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mwmakar's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Abortion, Alcohol, Child abuse, Classism, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, and Emotional abuse
love_e_reads's review against another edition
5.0
This is the 1st book in a long while that I actually want to re-read
humansreading's review against another edition
4.0
What I liked: The writing was impeccable. Very good use of different dialects. I could imagine myself hearing the characters for sure. Some of the characters were interesting but I would have liked to see more of them like Declan, Consuela and Kimberley.
emzireads's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape, Violence, Misogyny, Miscarriage, 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:
🇹🇹 sex trafficking
🇹🇹 violence against women
🇹🇹 colorism
🇹🇹 homophobia in the Caribbean
🇹🇹 mixed race heritage
🇹🇹 diversity of island culture
🇹🇹 sexuality and identity
🇹🇹 social stratification
🇹🇹 myth of tourism benefiting residents
🇹🇹 dominance of religion, misogyny & patriarchy
🇹🇹 allure & falsehood of the American dream
🇹🇹 reality of immigration process for Black Caribbean people
🇹🇹 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:
🇹🇹 sex trafficking
🇹🇹 violence against women
🇹🇹 colorism
🇹🇹 homophobia in the Caribbean
🇹🇹 mixed race heritage
🇹🇹 diversity of island culture
🇹🇹 sexuality and identity
🇹🇹 social stratification
🇹🇹 myth of tourism benefiting residents
🇹🇹 dominance of religion, misogyny & patriarchy
🇹🇹 allure & falsehood of the American dream
🇹🇹 reality of immigration process for Black Caribbean people
🇹🇹 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: Miscarriage, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Sexism, Trafficking, Misogyny, Lesbophobia, and Colonisation
schwarzer_elch's review against another edition
5.0
Reseñar libros compuestos por relatos breves me parece complicado porque, por lo general, el nivel de las historias suele ser desigual; sin embargo, en “Pleasantview” todos los cuentos están muy bien escritos y funcionan tanto de manera individual como en conjunto.
Cada historia se centra en un personaje diferente, el cual suele aparecer como secundario en los otros relatos, para explorar las zonas más humanas y reales de la vida trinitense, la cual difiere completamente de la turística imagen publicitaria que se cierne sobre las naciones del Caribe, que suelen ser reducidas a islas llenas de calor, color, ritmo y sabor. Y creo que ese es el gran acierto de “Pleasantview”: nos regala un panorama real de un país complejo y multicultural, en el que la violencia, la corrupción, la discriminación, etc., son pan de cada de día y afectan cada parte del entramado social.
Por otro lado, los personajes están tan bien construidos y sus historias son tan poderosas que, estoy seguro, me será muy difícil olvidarme de todo lo que me transmitieron. Es increíble la potencia con la que historias tan cortas pueden llegar a conmovernos. Alguien debería traducir este texto a otros idiomas y, de paso, hacer una película o una mini serie, ¡por favor!
Si alguien me preguntara qué libro leer para “leer Trinidad y Tobago”, le respondería que, sin duda alguna, “Pleasantview” es la mejor opción. Qué forma tan espectacular de mostrar un país a través de la narración.
No hay nada negativo que pueda decir de este libro; sin embargo, a quienes deseen leerlo y no hablen inglés, les comento que sí tuve una ligera dificultad con el uso del lenguaje extremadamente local. No sé por qué, pero suelo tener este problema con las historias trinitenses que leo en idioma original. Poco a poco voy descubriendo la lógica de sus localismos, pero igual me cuesta entrar de todo a las historias. OJO, esta limitación lingüística, si bien puede afectar la lectura, no es responsabilidad del texto, sino netamente mía porque mi nivel de inglés, aunque bastante bueno, no es tan elevado como para adecuarme a algunas variantes nacionales.
*Leí este libro durante el club de lectura organizado en julio del 2021 por Cindy, de BookOfCinz*
Cada historia se centra en un personaje diferente, el cual suele aparecer como secundario en los otros relatos, para explorar las zonas más humanas y reales de la vida trinitense, la cual difiere completamente de la turística imagen publicitaria que se cierne sobre las naciones del Caribe, que suelen ser reducidas a islas llenas de calor, color, ritmo y sabor. Y creo que ese es el gran acierto de “Pleasantview”: nos regala un panorama real de un país complejo y multicultural, en el que la violencia, la corrupción, la discriminación, etc., son pan de cada de día y afectan cada parte del entramado social.
