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melbsreads's review
challenging
dark
sad
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
3.5
Trigger warnings: death, murder, blood, medical procedures, hospitalisation, graphic animal death, graphic animal cruelty, death of a child, death of an infant, gun violence, drowning
Soooooooooo I picked this up for my Read Around the World challenge because it's set in Trinidad and written by a Trinidadian author. Ultimately, it was a little too lit fic for my taste, and I kind of wish there'd been some kind of author's note at the beginning with a) a list of content warnings and b) an explanation of some of the themes.
So if you're a dog lover, just be aware that this book is kind of the reason Does The Dog Die exists. Because there are MULTIPLE dog deaths and a ton of animal cruelty in this book. And it wasn't until I was nearly finished with the book that I had a conversation about the plot with a Trinidadian friend and he was telling me that he went to an author talk with Hosein last year and he was talking about animal cruelty as revenge within Trinidadian culture, and suddenly parts of the story made a lot more sense.
Ultimately, I found this slow going, and while the ending was effective and I really liked the way it played out, I...didn't love the first half of the book. It felt like it jumped around and I struggled to keep track of all the different threads of the story. But the second half worked much better for me and I really enjoyed the way it played out in the end.
Soooooooooo I picked this up for my Read Around the World challenge because it's set in Trinidad and written by a Trinidadian author. Ultimately, it was a little too lit fic for my taste, and I kind of wish there'd been some kind of author's note at the beginning with a) a list of content warnings and b) an explanation of some of the themes.
So if you're a dog lover, just be aware that this book is kind of the reason Does The Dog Die exists. Because there are MULTIPLE dog deaths and a ton of animal cruelty in this book. And it wasn't until I was nearly finished with the book that I had a conversation about the plot with a Trinidadian friend and he was telling me that he went to an author talk with Hosein last year and he was talking about animal cruelty as revenge within Trinidadian culture, and suddenly parts of the story made a lot more sense.
Ultimately, I found this slow going, and while the ending was effective and I really liked the way it played out, I...didn't love the first half of the book. It felt like it jumped around and I struggled to keep track of all the different threads of the story. But the second half worked much better for me and I really enjoyed the way it played out in the end.
nina_reads_books's review
3.0
Hungry Ghosts by Kevin Jared Hosein is an immersive historical fiction set in the 1940s in Trinidad. This is not a culture I have read much about but I certainly found the people and place portrayed within this novel to be interesting and rich in colour and detail.
There are multiple stories with intersecting characters all set within a community where poverty is rife. At the start we meet four teenagers who make a blood pact. One of the boys is Krishna whose father Hansraj works on the property of a wealthy couple Dalton and his wife Marlee. After Dalton mysteriously disappears, Marlee is threatened with mysterious notes and she convinces Hansraj to be a security guard overnight at the property. This decision has implications for Krishna and his mother who live in cramped and almost derelict conditions with several other families. The plot eventually takes a turn I was not expecting at all!
Hungry Ghosts was a story of tragedy, of poverty and the struggle to survive. It was quite hard to read about all the horrible and sometimes violent things that continued to happen to the characters. There were however layers of mysticism which made for a unique reading experience. Much of this language was lyrical and poetic but sometimes I did find it became a bit much.
I’m struggling to review this book really as I wanted to love it but it just did not fully grab me. I thought it was a good read, I was happy to keep turning the pages and I was definitely exposed to a culture and characters I haven’t experienced before but overall I just don’t think it was the book for me.
I know others have absolutely loved it and it has been talked of as a potential Booker Prize longlister so I feel my experience may not be how the majority experience this book. Ah well you can’t love them all!
Thanks very much to @bloomsburypublishing for my #gifted copy.
There are multiple stories with intersecting characters all set within a community where poverty is rife. At the start we meet four teenagers who make a blood pact. One of the boys is Krishna whose father Hansraj works on the property of a wealthy couple Dalton and his wife Marlee. After Dalton mysteriously disappears, Marlee is threatened with mysterious notes and she convinces Hansraj to be a security guard overnight at the property. This decision has implications for Krishna and his mother who live in cramped and almost derelict conditions with several other families. The plot eventually takes a turn I was not expecting at all!
Hungry Ghosts was a story of tragedy, of poverty and the struggle to survive. It was quite hard to read about all the horrible and sometimes violent things that continued to happen to the characters. There were however layers of mysticism which made for a unique reading experience. Much of this language was lyrical and poetic but sometimes I did find it became a bit much.
I’m struggling to review this book really as I wanted to love it but it just did not fully grab me. I thought it was a good read, I was happy to keep turning the pages and I was definitely exposed to a culture and characters I haven’t experienced before but overall I just don’t think it was the book for me.
I know others have absolutely loved it and it has been talked of as a potential Booker Prize longlister so I feel my experience may not be how the majority experience this book. Ah well you can’t love them all!
Thanks very much to @bloomsburypublishing for my #gifted copy.
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