the book interesting.
