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trini_tessa's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
3.5
ange333's review against another edition
5.0
Very poetic and litanous. Go into it ready to just flow with the story. Don't get too hung up on the whens and the hows.
madameread's review against another edition
4.0
A very important read that looks at the effects of generational trauma through the use of beautiful prose. It can be a bit winded at some points, but that’s the style and doesn’t take away from the storytelling.
cassreading's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
This is the first Dionne Brand book I've ever given less than five stars, and it's the first non-poetry book I've read from her. The novel is a multi-generational saga, with each chapter focusing on a different descendent of a slave who staged a mass suicide at a plantation. These descendants are drug addicts and scammers and mothers and sex workers and lovers; Brand breathes life into their complexity with her usual graceful and violently gripping writing. The book is about the spectre of slavery, of ties that bind even (especially) when people are unaware of their attachments.
However, some characters and narratives were more compelling than others, and I felt like she struggled to cohere the constantly shifting points of view. As soon as I loved a character, or hated or was fascinated by a character, they moved to the background; this is a problem since much of the book is based on character introspection, unlike other multi-generational novels (thinking 100 Years of Solitude, though that might be an unfair comparison for anyone). It read like a short story collection rather than a multi-generational saga, despite the callbacks. It was less enjoyable than Brand's poetry for me.
However, some characters and narratives were more compelling than others, and I felt like she struggled to cohere the constantly shifting points of view. As soon as I loved a character, or hated or was fascinated by a character, they moved to the background; this is a problem since much of the book is based on character introspection, unlike other multi-generational novels (thinking 100 Years of Solitude, though that might be an unfair comparison for anyone). It read like a short story collection rather than a multi-generational saga, despite the callbacks. It was less enjoyable than Brand's poetry for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery
Moderate: Suicide
marbleous's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
christyrooney's review against another edition
2.0
This book just really wasn’t for me but I can respect the poetic value of the narrative.
If you like poetic language and imagery and you are okay with there not really being a plot, you would enjoy this book, but unfortunately it didn’t work for me.
If you like poetic language and imagery and you are okay with there not really being a plot, you would enjoy this book, but unfortunately it didn’t work for me.
avitalgadcykman's review against another edition
5.0
An inter-generational story of Caribbean slavery and diaspora, written by the Canadian author Dionne Brand, born in the Caribbean.This neo-slave narrative, a story of a Trinidadian slave and her descendants, accompanies the family from Trinidad to Amsterdam in the twentieth century. The novel begins in 1802 when a female slave leads a mass suicide revolt, releasing from it only her daughter, and dies tortured yet realized. The real and the imagined tie the daughter with her memories, and affect the way she treats her own children, her senses, nature and lovers. Her memory, pain, hope, and unconventional behavior mark the future of the family.
The book does many great things, breaking with certain conventions for one, sticking to others, questioning a lot. The prose is flowery-I am wondering if it is intentional-a usage of a Caribbean storytelling tradition, or Brand's style.
On a second reading I love it much more. The poetry, the characterization, the thread of suffering and struggle are admirable.
The book does many great things, breaking with certain conventions for one, sticking to others, questioning a lot. The prose is flowery-I am wondering if it is intentional-a usage of a Caribbean storytelling tradition, or Brand's style.
On a second reading I love it much more. The poetry, the characterization, the thread of suffering and struggle are admirable.
yvlie's review
5.0
This book is fairly complex. Playing with Western assumptions about life writing and temporality, it juxtaposes different stories in an enchanting way. Negotiating the legacy of slavery up to the 1980s, the book shows that trauma can endure several generations and is not bound to place neither.
For me, the book is both: unbelievably sad but somehow, inbetween what is obvious, also full of hope.
For me, the book is both: unbelievably sad but somehow, inbetween what is obvious, also full of hope.
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