Reviews with content warning for Lesbophobia - Here Comes the Sun

The bright cover and jaunty title did not prepare me for the contents of this book (I’m not one for reading or remembering synopses). I think this is one of the saddest books I’ve ever read, with cycles of violence and self-hatred that never end, spurred on by misogyny and homophobia, not to mention greed. A devastating exploration of the tourism industry in Jamaica, alongside female queerness.

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

Here Comes the Sun was a fabulous read, but one that was full of flawed characters and really tough topics. Don’t let that jaunty cover fool you- there are trigger warnings aplenty in this book. It’s set in Jamaica and really shows the darker, sadder side of the country - poverty, homophobia, classism, prostitution and trafficking, corruption, sexual abuse, racism, colorism, and more. At its heart is Margot, her sister Thandi, their mother Delores, and the complicated threads which tie their family together. Delores makes a little money selling cheap trinkets to tourists. Margot works at the front desk of a tourist resort, but struggles to gain the promotion she deserves and has to resort to other means to gain the money they need to send Thandi to private school, to ensure she has a better future and can help raise the family out of poverty. Thandi meanwhile has no interest in becoming a doctor as her sister and mother wish; rather she wants to be an artist and spend time with the boy next door. The second half of this book was much heavier than the first as it became clear what the different women had suffered, but also the harm they did to others. It was really difficult not to judge, and I needed to remind myself to imagine the hurt and suffering which underpinned their actions. What I did feel free to judge was the tourism industry as a whole, they way it grew and made profits by effectively stealing land from the locals, offering them only low paid wages, and sometimes exploiting them in more horrific ways. It felt like the only sun in this book was in the title. The ending especially left me profoundly sad and hollow. Despite the terrible things she had done, the image of Margot surrounded by the material comforts she had long desired but estranged from all those she loved was a haunting one. And that surely is testament to the writing, which is outstanding.

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