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bookishevy's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Friends, I traveled to my home island of Trinidad for this month's Read the World challenge, and it did not disappoint.
Each story in this novel focuses on a resident or former resident of Pleasantview, which is an ironic name for a town riddled with poverty and violence; overt violence between rival gangs and violence women suffer at the hands of powerful men behind closed doors.
I loved that all the stories are intertwined and the lives of the residents overlap. This book was hard to out down.
With drama from the start with a jailbreak and insight into how Venezuelan women are treated in Trinidad; a young man looks for a father figure in a man who is using him; a young woman naively makes plans for a future with a rich, married man; a political candidate gets what's coming to him; his estranged daughter struggles to accept her sexuality; a man grapples with his wife's acceptance of Jesus; his brother-in-law's leaves his family for better opportunities; a local seer woman's shame; and a boy comes to terms with his father's abandonment.
Thoughts while reading: The kinds of things people do to remain in the U.S. Women really think a scoundrel would change for them. The way some Trini men put Venezuelan women on pedestals while treating them like trash is nuts. I don't know how I would feel if my spouse accepted Jesus and changed entirely. The shame women carry around even though they are victims. Boys turning to gang leaders for father figures and in turn becoming father figures for other fatherless boys kind of makes sense. I love how Mohammed brings the novel full circle with these young men's stories.
With heavy themes like rape, abuse, animal abuse, homophobia, infertility, classism, racism and religion, it got heavy, but there were moments when I laughed out loud because I knew exactly what a character was going to say in a certain situation and it made me homesick. I'll have to make a trip soon.
Your main take away from this is these islands are paradise to tourists, but their citizens are doing things and putting up with people they don't want to just to survive.
Each story in this novel focuses on a resident or former resident of Pleasantview, which is an ironic name for a town riddled with poverty and violence; overt violence between rival gangs and violence women suffer at the hands of powerful men behind closed doors.
I loved that all the stories are intertwined and the lives of the residents overlap. This book was hard to out down.
With drama from the start with a jailbreak and insight into how Venezuelan women are treated in Trinidad; a young man looks for a father figure in a man who is using him; a young woman naively makes plans for a future with a rich, married man; a political candidate gets what's coming to him; his estranged daughter struggles to accept her sexuality; a man grapples with his wife's acceptance of Jesus; his brother-in-law's leaves his family for better opportunities; a local seer woman's shame; and a boy comes to terms with his father's abandonment.
Thoughts while reading: The kinds of things people do to remain in the U.S. Women really think a scoundrel would change for them. The way some Trini men put Venezuelan women on pedestals while treating them like trash is nuts. I don't know how I would feel if my spouse accepted Jesus and changed entirely. The shame women carry around even though they are victims. Boys turning to gang leaders for father figures and in turn becoming father figures for other fatherless boys kind of makes sense. I love how Mohammed brings the novel full circle with these young men's stories.
With heavy themes like rape, abuse, animal abuse, homophobia, infertility, classism, racism and religion, it got heavy, but there were moments when I laughed out loud because I knew exactly what a character was going to say in a certain situation and it made me homesick. I'll have to make a trip soon.
Your main take away from this is these islands are paradise to tourists, but their citizens are doing things and putting up with people they don't want to just to survive.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, and Classism
amyrandles1's review against another edition
Quite graphic, not currently in the mood for such a heavy book
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexual content, and Violence
emzireads's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, Violence, and Lesbophobia
bookdragon217's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
"Women were cursed, Kimberly had decided then: their own bodies didn't even belong to them."
Pleasantview by Celeste Mohamed was on of my favorite reads for Caribbean Heritage Month. This was a propulsive read that I devoured on my plane ride home from vacation. Each short story didn't feel disconnected from the next but instead added more layers to the full picture. Mohamed has solidified herself as an auto-buy for me from now on. All I can say is "What a debut!"
Reading this one made me think about the expression "All that glitters isn't gold." Often time people go on vacation to escape their real.life but never once think about the daily lives of people that live in the places where they vacation. It is easy to forget real life when you are lost in the allure of resort life but just steps away from these places is where you find the reality of life in these places. Mohamed's writing grips you and you won't be able to look away because what she says in these pages is powerful and challenges what you thought you knew about Caribbean island life.
Mohamed does this by giving you a glimpse into the life of the residents of imaginary town Pleasantview. Not only did Mohamed show you Trinidadian life but she also interrogates heavy themes and call outs the things that need to change. The stories felt cohesive and the characters were complex. The core themes that intersected with the characters were:
๐น๐น sex trafficking
๐น๐น violence against women
๐น๐น colorism
๐น๐น homophobia in the Caribbean
๐น๐น mixed race heritage
๐น๐น diversity of island culture
๐น๐น sexuality and identity
๐น๐น social stratification
๐น๐น myth of tourism benefiting residents
๐น๐น dominance of religion, misogyny & patriarchy
๐น๐น allure & falsehood of the American dream
๐น๐น reality of immigration process for Black Caribbean people
๐น๐น ancestral ways of wisdom
If you haven't read this one yet, then what are you waiting for? Mohamed is already a commanding voice in Caribbean literature and one that I am looking forward to reading more from.
Pleasantview by Celeste Mohamed was on of my favorite reads for Caribbean Heritage Month. This was a propulsive read that I devoured on my plane ride home from vacation. Each short story didn't feel disconnected from the next but instead added more layers to the full picture. Mohamed has solidified herself as an auto-buy for me from now on. All I can say is "What a debut!"
Reading this one made me think about the expression "All that glitters isn't gold." Often time people go on vacation to escape their real.life but never once think about the daily lives of people that live in the places where they vacation. It is easy to forget real life when you are lost in the allure of resort life but just steps away from these places is where you find the reality of life in these places. Mohamed's writing grips you and you won't be able to look away because what she says in these pages is powerful and challenges what you thought you knew about Caribbean island life.
Mohamed does this by giving you a glimpse into the life of the residents of imaginary town Pleasantview. Not only did Mohamed show you Trinidadian life but she also interrogates heavy themes and call outs the things that need to change. The stories felt cohesive and the characters were complex. The core themes that intersected with the characters were:
๐น๐น sex trafficking
๐น๐น violence against women
๐น๐น colorism
๐น๐น homophobia in the Caribbean
๐น๐น mixed race heritage
๐น๐น diversity of island culture
๐น๐น sexuality and identity
๐น๐น social stratification
๐น๐น myth of tourism benefiting residents
๐น๐น dominance of religion, misogyny & patriarchy
๐น๐น allure & falsehood of the American dream
๐น๐น reality of immigration process for Black Caribbean people
๐น๐น ancestral ways of wisdom
If you haven't read this one yet, then what are you waiting for? Mohamed is already a commanding voice in Caribbean literature and one that I am looking forward to reading more from.
Content Warnings
Minor: Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Trafficking, Lesbophobia, and Colonisation
caribbeangirlreading's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- 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
5.0
Unputdownable. Riveting. Heart-wrenching. Pleasantview is a novel-in-stories set in a fictional town in Trinidad and told from multiple points of view. Although each story stands individually it does not read like a short story collection because the stories, and many of the characters, are intertwined with each other. This is six degrees of separation, Caribbean edition. It may sound like too much, but itโs the complete opposite. Each story built upon the prior one but never felt confusing or overwhelming. Each and every character had a clear and distinct voice. The character development is top notch. The writing is impeccable. All I can say is . . . BRAVA!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Blood, Trafficking, Colonisation, and Classism
Moderate: Gun violence, Homophobia, Abortion, Murder, and Lesbophobia
Minor: Pedophilia
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