Reviews

Lucy by Jamaica Kincaid

flamepea's review against another edition

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3.0

3.5 stars
A beautiful book about existing in the liminal and coming of age as a woman of colour from the Carribbean islands. At times a brutal questioning of the colonial and gender foundations of US society & tainted mother-daughter relations.

The ending had me quite emotional but I had felt as if lucy had found herself, her love through herself.

The “queer” moment - I hated how lucy admits to “practicing” kissing with a girl as if, queerness is less serious then straight relationships and just a “stepping stone” to a man. Whilst experimentation is valid I feel like this book just reinforces sapphic love as an experimentation, less “serious” and or “practice for men” rather than valid. You definitely could do a queer reading of Lucy and I wish it was proper bisexual representation.

lavrendy's review against another edition

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5.0

This one is dedicated to the girls who think moving to a new country will fix them

(Apparently it won’t lol!)

There was so much to love about this book. Lucy’s voice is sharp and so fun to read. Her hilarious jabs at America’s upper class is mixed with really thought-provoking insights on womanhood and identity and mother-daughter relationships. I couldn’t get enough and was sad when it was over so quickly.

sereenaro's review against another edition

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emotional reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

sasspinella's review against another edition

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reflective slow-paced

3.0

greyemk's review against another edition

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4.75

LOVED this. Maybe I’m not over millennial fiction after all 🤔 (yes this was published in 1990 by a writer in her 40s but thematically it’s millennial fiction)

The prose here was really the standout for me. It was sparse yet poetic, inviting and easy to read yet full of profundity. Lucy is just perceptive enough, as a 19 year old. She pays attention, she knows she is naive, yet she still has her incisive opinions that she feels no need to sugarcoat (in the narrative, and occasionally in life).

I found this very refreshing. It is focused, clear, beautiful.

graone's review against another edition

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4.0

I love lucy!

_lexie_'s review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

yeahnaar's review against another edition

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dark reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

Not especially well written, and the main character is unsufferable, flat, and awful. It’s only a short book but there isn’t a whole lot to be taken from it. It won’t be the worst thing you read, but that’s the best that can be said of it 

ali_winden11's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging reflective

3.0

alexsiae's review against another edition

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emotional reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5