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nicoleisalwaysreading's review
challenging
dark
reflective
slow-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
4.0
vivid and complex with extremely poignant connections between self and nation, inward and outward expressions of identity. would absolutely love to discuss this in a seminar format but unfortunately it’s just me all alone right now in complete awe at Jamaica Kincaid’s mind!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Colonisation, Grief, Racism, Racial slurs, Toxic relationship, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexual content, Slavery, Violence, Abortion, and Death of parent
bookdragon217's review
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-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
"My impulse is to the good, my good is to serve myself. I am not a people, I am not a nation. I only wish from time to time to make my actions be the actions of a people, to make my actions be the actions of a nation."
I started this one on my vacation to Costa Rica and I have been thinking about it ever since. The Autobiography of My Mother by Jamaica Kinkaid is haunting, introspective and thought provoking. The writing cuts deep to the core. As a reader you are challenged to contemplate on the writer's innermost thoughts and process the historical context that has contributed to some of her beliefs and shapes this story.
Kinkaid's portrayal of Xuela, the protagonist, as flawed but not devoid of deep introspection and questioning was my favorite aspect of this character study. It starts off as a story about grief. Xuela's mother dies during childbirth so she never gets to meet or bind with her. However, the grief of love that develops stays with her & shapes her relationships with people & ties her closely to her island's history with colonization. Even Xuela questions her grief all the time because she doesn't understand how she can feel such great loss over someone she never met. She questions what love is and what it feels like. It makes her an observer of life at times, rather than a participant. This very grief also makes her have fierce autonomy over her own body, shapes her feminism, & keeps her from getting too close to anyone.
Kindkaid masterfully tackles these main themes:
🌴 lasting impacts of colonization in the Caribbean
🌴 autonomy over sex & female bodies & ability to birth
🌴 the exploration of the meaning of love
🌴 grief from the womb, absent parents, lack of love
🌴 how absence of love shapes people
🌴 mixed identities and power
🌴 older men preying on young girls
🌴 how grief makes you an observer
Ultimately the writing keeps you hooked. It was keeps you moving forward through the darkness of this book. Kinkaid makes excellent choices in how she tells this story & it is one that you have to experience personally in order to fully understand how powerful it is. Every line is intentional & makes you question what you think you know.
I started this one on my vacation to Costa Rica and I have been thinking about it ever since. The Autobiography of My Mother by Jamaica Kinkaid is haunting, introspective and thought provoking. The writing cuts deep to the core. As a reader you are challenged to contemplate on the writer's innermost thoughts and process the historical context that has contributed to some of her beliefs and shapes this story.
Kinkaid's portrayal of Xuela, the protagonist, as flawed but not devoid of deep introspection and questioning was my favorite aspect of this character study. It starts off as a story about grief. Xuela's mother dies during childbirth so she never gets to meet or bind with her. However, the grief of love that develops stays with her & shapes her relationships with people & ties her closely to her island's history with colonization. Even Xuela questions her grief all the time because she doesn't understand how she can feel such great loss over someone she never met. She questions what love is and what it feels like. It makes her an observer of life at times, rather than a participant. This very grief also makes her have fierce autonomy over her own body, shapes her feminism, & keeps her from getting too close to anyone.
Kindkaid masterfully tackles these main themes:
🌴 lasting impacts of colonization in the Caribbean
🌴 autonomy over sex & female bodies & ability to birth
🌴 the exploration of the meaning of love
🌴 grief from the womb, absent parents, lack of love
🌴 how absence of love shapes people
🌴 mixed identities and power
🌴 older men preying on young girls
🌴 how grief makes you an observer
Ultimately the writing keeps you hooked. It was keeps you moving forward through the darkness of this book. Kinkaid makes excellent choices in how she tells this story & it is one that you have to experience personally in order to fully understand how powerful it is. Every line is intentional & makes you question what you think you know.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abortion, Grief, and Sexism
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