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4.03 AVERAGE
4.03 AVERAGE
Heartbreaking. Grief. Grieving. I love this story and I feel for all characters. One of my top books of all time and I would definitely purchase a hard copy to keep on my bookshelf.
This book was beautiful. Not beautiful in the sense that it was all sunshine and rainbows but achingly beautiful, the type that will slowly tear you apart. The nuanced and intricate imagery that was littered abundantly through the entire novel built up the setting of Scarborough, Canada; revealing a side to the country that is not so commonly seen in popular culture. We follow the lives of two boys, Michael and Francis, whose mother is a Trinidadian immigrant and father left when they were young. Essentially estranged from their culture, they explore their way through the ins and outs of 70s-80s Canada surrounded by the harms of gang violence and microagressions, as well as looking after their mother who works multiple jobs to support the family. While this book may not have you bawling in your seat, it definitely leaves a lasting impression, especially on those growing up in a country where the larger population may not be the same ethnicity as them.
An excellent, excellent book. Also:
Spoiler
Fuck cops
3.5⭐️ - was a unique writing style, almost poetic. Would recommend!
Proof that a good story doesn't need to be a long, drawn out novel. While only a 177 page book, the story is fully fleshed out and my interested was piqued right from the start. It's possible to read this book from start to finish in a less than a few hours, but taking my time and enjoying it made the story more intriguing and enjoyable.
Brother's real characters and their immigrant dream gone wrong made this book amazing. Chariandy's writing unfolds the storyline in a way that readers understand the feelings of each. I loved the Canadian touches to the book such as Tim Horton's and yet found a Canada that I didn't know existed. Chariandy opens a dark, authentic immigrant story.
Coming it at just under 180 pages this book is the definition of small but mighty. Chariandy’s writing feels effortless with subtle, simple and yet powerful, sensitive prose. As Chariandy himself writes in the book “It is a story, effectively vague, of a young man deeply ‘troubled,’ and of a younger brother carrying ‘history,’ and of a mother showing now the creep of ‘madness.’”
As the son’s of an immigrant mother from Trinidad, Michael and his brother Francis live a tough life in a poor neighbourhood in Scarborough – a suburb on the outskirts of Toronto. Their father has disappeared and their mother works tirelessly to provide for them and push them towards a better future. Yet the boy’s lives are filled with prejudice, racism, and violence on a daily basis. The reader learns early on that Francis’ story does not have a happy ending, but the details of what happens to him slowly emerge as the story flips between the events of one summer in the 1980’s and 10 years later where Michael, the narrator, and his mother live steeped in sorrow surrounding the fate of his older brother.
In truth I don’t quite know what to say about this book. I even had a hard time summarizing it because this book is much more that the events that take place. There is so much written between the lines and woven into the fabric of the story that I feel I couldn’t do justice to the incredible storytelling and powerful messaging Chariandy has created with this story. My only wish is that this book could have been longer, but perhaps much of it’s magic is with it’s brevity!
As the son’s of an immigrant mother from Trinidad, Michael and his brother Francis live a tough life in a poor neighbourhood in Scarborough – a suburb on the outskirts of Toronto. Their father has disappeared and their mother works tirelessly to provide for them and push them towards a better future. Yet the boy’s lives are filled with prejudice, racism, and violence on a daily basis. The reader learns early on that Francis’ story does not have a happy ending, but the details of what happens to him slowly emerge as the story flips between the events of one summer in the 1980’s and 10 years later where Michael, the narrator, and his mother live steeped in sorrow surrounding the fate of his older brother.
In truth I don’t quite know what to say about this book. I even had a hard time summarizing it because this book is much more that the events that take place. There is so much written between the lines and woven into the fabric of the story that I feel I couldn’t do justice to the incredible storytelling and powerful messaging Chariandy has created with this story. My only wish is that this book could have been longer, but perhaps much of it’s magic is with it’s brevity!
A very interesting read, written in a way that is easy to process. Very powerful stories being told, a great read for people from Toronto/GTA.
A slight book that feels like a much larger accomplishment. It just never sets a foot wrong, and captures such specificity when it comes to brotherhood, love, grief and family. Beautiful.