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nadia's review
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I really liked this book! I knew the sound of a novel in interconnected short stories set in a fictional town would be right up my alley. I love how all of the stories fit together but can be enjoyed standalone and I appreciated the variety of perspectives on the same characters and the different scenarios each story presented. I got a little confused with some of the relationships between the characters and also got a little confused with one of the plot points but overall I had a great time with this book. It got me tense and on edge quite a few times too!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Gun violence, and Murder
carriepond's review
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Pleasantview is a novel in short stories set in a fictional town in Trinidad and Tobago called Pleasantview. Each of the stories works as standalone short stories, but characters from one story show up in others, creating an overall narrative that you might find in a traditional novel.
"Curled up, under her magical pony-and-rainbow sheets, she had prayed and prayed to fall asleep and wake up a boy. That way, she'd always belong to herself; other people might even belong to her."
"It wasn't scary and foggy no more. He was seeing a new road with black-and-white answers now. . . . Now he feel free . . . Now he had other people, the real culprit-and-them, to hate."
The book summary says that "Pleasantview reveals the dark side of the Caribbean dream," and that it does. Definitely review trigger warnings for this title, because the book covers many heavy topics. But Celeste Mohammed handles it all so expertly, and the characters she creates really shine. I really loved seeing how each story would build on the next, and it really hit home how the decisions we make and actions we take are never isolated-- we are all connected and bound up in one another.
Excellent collection of short stories.
"Curled up, under her magical pony-and-rainbow sheets, she had prayed and prayed to fall asleep and wake up a boy. That way, she'd always belong to herself; other people might even belong to her."
"It wasn't scary and foggy no more. He was seeing a new road with black-and-white answers now. . . . Now he feel free . . . Now he had other people, the real culprit-and-them, to hate."
The book summary says that "Pleasantview reveals the dark side of the Caribbean dream," and that it does. Definitely review trigger warnings for this title, because the book covers many heavy topics. But Celeste Mohammed handles it all so expertly, and the characters she creates really shine. I really loved seeing how each story would build on the next, and it really hit home how the decisions we make and actions we take are never isolated-- we are all connected and bound up in one another.
Excellent collection of short stories.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Violence, Infidelity, and Miscarriage
Moderate: Gun violence, Sexual assault, Sexism, and Homophobia
Minor: Abandonment and Alcoholism
caribbeangirlreading's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Unputdownable. Riveting. Heart-wrenching. Pleasantview is a novel-in-stories set in a fictional town in Trinidad and told from multiple points of view. Although each story stands individually it does not read like a short story collection because the stories, and many of the characters, are intertwined with each other. This is six degrees of separation, Caribbean edition. It may sound like too much, but it’s the complete opposite. Each story built upon the prior one but never felt confusing or overwhelming. Each and every character had a clear and distinct voice. The character development is top notch. The writing is impeccable. All I can say is . . . BRAVA!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation, Trafficking, Rape, Blood, Classism, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racism, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Murder, Gun violence, Abortion, Homophobia, and Lesbophobia
Minor: Pedophilia
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