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A review by 2treads
Windward Heights by Maryse Condé
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
'Only the departed remain handsome and desired forever.'
Condé is masterful. The depth of description in her prose and the passion of her dialogue, set against the backdrop of islands still yoked to the hierarchy of colonialism even while fighting for freedom and autonomy heightened and made this read resonant.
I adore an author who is so attuned and aware of the space from which she writes and represents, which translates to rich cultural context and portrayal. Condé does this in the first few chapters of this lush novel.
The threads of desire, love, hate, revenge, socio-economic, and political change rage through this novel, making it addictive, instructive, and complex. Condé writes with mastery, unveiling and coiling the tethers of her characters and their situations to the times in which they live.
Such attention to detail with respect to the changing landscape of Guadeloupe as Slavery is abolished and new ways of working and interacting must now be adapted and adjusted to. The racial tensions that never go away, the observance of old ways and rituals makes the prose vibrate with nuance and tension.
The contour and social hierarchies of the island also play a huge part in the foundation of the story and Condé writes the colourism, familial expectations and desires, birth of political socialism, neglect, obsession, and unhealthy attachments sharply and without apology. Her style is heady with history and social significance.
Condé renders her characters with such rawness, that one can feel their desperation to escape a destiny that seems to have been carved out for them because of their birth, skin colour, and name; the reader is pulled along as they claw their way to a freedom that they are able to grasp.
Condé is masterful. The depth of description in her prose and the passion of her dialogue, set against the backdrop of islands still yoked to the hierarchy of colonialism even while fighting for freedom and autonomy heightened and made this read resonant.
I adore an author who is so attuned and aware of the space from which she writes and represents, which translates to rich cultural context and portrayal. Condé does this in the first few chapters of this lush novel.
The threads of desire, love, hate, revenge, socio-economic, and political change rage through this novel, making it addictive, instructive, and complex. Condé writes with mastery, unveiling and coiling the tethers of her characters and their situations to the times in which they live.
Such attention to detail with respect to the changing landscape of Guadeloupe as Slavery is abolished and new ways of working and interacting must now be adapted and adjusted to. The racial tensions that never go away, the observance of old ways and rituals makes the prose vibrate with nuance and tension.
The contour and social hierarchies of the island also play a huge part in the foundation of the story and Condé writes the colourism, familial expectations and desires, birth of political socialism, neglect, obsession, and unhealthy attachments sharply and without apology. Her style is heady with history and social significance.
Condé renders her characters with such rawness, that one can feel their desperation to escape a destiny that seems to have been carved out for them because of their birth, skin colour, and name; the reader is pulled along as they claw their way to a freedom that they are able to grasp.
Content Warnings
Minor: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, and Toxic relationship