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A review by hunterchaney
Here Comes the Sun by Nicole Dennis-Benn
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This book is a rollercoaster. There are parts where you think it's as low as it can get... and then it gets worse. It feels bizarre to say I liked it because of the nature of the story.
That being said, this book is so hard to put down. It's gritty and often hard to stomach, but you just want to know what happens next at the end of every page. Nicole Dennis-Benn knows how to write a compelling story.
It has an interesting cast of characters, and we alternate between following four different characters: two sisters, Margot and Thandi; their mother, Delores; and a woman named Verdene, Margot's lover. They wrestle with their pasts, sexuality, education, poverty, racism, the state of Jamaica itself... I could go on. But they each have different perspectives on all of these topics and it opens the reader's eyes even further to the culture.
There is also what appears to be semi-autobiographical element to it. Dennis-Benn seems to have woven her own experience in Jamaica into parts of the tale.
It gives us a "behind the scenes" look at Jamaica, if you will-- the parts you don't see as a tourist, confined to the massive resorts that have negatively affected a lot of the island. And, really, it doesn't seem to be particularly dramatized for effect. It lays bare the problems the locals face in the wake of the booming hotel industry. It feels not only like an examination of the state of Jamaica, but also a look at the human condition and family dynamics through these very different characters.
I went down a rabbit hole with this novel, learning more than I ever would have expected about Jamaica and its industries.
I do think that having the audiobook (a good version of it) can be a nice addition to really get into the dialect when the characters are speaking, but it's definitely not incomprehensible without it. I would absolutely recommend this novel. It's a fast read simply because it's so easy to get lost in.
That being said, this book is so hard to put down. It's gritty and often hard to stomach, but you just want to know what happens next at the end of every page. Nicole Dennis-Benn knows how to write a compelling story.
It has an interesting cast of characters, and we alternate between following four different characters: two sisters, Margot and Thandi; their mother, Delores; and a woman named Verdene, Margot's lover. They wrestle with their pasts, sexuality, education, poverty, racism, the state of Jamaica itself... I could go on. But they each have different perspectives on all of these topics and it opens the reader's eyes even further to the culture.
There is also what appears to be semi-autobiographical element to it. Dennis-Benn seems to have woven her own experience in Jamaica into parts of the tale.
It gives us a "behind the scenes" look at Jamaica, if you will-- the parts you don't see as a tourist, confined to the massive resorts that have negatively affected a lot of the island. And, really, it doesn't seem to be particularly dramatized for effect. It lays bare the problems the locals face in the wake of the booming hotel industry. It feels not only like an examination of the state of Jamaica, but also a look at the human condition and family dynamics through these very different characters.
I went down a rabbit hole with this novel, learning more than I ever would have expected about Jamaica and its industries.
I do think that having the audiobook (a good version of it) can be a nice addition to really get into the dialect when the characters are speaking, but it's definitely not incomprehensible without it. I would absolutely recommend this novel. It's a fast read simply because it's so easy to get lost in.