Por otro lado, los personajes están tan bien construidos y sus historias son tan poderosas que, estoy seguro, me será muy difícil olvidarme de todo lo que me transmitieron. Es increíble la potencia con la que historias tan cortas pueden llegar a conmovernos. Alguien debería traducir este texto a otros idiomas y, de paso, hacer una película o una mini serie, ¡por favor!
Si alguien me preguntara qué libro leer para “leer Trinidad y Tobago”, le respondería que, sin duda alguna, “Pleasantview” es la mejor opción. Qué forma tan espectacular de mostrar un país a través de la narración.
No hay nada negativo que pueda decir de este libro; sin embargo, a quienes deseen leerlo y no hablen inglés, les comento que sí tuve una ligera dificultad con el uso del lenguaje extremadamente local. No sé por qué, pero suelo tener este problema con las historias trinitenses que leo en idioma original. Poco a poco voy descubriendo la lógica de sus localismos, pero igual me cuesta entrar de todo a las historias. OJO, esta limitación lingüística, si bien puede afectar la lectura, no es responsabilidad del texto, sino netamente mía porque mi nivel de inglés, aunque bastante bueno, no es tan elevado como para adecuarme a algunas variantes nacionales.
*Leí este libro durante el club de lectura organizado en julio del 2021 por Cindy, de BookOfCinz*
brianareads's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
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? No
5.0
bajebookclub's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
Celeste’s Mohammed’s Pleasantview is a debut novel-in-stories that won the 2022 OCM Boas Prize for Fiction.
When was I hooked from? The first chapter/story. Each short story is equivalent to the Caribbean situation:
🌴Being on island and witnessing a “Bassa bassa” from a safe distance. In the Caribbean, we want to know what’s going on but we don’t want to get too close to the action 🤣🤣🌴
Each story is filled with total Caribbean vibes:
🥥 everyone one knows each other’s business
🥥 deep love, horning (infidelity), lies
🥥 scrunting (poverty), trying to survive daily
🥥 folklore
🥥 migrating to America for a better life
🥥 sexuality
🥥 abuse (mental and physical)
🥥 pride
I loved and enjoyed how each story was connected with each other.
🌺My favourite character was Ms. Ivy!
🏷 I’m ready for Pleasantview part 2!
Thank you Celeste.
When was I hooked from? The first chapter/story. Each short story is equivalent to the Caribbean situation:
🌴Being on island and witnessing a “Bassa bassa” from a safe distance. In the Caribbean, we want to know what’s going on but we don’t want to get too close to the action 🤣🤣🌴
Each story is filled with total Caribbean vibes:
🥥 everyone one knows each other’s business
🥥 deep love, horning (infidelity), lies
🥥 scrunting (poverty), trying to survive daily
🥥 folklore
🥥 migrating to America for a better life
🥥 sexuality
🥥 abuse (mental and physical)
🥥 pride
I loved and enjoyed how each story was connected with each other.
🌺My favourite character was Ms. Ivy!
🏷 I’m ready for Pleasantview part 2!
Thank you Celeste.
torrie_reads's review against another edition
5.0
I am always torn about short stories because I usually only like some and I always want more. But I liked all the stories in this collection and I think it helped that they were intertwined. However, I did still want more. But that's because they were just fantastic and I need closure.
The first story with Manuela probably stuck with me the most. And the fact that the author is able to make you feel connected to a character in so few pages is truly a show of her talent.
And y'all Mr. H and Mr. Jagroop had me fired up. I usually don't even wish bad things on fictional characters(or real people) but man I was texting friends wishing for their demise.
So, if it isn't obviously by now I would definitely recommend this one with my whole heart. Then message me as you're reading it so we can discuss!
The first story with Manuela probably stuck with me the most. And the fact that the author is able to make you feel connected to a character in so few pages is truly a show of her talent.
And y'all Mr. H and Mr. Jagroop had me fired up. I usually don't even wish bad things on fictional characters(or real people) but man I was texting friends wishing for their demise.
So, if it isn't obviously by now I would definitely recommend this one with my whole heart. Then message me as you're reading it so we can discuss!
keniasbookshelf's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0