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A review by bookishpatricia
The Bread the Devil Knead by Lisa Allen-Agostini
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
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
5.0
Trigger warnings: sexual abuse, physical violence, manipulation
____
Alethea Lopez is about to turn 40. Fashionable, feisty and fiercely independent, she manages a boutique in Port of Spain, but behind closed doors she’s covering up bruises from her abusive partner and seeking solace in an affair with her boss. When she witnesses a woman murdered by a jealous lover, the reality of her own future comes a little too close to home.
Bringing us her truth in an arresting, unsparing Trinidadian voice, Alethea unravels memories repressed since childhood and begins to understand the person she has become.
Her next step is to decide the woman she wants to be.
This is an engrossing and atmospheric novel with a strong feminist message at the heart of its page-turning plot. It explores an abusive love-affair with searing honesty, and skilfully tackles the issue of gender violence and racism against the lush and heady backdrop of the national festival, and the music that feeds it. It’s impossible not to root for Alethea – she is an unforgettable heroine, trapped in ways she is only just beginning to underbut shining with strength, resolve and, ultimately, self-determination.
____
I heard about this book from @jackbenedwards and if you follow him, you’d know he’s excellent at selling stories. I guess it was from the way he talked about the book that it lived rent free in my head since.
Not knowing that it’s not available in the PH, I went bookstore hopping to find a copy, but only found one from Carousell as a secondhand copy - originally bought from @barnesandnoble. So a weird flex is I own something from that famous bookstore without stepping foot in America. LOL.
So let’s head on to the actual review…
Off the bat, the writing structure is challenging to understand as it is written in native Trinidadian creole English. It took some getting used to, so it was somehow a slow start for me. Once you nail down how Alethea talks, it reads like any other English novel.
It’s psychologically difficult to read, but just the same, it’s a page turner. It took me multiple nights to accomplish 45% of the book, and the entirety of Mother’s Day to finish the rest of it.
The scenes were laid out realistically and the domestic issues are not something you could make out of pure imagination. The plot twists are beautifully painful (I wasn’t really expecting any plot twists at all, so they hit me harder than usual). For 245 pages, this novel is PACKED.
I’m not very good at literary reviews, but I will say this - this might be my “favorite read of the month” or at least a strong contender. This is one of my best reads for this year alone, given we still have a couple of months to go.
Despite the challenge of reading a Trinidadian creole narrative, I believe it was the best move @lisaallenagostini did in moving forward with this novel (aside from actually writing it, of course).
I only have good things to say about this book. The only cons is it’s not available in the PH, so do one of those pasabuys, ask a relative residing in US to get you a copy, or get the ebook version if you have a Kindle.
I strongly recommend this to anyone who prefers “heavy emotions” for their reads.
____
Alethea Lopez is about to turn 40. Fashionable, feisty and fiercely independent, she manages a boutique in Port of Spain, but behind closed doors she’s covering up bruises from her abusive partner and seeking solace in an affair with her boss. When she witnesses a woman murdered by a jealous lover, the reality of her own future comes a little too close to home.
Bringing us her truth in an arresting, unsparing Trinidadian voice, Alethea unravels memories repressed since childhood and begins to understand the person she has become.
Her next step is to decide the woman she wants to be.
This is an engrossing and atmospheric novel with a strong feminist message at the heart of its page-turning plot. It explores an abusive love-affair with searing honesty, and skilfully tackles the issue of gender violence and racism against the lush and heady backdrop of the national festival, and the music that feeds it. It’s impossible not to root for Alethea – she is an unforgettable heroine, trapped in ways she is only just beginning to underbut shining with strength, resolve and, ultimately, self-determination.
____
I heard about this book from @jackbenedwards and if you follow him, you’d know he’s excellent at selling stories. I guess it was from the way he talked about the book that it lived rent free in my head since.
Not knowing that it’s not available in the PH, I went bookstore hopping to find a copy, but only found one from Carousell as a secondhand copy - originally bought from @barnesandnoble. So a weird flex is I own something from that famous bookstore without stepping foot in America. LOL.
So let’s head on to the actual review…
Off the bat, the writing structure is challenging to understand as it is written in native Trinidadian creole English. It took some getting used to, so it was somehow a slow start for me. Once you nail down how Alethea talks, it reads like any other English novel.
It’s psychologically difficult to read, but just the same, it’s a page turner. It took me multiple nights to accomplish 45% of the book, and the entirety of Mother’s Day to finish the rest of it.
The scenes were laid out realistically and the domestic issues are not something you could make out of pure imagination. The plot twists are beautifully painful (I wasn’t really expecting any plot twists at all, so they hit me harder than usual). For 245 pages, this novel is PACKED.
I’m not very good at literary reviews, but I will say this - this might be my “favorite read of the month” or at least a strong contender. This is one of my best reads for this year alone, given we still have a couple of months to go.
Despite the challenge of reading a Trinidadian creole narrative, I believe it was the best move @lisaallenagostini did in moving forward with this novel (aside from actually writing it, of course).
I only have good things to say about this book. The only cons is it’s not available in the PH, so do one of those pasabuys, ask a relative residing in US to get you a copy, or get the ebook version if you have a Kindle.
I strongly recommend this to anyone who prefers “heavy emotions” for their reads.