A review by rigbees
Patsy by Nicole Dennis-Benn

challenging emotional sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Lately, I've been skeptical of trauma novels recommended to me, particularly if the person recommending them to me doesn't share an identity group with the author. This isn't because the trauma novel is bad or that the story shouldn't be shared. Rather, I'm skeptical about the way in which we consume trauma for entertainment. Even when an author is discussing painful experiences, the audience is not always there to listen.

Patsy is a novel that's about trauma and (eventually) healing from it. The novel follows Patsy, the title character, as she leaves her daughter in Jamaica and overstays her travel visa to the United States. Patsy experiences difficult challenges and lacks community support, both in Jamaica and as she gets established in NYC. The bulk of the book is about the way she struggles through life, managing to continue moving forward but failing to thrive. However, by the end of the novel
she starts to find healing through her relationship with Claudette, when she is able to embrace aspects of her identity that she's suppressed since being assaulted as a teenager.
Alongside Patsy's story is woven in the experiences of the child she left behind, Tru. 

This book is well-written. I am glad that I read it, as it talks frankly about difficult experiences of racism, homophobia and trauma. It is written, in my opinion, as a novel aimed at those who have experienced similar circumstances. I think that it's a very good novel overall, and one that enriched my life in reading it.
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