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trulybooked 's review for:
Brother
by David Chariandy
There is a lyrical beauty that undercuts the horror that you know is lingering within the world that David Chariandy writes. Set in Scarborough, a city in the Greater Toronto Area, Chariandy delves into the childhood and lives of two brothers growing up in a world where the deck seems stacked against them and their mother who wants nothing by the best for them.
It was heartbreaking, but in a quiet and understated way. There were times when I coudl feel the grief as it were palpable and other times it felt further away, like a wound that time was trying to heal. It's not the easiest read, but I loved it and I loved that it's so far from what's been considered (and mocked) as Canadian fiction.
It focuses on a side of Canada that we rarely see and that we tell ourselves doesn't exist. We look at the US and go well, we're not that bad as if that makes it any better. Brother, among so many other things, is a mirror reflecting parts of the world back to us that people may not want to examine more deeply.
It was heartbreaking, but in a quiet and understated way. There were times when I coudl feel the grief as it were palpable and other times it felt further away, like a wound that time was trying to heal. It's not the easiest read, but I loved it and I loved that it's so far from what's been considered (and mocked) as Canadian fiction.
It focuses on a side of Canada that we rarely see and that we tell ourselves doesn't exist. We look at the US and go well, we're not that bad as if that makes it any better. Brother, among so many other things, is a mirror reflecting parts of the world back to us that people may not want to examine more deeply.