Reviews with content warning for Physical abuse - How the One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her House

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️How the One Armed Sister Sweeps Her House by Cherie Jones.

Today was a day y’all. It went from a tornado warning and threats of hail to this double rainbow in quick turn around. And I finished this powerhouse of a book.

I am stunned by the depth, beauty, atrocity, brevity and expansion of this book. @cheriejoneswrites brings you to Baxter’s Beach, brings you into the bodies, minds, mouth, hearts, under the fingernails, into the bowels of the Bajans featured in this book. I am not sure I’ve read a book that has immersed me into the setting as this one did.

There is A LOT going on in these brief 278 pages. It starts with a birth, proceeds with a death and another death and another death and an almost death and ends with one escape another incarceration. Everything bad you can think of happens in this book- it is not for those that have triggers of abuse, death of any age, or sexual assault of any kind (and I’m sure I’m missing some). But in the end it is a book about people. People who experience the worst of humanity which unfortunately is often the majority of humanity. And Ms. Jones writes it plainly and honestly while doing so in the language of her native country. The perspective and narration styles change throughout the book which at first I thought would be distracting but in the end I think enhanced the immersion.

I appreciated so much about this book and can’t wait to hear others’ perspectives with @bookofcinz book club this month. This book has been on my radar since she posted it last year. Thank you @bliss_books_wine_kc for making it available to me in your shop. I will definitely be adding it to my personal collection and suggest anyone do the same.

Content Warnings

birdbrainbooks's review against another edition

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challenging dark sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

Wow. This book is a tragedy from start to finish. Brilliantly written. I felt so heartbroken for some of the characters and so angry at others. It’s much more intense than I expected.
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The way Jones conveys the inner workings of an abused woman’s mind, how she has to view every item in her home and assess it for its ability to inflict pain, how she has to tiptoe constantly around anything that might anger her husband, is done painfully well.
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The way she reveals the complicated nature of power dynamics between people, particularly between men and women—and the way she explores generational trauma and how that affects who you become—is masterful.
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My main issues were that the pace was a bit slow and the sequence of events and glimpses into other character’s lives could have been tighter. I found myself not really thinking about the book when I wasn’t actively reading it, or forgetting about some characters after having been drawn into their story chapters before.
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All in all, pick this one up but prepare yourself—and I will absolutely be following Cherie Jones in the future.

Content Warnings

lettuce_read's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

Content Warnings

eveningstar_reader's review against another edition

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challenging dark sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

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