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paochavezgt's review
- 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? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Sexism, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Incest, Sexual assault, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Violence, and Xenophobia
celinecra's review
- 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
"Brutality is an inescapable inheritance of humanity, but so is love. As terribly as we can be hurt, so deeply can we be healed."
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual violence, Emotional abuse, Rape, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Sexual assault
tombomp's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
I think it's hard to put my thoughts together about this. It's a cavalcade of trauma and abuse and then it just ends so... neatly? Like, not that the scars are resolved obviously. But it feels weird - although even saying that feels wrong, as if I'm suggesting that actually the trauma should have carried on, which is also not what I meant.
I think part of it is that the neat ending owes very little to the actions of the main character in the "present day" - there's connections formed in childhood that only just come back around all at once and we only see bits and pieces of how they happened and Spoilera loose friendship where the other person seemingly took it upon herself to get the MC's abusive violent boyfriend shot in a way that framed him as the shooter? it's a little vague at the end exactly what happened and how much knowledge people had but it's heavily implied imo. That's not bad exactly - everyone needs support and it's good to show stuff happening as a group effort, obviously. It more just adds to the sense that things wrapped up due purely to coincidence than anything else. Which... again I guess that's not that inaccurate to real life. So again I can't exactly mark it down for that.
I think the explicit child sexual abuse scene really threw me for a loop and eclipsed everything else about the book. Not suggesting it's wrong to portray it, just it was so intense (even though I had to skim it) that I couldn't really get settled about how I feel about the book due to feeling so upset and lost reading that.
I will say as an obvious unalloyed good thing: the Trinidadian Creole writing style is really good and I loved reading it. It's an incredibly readable book that's quite compelling
Graphic: Racism, Misogyny, Miscarriage, Infertility, Incest, Gun violence, Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Murder, Domestic abuse, and Rape
marygray149's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Racism, Sexual violence, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Abortion, Alcoholism, Rape, Addiction, Alcohol, and Incest
dreamersmind's review
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Physical abuse, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, Infertility, Death, Alcoholism, Rape, and Pedophilia
marthaos's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
It tells the story of Alathea, manager of a clothing store, who is regularly beaten and abused by her “lover” Leo. Alathea, who comes across as a strong, independent woman, nonetheless just seems to accept this as part of her lot, and as the book unfolds, we learn how these patterns of abuse originated in her childhood and seemed to perpetuate into her adult years, despite running away, despite finding new lovers….
Leo, who can oscillate between doling out horribly cruel beatings and violent sex, and displaying tender and kind love, is extremely unpredictable and we learn in the story how Alathea fears him, dreads going home, yet just seems to accept it. When colleague Tamika sees some of her bruises and learns what she is putting up with, it sets the story in motion, putting pressure on Alathea to question why this is acceptable. Is there another way?
As the story unfolds, we learn a lot about Alathea’s childhood through her brother, Carl, who later became a priest. Alathea had always enjoyed a close relationship with him until she cut off all ties when she ran from home. Carl is now eager to rebuild this relationship and to help Alathea claim her life back.
As events come to a head in the Festival of Flames, we see that there are no winners in such toxic environments. We see that the victim can become so trapped and vulnerable that they see no way out and worst of all they feel so degraded that they feel unworthy of anything different.
Overall this was a very well written book and a well-told story. That such a difficult subject matter could be explored without the storytelling or the voices sinking down with the weight of it showed Agostini’s skill as a writer. Without shying away from the realities of this protagonist’s experience or in any way detracting from the horror of such daily violence and its consequences, she keeps the story moving forward, the dialogue hugely adding to the narrative, sparkling with beautiful Trinidadian idioms, she brings the characters to life and mostly offers a strong message of hope even in the midst of such pain.
Graphic: Violence, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Racism, and Sexual violence
t33_'s review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Sad, intense, empowering, womanhood, emotional. I don’t think I’ve ever read something like this before but I am glad that I have. My God, this book was something else! I barely write reviews and I don’t give many books 5 stars but this story was impeccable.
10/10 across the board!
Graphic: Child abuse, Infertility, Death, Physical abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Incest, and Emotional abuse
alexiconic's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Incest, Infidelity, Murder, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Violence, Addiction, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Alcohol, Death of parent, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Infertility, Mental illness, Racism, Sexual content, Rape, and Toxic relationship
rebekka_m's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Sexual violence, Pedophilia, Rape, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Murder, and Incest
dallastodd's review
- 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? It's complicated
4.0
Moderate: Gun violence, Incest, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Rape, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Minor: Infertility and Miscarriage