Reviews with content warning for Confinement - The Attic Child

Reviews tagging 'Confinement'

The Attic Child by Lola Jaye

15 reviews

beetree's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.25

Dikembe’s arc through his own eyes as a child is stunning and this in any of itself makes the book more than worth reading. Lowra’s side wasn’t as fleshed out but I didn’t mind - the core of this book is all heart.

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lisettemarie's review

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challenging emotional sad medium-paced

3.75

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lovelymisanthrope's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad 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? N/A

5.0

Second reread (December 2023): 5 stars*
I received this as a gift from someone.
"The Attic Child" follows two characters born decades apart but bound together by their time spent locked away in the same attic. In the early 1900's, Celestine is taken from his home village in Africa to live in England with an explorer named Sir Richard Babbington. Celestine wants nothing more than to go back home, and he tries desperately to cling to his African identity, even though he is encouraged to embrace English ways. Lowra was a young orphan when she was first locked away in the attic. But what kept her hopeful was a doll and a necklace she found underneath the floorboards. Now, as an adult, she has rightfully inherited her family home, and she is determined to finally figure out where that doll and necklace came from.
I absolutely devoured this story, and once I got into it, I did not want to put it down. Both Celestine's and Lowra's stories were captivating, devastating, and inspiring on their own, but seeing their stories weave together to create the masterpiece that is "The Attic Child" was beautiful beyond words.
Celestine faced unbelievable odds at every turn in his life and he faced brutal racial injustice that was infuriating to read about. However, despite all of his hurdles and all of the adversity he always found himself in, he remained positive, hopeful, and determined to build a life for himself. He was such a strong character, and he embodied resilience. What I think is most interesting, and most important about his character, is that history would have never remembered him and the great life he led. He changed so many lives, but because he was black, no one knew his story except for his own family. It is through Lowra's search for the owner of the necklace that it is revealed how remarkable Celestine is. I think this inspires some interesting discourse about how easy it is to forget the people who paved the path before us. People's lives matter, and it is through listening to their stories that we remember them.
At the end of the story there was a note from the author where she talked about her inspiration for writing this story. She shared that history often remembers the hunter, but never the lion, and she wanted to write a story about the lion. I think this is so profound, and so crucial to remember when we study history. History is so often told through the eyes of the victor, but there are always more sides to the story. People without a voice, or who are oppressed do not get remembered in the same way, but their stories are just as valuable and shed important light on their time in history.
Lola Jaye is an immensely talented writer. She was able to weave together two stories seamlessly to create a beautiful tapestry of a bigger picture. Her writing is sharp, intelligent, and does not shy away from sharing the harsh truths.
I cannot recommend this book enough, and I look forward to picking up ore from Lola Jaye in the future.

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annie_brewer's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful 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? No

4.5

Listened via audiobook (Audible)
READ FOR BOOKCLUB - My choice!

One of my favourite reads for the year!

This is a very powerful story with some excellent characters. Buried in the colourful voice of young Dikembe, the colonization documented in this book felt so personal and was so emotionally evocative it was hard to read at some points. The narration of both characters as children was so well done and interesting and I was consistently wondering how their paths could cross.

My only qualm with this book is that while the mirrored circumstances of the Attic provided a connection for while they were young, and represented so much personal pain for both of them as they grew up, the characters and the book seemed a bit lost without this commonality of storylines around the midway point and the diverging (and aging) of the characters as they emerged into seperate societies. While I understand why the author decided to end the novel in a heartwarming way, I think that through all of the heartbreak within the novel the characters had lost come of their charm and it leads me to believe these characters may not have realistically had such a celebratory finale.

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kimveach's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-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

5.0

This is such a beautiful novel. While the subject matter is very dark, the storytelling is captivating, and there is a thread of hope and survival.

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aunticles's review against another edition

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dark emotional inspiring sad medium-paced

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

4.0

This is a compelling read and Lola Jaye is a brilliant storyteller. As many other readers have mentioned, the sections about Lowra were less engaging than those narrated by Dikembe. The merging of the dual storylines worked for me and I liked the ending. The main story was fascinating, full of historical detail, the depiction of brutal colonialism and the pride that white people took (and still take) in it was deeply enraging and moving. The dialogue and some of the writing was rather stilted and formal. This worked ok for the historical parts but I think contributed to Lowra's character being less sympathetic and relatable in the modern parts. She and Monty never quite came to life for me as Dikembe did. It's a big book, tackling big themes and started slowly, but by midway it had become a real page-turner and I raced to the finish.

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