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4.03 AVERAGE
4.03 AVERAGE
Books written about grief and loss of a sibling are books I seek out to help me normalize the feelings of losing my brother. This book does such an amazing job with the subject. At parts it did get wordy, but all in all I highly recommend it.
emotional
sad
medium-paced
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
2 1/2 stars. I really wanted to love this book so much more than I did. Although the language was poetic and beautiful, and the story was heartbreaking, I found myself longing to connect with the characters more. I feel...not finished after finishing the last page.
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
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:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality
Moderate: Sexism
"One morning, I peered with Francis into a newspaper box to read a headline about the latest terror and caught in the glass the reflection of our own faces."
Just picking up Brother and flipping through it to write this review, my heart sank into my stomach. It's one of those amazing books that leaves you speechless, but the senseless tragedy of what takes place guts me just thinking about it. It is honestly the first book in a long time to make me full on sob by the end. Not just a few tears, but a full on, heaving, sobbing mess. You have been warned. Prepare your heartstrings.
If this book could be summed up in a word, it would be grief. From it's opening pages, the feeling hangs oppressively between the characters as they dance around an unspoken hole in their lives. Brother tells the story of a police shooting that stole a brother and son, and left a family reeling with PTSD. Naturally, the book touches on some very heavy topics, but counters it with gentle, loving characters that unfortunately also amp up the tragedy of the loss.
Though told through Michael's point of view, the story focuses on his older brother, Francis, and the events that lead up to his death. Most of the book takes place in the past, contrasted with the 'present,' ten years after. Through this recollection, Chariandy exposes the systems that failed Francis long before his death: the school system that abandoned him, the systematic racism, cycles of poverty, toxic masculinity, etc. All of these build on one another until the night of his murder, when he's already too beaten down to play his part any longer. In this way, Chariandy makes the reader fully empathize with the experience of many people of colour in Canada who face these same systematic failures.
Chariandy's writing is also exceptionally beautiful. He takes time to highlight the beauty in a gritty, urban setting. He utilizes a lot of showing language that does not push 'politics,' but merely reflects the reality of the character's experience, such as the number of times the police drive past their house. There were so many lines, such as the one quoted above, that imparted so much weight through metaphor that they communicated much more than they seemed. Chariandy also manages to cram all of this into a measly 177 pages, while most other books I've seen on the topic need twice as many pages to cover half as many topics.
All in all, wow. Suffering through the tragedy is worth being witness to the poetry of this story. I'd highly recommend this book for anyone interested in an intense empathetic experience, or anyone seeking understanding on how the intersection of oppressions take root in a person's life.
Just picking up Brother and flipping through it to write this review, my heart sank into my stomach. It's one of those amazing books that leaves you speechless, but the senseless tragedy of what takes place guts me just thinking about it. It is honestly the first book in a long time to make me full on sob by the end. Not just a few tears, but a full on, heaving, sobbing mess. You have been warned. Prepare your heartstrings.
If this book could be summed up in a word, it would be grief. From it's opening pages, the feeling hangs oppressively between the characters as they dance around an unspoken hole in their lives. Brother tells the story of a police shooting that stole a brother and son, and left a family reeling with PTSD. Naturally, the book touches on some very heavy topics, but counters it with gentle, loving characters that unfortunately also amp up the tragedy of the loss.
Though told through Michael's point of view, the story focuses on his older brother, Francis, and the events that lead up to his death. Most of the book takes place in the past, contrasted with the 'present,' ten years after. Through this recollection, Chariandy exposes the systems that failed Francis long before his death: the school system that abandoned him, the systematic racism, cycles of poverty, toxic masculinity, etc. All of these build on one another until the night of his murder, when he's already too beaten down to play his part any longer. In this way, Chariandy makes the reader fully empathize with the experience of many people of colour in Canada who face these same systematic failures.
Chariandy's writing is also exceptionally beautiful. He takes time to highlight the beauty in a gritty, urban setting. He utilizes a lot of showing language that does not push 'politics,' but merely reflects the reality of the character's experience, such as the number of times the police drive past their house. There were so many lines, such as the one quoted above, that imparted so much weight through metaphor that they communicated much more than they seemed. Chariandy also manages to cram all of this into a measly 177 pages, while most other books I've seen on the topic need twice as many pages to cover half as many topics.
All in all, wow. Suffering through the tragedy is worth being witness to the poetry of this story. I'd highly recommend this book for anyone interested in an intense empathetic experience, or anyone seeking understanding on how the intersection of oppressions take root in a person's life.
Lovely and poignant story about immigration, poverty, loss, and sacrifice set in Toronto. It's a small book that packs a punch as it overwhelms the reader with the lyricism and clarity of its language. My parents are also Trinidadian who immigrated searching for a better life and in reading this novel I was comforted by the familiarity of the Trini foods and sayings mentioned. I received this book as a Goodreads giveaway and I'm looking forward to reading more from this author.
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
emotional
reflective
sad
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