Reviews tagging 'Colonisation'

Hungry Ghosts by Kevin Jared Hosein

5 reviews

katewhite77's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

A Very Atmospheric Novel 

A novel about what can happen when two families of different class strata become dangerously emeshed.

Set in 1940’s Trinidad at the beginning of colonial rule. The Saroops are dirt poor and live communally in a shed known as a Barrak, with flimsy partitions separating each family.
A lot of the men from the Barrak work for the Changoors, the rich couple who live in a mansion up on  the hill.

When Mrs Changoor's husband goes missing, she  soon starts to manipulate the situation to her own advantage.

This was an interesting novel to read as it was set in a time and place a knew little about, and I learnt a lot. It explores class religion and power in a new, to me way. To say I enjoyed it would be the wrong word to  use, as it is very dark, but I am very glad to have read it.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Child death, Grief, Classism, Colonisation, Toxic relationship, Animal cruelty, Cultural appropriation, Religious bigotry, Chronic illness, Death, Pregnancy, and Violence

arejaytay's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Animal cruelty, and Classism

Moderate: Racism, Child death, Colonisation, Death, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Grief, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Misogyny, and Vomit

whoa_is_me's review against another edition

challenging emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Colonisation, Grief, Misogyny, Racism, Religious bigotry, Physical abuse, Gun violence, Animal death, Child death, Classism, Death, Suicide, Violence, Sexual assault, and Blood

nylah_danae's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Animal death, Classism, Death, Child abuse, and Colonisation

Minor: Addiction and Alcoholism

carriepond's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Part historical fiction, part slow-burn thriller, Kevin Jared Hosein's Hungry Ghosts is immersive and beautifully written, gothic and lush. Set in 1940s Trinidad and Tobago, near the end of American occupation and British colonialism, Hungry Ghosts unfolds as two families collide-- the wealthy Changoors and the Saroops. Hansraj "Hans" Saroop, lives with his wife Sweta and son Krishna in the barracks, a multi-family dwelling with a shared latrine that is falling apart. Hans works as a farm laborer for the unstable and erratic Dalton Changoor, who lives with his wife, Marlee in a sprawling manor. At the outset of the novel, Dalton goes missing, leaving Marlee with no idea where he might be and only his three dogs to keep her company. When the dogs start turning up dead and Marlee begins receiving threatening notes, she offers Hans a handsome stipend to stay at the sprawling manor and serve as a watchman. Hans agrees, a decision that causes conflict with Sweta and Krishna and sets the stage for the plot that unfolds.
 
This book was great. Hosein created such complex, memorable characters and his writing was so beautiful in parts of this book that I was amazed he is a debut author. I got such a sense of place from his writing and was invested almost immediately, and although the plot unfolds slowly, it feels methodical-- and there is a sense of unease from the first page. I wasn't quite sure what had or would go wrong, but I knew immediately that something was going down, and I felt compelled to keep reading to find out what would happen. I also really loved how Hosein began each chapter focusing on a character's past to give us context for how they fit into the big picture of the story-- I thought it was really effective in creating those complex characters without bogging down the story.

I highly recommend this for lovers of historical fiction, but I also recommend it to anyone looking for a slow-burn mystery in a setting that we don't see as often (in historical fiction, especially). This was great, and I was glad I read it.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Animal death, Physical abuse, Animal cruelty, Classism, Bullying, Gun violence, and Murder

Moderate: Racism, Excrement, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Colonisation, Drug use, Religious bigotry, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Vomit