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_charliesbooks_'s review
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Thank you to the author, publishers, and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this in exchange for an honest review.
"We carry their stories deep within us, and it is their tale we wish to tell."
Told from the perspective of sentient Stones (they [the children] name us), And the Stones Cry Out is a novel in translation chronicling the lives of four siblings: the first born, the sister, the boy and the last born. The boy is born with severe disability, resulting in his only sense remaining being his hearing. The family are thrown by the news, and the Stones watch them as the boy grows and doesn't get better, and the first born becoms almost obsessive in his care for him. They tell the story of the first born going from arragont to caring, watching his siblings, and caring for them with the intensity of a trained professional. And, becoming a ghost following the boys' death.
The Stones watch the sister as she resents the boy for taking her older brothers attention from her, the rage and anger and, subsequent changes she experiences, "she wondered how one should mourn a living person."
They speak of her becoming her family's fixer and, following a move to Portugal, they speak of her falling in Iove and becoming a mother herself, noting, "You can give without fearing loss."
Finally, they speak of the last born, born many years after the boys death, and the way he lives in the boys' shadow, naming him 'the enchanter'. They speak of the way the last borns parents and sister dote on him, and the way he never knows what to say to the first born. He is gifted and smart - creating his own languages and understanding emotions at a depth far beyond his years.
Lyrical and poetic, And the Stones Cry Out is a novel that criticises how society treats those with and surrounded by severe disabilities and the way the world is made for people who fit into 'normal' societal boxes. The author explores sibling relationships, cultural differences, and grief in a succinct and beautiful way. There is amazing character development, with each sibling moving on in their own way or remaining stuck in the past.
This was a phenomenal read that I managed to read in under an hour, and I would love to see more from this author.
4 stars.
"We carry their stories deep within us, and it is their tale we wish to tell."
Told from the perspective of sentient Stones (they [the children] name us), And the Stones Cry Out is a novel in translation chronicling the lives of four siblings: the first born, the sister, the boy and the last born. The boy is born with severe disability, resulting in his only sense remaining being his hearing. The family are thrown by the news, and the Stones watch them as the boy grows and doesn't get better, and the first born becoms almost obsessive in his care for him. They tell the story of the first born going from arragont to caring, watching his siblings, and caring for them with the intensity of a trained professional. And, becoming a ghost following the boys' death.
The Stones watch the sister as she resents the boy for taking her older brothers attention from her, the rage and anger and, subsequent changes she experiences, "she wondered how one should mourn a living person."
They speak of her becoming her family's fixer and, following a move to Portugal, they speak of her falling in Iove and becoming a mother herself, noting, "You can give without fearing loss."
Finally, they speak of the last born, born many years after the boys death, and the way he lives in the boys' shadow, naming him 'the enchanter'. They speak of the way the last borns parents and sister dote on him, and the way he never knows what to say to the first born. He is gifted and smart - creating his own languages and understanding emotions at a depth far beyond his years.
Lyrical and poetic, And the Stones Cry Out is a novel that criticises how society treats those with and surrounded by severe disabilities and the way the world is made for people who fit into 'normal' societal boxes. The author explores sibling relationships, cultural differences, and grief in a succinct and beautiful way. There is amazing character development, with each sibling moving on in their own way or remaining stuck in the past.
This was a phenomenal read that I managed to read in under an hour, and I would love to see more from this author.
4 stars.
books_by_your_bedside's review
challenging
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
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