A review by serendipitysbooks
When We Were Birds by Ayanna Lloyd Banwo

dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-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

3.5

 When We Were Birds is lushly written and vividly brings its setting, a fictional town in Trinidad and Tobago to life. The plot centres around Darwin, who is forced to take a job as a gravedigger in a cemetery that harbours some dark secrets, and Yejide, next in a line of women responsible for shepherding dead souls into the afterlife. While a romance eventually develops this is not a romance novel per se. The plot very much centres on their individual storylines and themes like complicated mother-child relationships, inheritance and legacy and the divide between life and death. Rhythmically and stylistically this book felt strongly situated in a tradition of oral storytelling. 
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