Reviews

The Bread the Devil Knead by Lisa Allen-Agostini

lhohnstadt's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

isabel_6's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

samsteer's review against another edition

4.0

Compelling read

illy_reads's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

nokvi's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Amazing book written completely in trini dialect. The Bread the Devil Knead takes us into an deep dive into Trinidadian life as we go thru the motions with Alethea as she deals with the demons of her past and present. Abuse from her childhood has followed her into adulthood till that is all she knows. And the lightheart manner via which these heavy topics are delivered is an icing on the cake as it is reflective of how someone in the situation may view the matter.

No notes 10/10

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Rape, Violence, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Infidelity, and Pedophilia

Moderate: Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Gun violence, Incest, and Adult/minor relationship

katyhargreads's review against another edition

challenging reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Child abuse, and Racial slurs

giuliettaajello's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

poppyhearsum's review

dark emotional sad tense medium-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

namakurhea's review against another edition

4.0

“Eat de bread dat de devil knead” is a Trinidadian proverb that meant “to be subjected to long-lasting trials and miseries”. I googled this only after finishing the book and, oh boy, this book was intense.
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Right off the bat we are introduced to Alethea Lopez, a successful boutique store manager, who hides her bruises and cuts underneath her clothes. We mainly hear the story through Alethea’s voice and soon enough we hear about her abusive partner, her love for books, the workmates coloring her life, and her affair with her boss. Her situation was less than ideal but it was a predictable chaos… at least till she was reunited with her long-lost adopted brother. The meeting triggered a series of revelations showing layers and generations-long history of violence and child sexual abuse. The bread the devil kneads indeed.
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Despite all that, this had been an entertaining and beautiful book to weird. The prose is written in Trinidadian dialect which allow Alethea’s voice to materialize. In turn, this puts the readers in a confidante role and I found myself crying and cheering alongside Alethea many times. Also, this book was shortlisted for the 2022 Women’s Prize and it isn’t hard to see why!

shanghaihyun's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense fast-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