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katewhite77's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
A novel about what can happen when two families of different class strata become dangerously emeshed.
Set in 1940’s Trinidad at the beginning of colonial rule. The Saroops are dirt poor and live communally in a shed known as a Barrak, with flimsy partitions separating each family.
A lot of the men from the Barrak work for the Changoors, the rich couple who live in a mansion up on the hill.
When Mrs Changoor's husband goes missing, she soon starts to manipulate the situation to her own advantage.
This was an interesting novel to read as it was set in a time and place a knew little about, and I learnt a lot. It explores class religion and power in a new, to me way. To say I enjoyed it would be the wrong word to use, as it is very dark, but I am very glad to have read it.
Moderate: Death of parent, Child death, Grief, Classism, Colonisation, Toxic relationship, Animal cruelty, Cultural appropriation, Religious bigotry, Chronic illness, Death, Pregnancy, and Violence
nokvi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
but when I came back.... WHEN I CAME BACK, the last 50% of this book is phenomenal, the consequences of actions, the fragility of the human experience. Hosein masterfully covers, coming of age, pverty, racism, classism all within the context of the Indo-Trinidadian experience. The high that I felt as I finished this book is wow, it's a sad depressing ending with a consequence that could have completely been avoided but isn't that life? Isn't hindsight 20/20. This book was an experience and I would have it no other way
Graphic: Infidelity, Domestic abuse, Violence, and Child death
Moderate: Animal death, Classism, Pregnancy, Racism, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Murder, and Sexual assault
Minor: Abandonment
arejaytay's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Violence, Animal cruelty, and Classism
Moderate: Racism, Child death, Colonisation, Death, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Grief, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Misogyny, and Vomit
melliedm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Blood, Cursing, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Excrement, Bullying, Child death, Grief, Infidelity, Islamophobia, Racial slurs, Gore, Medical content, Misogyny, Abandonment, Animal death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, and Classism
stephanieswilley's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Child death, Violence, Vomit, Alcohol, Animal death, Pregnancy, Rape, Abandonment, and Suicide attempt