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A review by amyvl93
The Bread the Devil Knead by Lisa Allen-Agostini
emotional
hopeful
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? It's complicated
3.0
In <i>The Bread the Devil Knead</i>, Allen-Agostini has created a really wonderful protagonist in Alethea. Alethea lives in Port of Spain, the capital of Trinidad and Tobago, where she manages a clothes store, is having an affair with her boss and is also in an abusive relationship with her long-time partner, a frustrated singer. Alethea truly jumps out of page, and whilst there are times she is incredibly frustrating, I liked spending time with her.
I gelled slightly less with the plot of this novel, which given the challenging topics it tackles, feels a little harsh. It felt as its strongest when reflecting on Alethea's abusive childhood, and when dipping into the day-to-day life Alethea had created for herself (a strong sense of style juxtaposed against her habit of wearing a uniform, her bubbly narrative voice against her being largely a closed book). The 'plot' as such felt a bit too neat and tidy for me - a woman having an affair is murdered by her lover, with the police warning Alethea she is at risk of a similar state if she doesn't either leave her partner or end her affair. Within the same days, she sheds her closed book approach and decides to befriend a shop colleague (even reflecting herself this is unlike her), has a coincidental meeting with a long-lost family member and an old school friend. Whilst this does drive the narrative forward, as it gives Alethea the opportunity to reflect on the past and think about what her possible future could be - it all felt a little bit too neat which again, I'm conscious is a strange thing to say about a book which deals with many difficult, messy things.
I gelled slightly less with the plot of this novel, which given the challenging topics it tackles, feels a little harsh. It felt as its strongest when reflecting on Alethea's abusive childhood, and when dipping into the day-to-day life Alethea had created for herself (a strong sense of style juxtaposed against her habit of wearing a uniform, her bubbly narrative voice against her being largely a closed book). The 'plot' as such felt a bit too neat and tidy for me - a woman having an affair is murdered by her lover, with the police warning Alethea she is at risk of a similar state if she doesn't either leave her partner or end her affair. Within the same days, she sheds her closed book approach and decides to befriend a shop colleague (even reflecting herself this is unlike her), has a coincidental meeting with a long-lost family member and an old school friend. Whilst this does drive the narrative forward, as it gives Alethea the opportunity to reflect on the past and think about what her possible future could be - it all felt a little bit too neat which again, I'm conscious is a strange thing to say about a book which deals with many difficult, messy things.