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Reviews tagging 'Violence'
The Human Origins of Beatrice Porter and Other Essential Ghosts by Soraya Palmer
1 review
introvertsbookclub's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.0
This story had so many elements that I found myself struggling to hold them all in my head, but in a novel about the malleability of stories and how they can be retold and take on new meanings depending on the teller, perhaps this slipperiness was intentional.
Stories from Trinidadian and Jamaican folklore were intertwined with the stories of a family, revealing the trauma that the parents had suffered and which shaped the household their children grew up in, and the danger of failing to learn from stories and experiences. Queer identities were integral to the family members’ stories, becoming part of the novel’s wider critique of culture lost to colonialism, white washing and gentrification. Separation from cultures, identities and homelands was a big part of the novel, and that might be another reason for the way it felt fractured. At heart this was a family drama, full of emotions that are messy and complex, while at the same time being understandable and human.
The opening is a shocking introduction to a narrator that challenges the reader outright, and continues to tease and test throughout the novel. It is one of the most compelling parts of the novel and the feature that makes me want to reread this book already.
Stories from Trinidadian and Jamaican folklore were intertwined with the stories of a family, revealing the trauma that the parents had suffered and which shaped the household their children grew up in, and the danger of failing to learn from stories and experiences. Queer identities were integral to the family members’ stories, becoming part of the novel’s wider critique of culture lost to colonialism, white washing and gentrification. Separation from cultures, identities and homelands was a big part of the novel, and that might be another reason for the way it felt fractured. At heart this was a family drama, full of emotions that are messy and complex, while at the same time being understandable and human.
The opening is a shocking introduction to a narrator that challenges the reader outright, and continues to tease and test throughout the novel. It is one of the most compelling parts of the novel and the feature that makes me want to reread this book already.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Rape
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