Reviews - The Syrian Ladies Benevolent Society

14 reviews for:

The Syrian Ladies Benevolent Society

Christine Estima

3.93 AVERAGE

sydneygilchrist's review

4.5

emotional funny hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

wanderingdogfarm's review

2.0

slow-paced

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

alisonburnis's review against another edition

3.75

emotional funny hopeful informative reflective relaxing sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

A set of linked stories following several generations of a Lebanese Canadian family, from their first landing in Montreal after fleeing the Druze in Lebanon, to contemporary generations returning to Lebanon to figure out why, and other parts of their family (Portuguese, Syrian) and how they relate. The stories are all very different: some spanning years, some an afternoon, some a season. Some characters are given more than one story, others are background figures more than they have their own stage.

One of my favourite stories from the Biblioasis 2023 collection of the Best Canadian Short Stories, “Your Hands are Blessed,” is reprinted here as part of the family saga, and I was delighted to read it again. This is a lovely collection, though some stories were just a little too light to make sense as part of the whole. But I loved the exploration of family and culture here.

I received this ARC via NetGalley.

emma_b_rhodes's review

5.0

challenging emotional 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: N/A

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