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levsin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Blood, Grief, Racial slurs, Police brutality, Death, Mental illness, Child death, Homophobia, Alcohol, Cursing, Bullying, and Car accident
kktaylor11's review against another edition
- 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
From the first page the language of this book is captivating, quickly transitioning the experience from "just another book" to "a powerful work of literature." So many poignant moments of literary perfection.
"He taught me that, my older brother. Memory's got nothing to do with the old and grey and faraway gone. Memory's the muscle sting of now."
The story is a simple one on paper - ten years after the death of his older brother, Francis, main character Michael, invites a girl from his past, Aisha, to stay with him while she grieves her father's death. Aisha's presence pushes Michael both physically and emotionally to confront the loss of his brother.
There is so much more in this 200 pages, though -- this is a story of identity, of family, of courage, of grief, of brutality and recovery. It deals with crucial modern issues like the interaction of black men and the police and the view of gay men in the black community with a featherlight touch and brutal honesty. A plot structure that could be easily seen as an attempt to play on headlines is instead gut wrenchingly honest in its presentation of the unexpectedness, the unexplanable nature, and the unacceptableness of the actions included. Francis' character in absentia remains the most powerful force - his family and friends pulled to his gravity even years after his death. The highest compliment I can give a book is to say I want to write about it...and this one I do. I want to write and write and write...this book has so much to explore.
Honestly, though, I feel insignificant just trying to review this book - it's so beautiful and so powerful it should be the top of every reading list.
Graphic: Police brutality, Gun violence, Racism, and Grief
Moderate: Bullying
hoiyan's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Memory's got nothing to do with the old and grey and faraway gone. Memory's the muscle sting of now. A kid reaching brave in the skull hum of power.
wow. this is one of those books that punch you in the gut and you feel that hurt forever.
a story set in Scarborough about a first-gen Caribbean family that touches on being Black in Canada, and the ongoing grief that follows.
chariandy sets up the book slowly, using beautiful descriptions of Scarborough that change and adapt to the events happening at the time of the description, and makes the inanimate come to life.
the timeline going forward and back and forward again is pretty unorthodox, and was a bit confusing to keep track of which events happened when, but are vital to the storytelling. this novel's delivery almost mimics the memory flow of, you guessed it, a human being.
"Volume!" Every voice in the place together.
Volume!
this book gripped my little first-gen Canadian, child of an immigrant heart and didn't let go. i'm hesitating to give a full five stars due to one detail: chariandy using the homophobic f slur in his writing, and not as a reclamation. david chariandy is a cishet man, and has no right to use this slur, not even as another character speaking. he rightfully reclaimed the n slur in this book, but as a cishet man, had no right to use the homophobic f slur, no exceptions.
all in all, this book made me feel too much and made me want to cry one too many times. i highly recommend, and leave you with this:
"And if you can't memory right," he said, "you lose."
Graphic: Blood, Gun violence, Hate crime, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, and Grief
Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, Domestic abuse, and Mental illness
Minor: Cancer, Death of parent, Homophobia, and Sexual content
karenaerts'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
3.5
Graphic: Blood, Death, Grief, Mental illness, Police brutality, Racial slurs, and Racism
Moderate: Alcohol, Cancer, Bullying, Car accident, Death of parent, Gun violence, Murder, and Sexual content