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A review by mrsruthiewebb
Hello Mum by Bernardine Evaristo
4.0
Wow. This was a novelette with a big story. Having recently read ‘I Am Not Your Baby Mother’ where Candice talks of her worries for her black son and her reasons for moving out of London, this book backed up her words perfectly.
The single person perspective worked perfectly in this instance. It was very important to not have any noise from other voices. We kinda know what the ended is going to be, but not how we get there. Jerome has the undivided attention of the reader and hearing his personal recollections was insightful, heartbreaking and worrying. The experiences of young black men...
It missed out on the illusive fifth star because, for me, I didn’t feel the emotion as deep as I feel I should‘ve at the end. It was so powerful but I wasn’t left as punched in the stomach as I expected for how it ended for the characters. I wanted to see the legacy left behind, the pain that remained and the lessons learned (if any).
That said. It was all from the perspective of Jerome and there’s every chance that this is exactly how a 14 year old boy would have conveyed it. That observation is a purely selfish one that is have liked but may not be how the author wanted me to feel. Alternatively, having heard others had the emotional impact I didn’t, it may have been more about where my own head was at the time of reading.
I’d recommend this one.
The single person perspective worked perfectly in this instance. It was very important to not have any noise from other voices. We kinda know what the ended is going to be, but not how we get there. Jerome has the undivided attention of the reader and hearing his personal recollections was insightful, heartbreaking and worrying. The experiences of young black men...
It missed out on the illusive fifth star because, for me, I didn’t feel the emotion as deep as I feel I should‘ve at the end. It was so powerful but I wasn’t left as punched in the stomach as I expected for how it ended for the characters. I wanted to see the legacy left behind, the pain that remained and the lessons learned (if any).
That said. It was all from the perspective of Jerome and there’s every chance that this is exactly how a 14 year old boy would have conveyed it. That observation is a purely selfish one that is have liked but may not be how the author wanted me to feel. Alternatively, having heard others had the emotional impact I didn’t, it may have been more about where my own head was at the time of reading.
I’d recommend this one.