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3.82 AVERAGE
3.82 AVERAGE
emotional
mysterious
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:
Complicated
I really enjoyed reading this book - the voice for both POV characters does a great job immersing the reader in the narrative, and many of the plot elements felt very earned and well realized.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
In a fictionalised Trinidad, Darwin is a dejected gravedigger newly arrived in Port Angeles, desperate for money to care for his mother. Estranged from her and his Rastafari faith, he ponders the father who disappeared into this city and never returned. Meanwhile in a house as old as memory, on a hill at the edge of the rainforest, Yejide's mother is dying. The women in her family are both human and not - descended from corbeaux, black vultures who shepherd the souls of the dead. As she prepares to inherit her mother's gift for communicating with the dead, trouble is brewing in the sprawling cemetery at the heart of Port Angeles. Yejide and Darwin's destinies are intertwined, and the stormclouds are gathering.
I was bowled over by how rich and refreshing this was, inextricably entwined with the trappings of death and yet so so alive. Banwo managed to convey a depth of Trinidadian culture and history without detracting from the contemporary story of the characters. Her writing was incredibly lush and vivid; I felt transported to the exhaust fume-choked concrete bustle of Port Angeles, the misty forest air of Morne Marie, and the cold beauty of Fidelis cemetery.
The connection both characters have to the dead is completely different and yet it gradually brings them together in such a beautiful way, forming a deeply satisfying literary love story. I'm separating romance and love stories here because this isn't about romance, not really - it's a love that is inevitable and timeless, part of the mythic weft of the tale. The tale Banwo tells is heady and gothic, becoming gradually more unsettling and with some obviously dark overtones. Yet we leave both characters on a hopeful note, having brushed with death, considered their personal histories, and found a way to carry them into the future while walking their own paths.
There's so much here to ponder about grief, fate, family, and remembrance - this is one I'm sure will become richer with every reread.
I was bowled over by how rich and refreshing this was, inextricably entwined with the trappings of death and yet so so alive. Banwo managed to convey a depth of Trinidadian culture and history without detracting from the contemporary story of the characters. Her writing was incredibly lush and vivid; I felt transported to the exhaust fume-choked concrete bustle of Port Angeles, the misty forest air of Morne Marie, and the cold beauty of Fidelis cemetery.
The connection both characters have to the dead is completely different and yet it gradually brings them together in such a beautiful way, forming a deeply satisfying literary love story. I'm separating romance and love stories here because this isn't about romance, not really - it's a love that is inevitable and timeless, part of the mythic weft of the tale. The tale Banwo tells is heady and gothic, becoming gradually more unsettling and with some obviously dark overtones. Yet we leave both characters on a hopeful note, having brushed with death, considered their personal histories, and found a way to carry them into the future while walking their own paths.
There's so much here to ponder about grief, fate, family, and remembrance - this is one I'm sure will become richer with every reread.
challenging
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
reflective
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:
Complicated
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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:
Complicated
emotional
mysterious
emotional
hopeful
reflective
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:
No
This is an interesting book. The most difficult thing for me is the language and writing style used in the book, but once you get used to it, it adds to the immersion of the setting and style. It is nice and short but still tells a full story, a good palate cleanser in my opinion.