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A review by ericarossetti
To Fill a Yellow House by Sussie Anie
3.0
2.5 stars. I found this book to be slow, and I was not really fond of any of the characters, as they dwelt on their challenges and didn’t seem to ever fully overcome them.
Kwasi is a young Black boy living with his mother and several “aunties” in a London suburb. Kwasi struggles with finding acceptance from his family and his schoolmates, with speaking up for himself, and with focusing on anything except for drawing.
Rupert is an older white man who owns a struggling curiosity shop of sorts called “The Chest”. He is still mourning his dead wife, struggling with some sort of alcoholism and/or drug addiction, unable to pay the bills, unwilling to accept help, and stubborn in his ways.
Kwasi is basically failing school and is therefore a failure in his family’s eyes. He is socially awkward and does not want to get mixed up in some of the illicit activities that his peers are into. The Chest becomes his safe space. When Kwasi and Rupert meet it is certainly an unlikely duo. They don’t really become friends or help each other in any way. Kwasi seeks refuge at The Chest because it is the one place his drawings are accepted, therefore he feels accepted. Rupert likes Kwasi because ??? he has good drawings ??? and perhaps reminds Rupert of what his shop could be ???
The book also touches on important topics like gentrification and racism but never really goes anywhere with them. They felt like they could’ve been a focal point but were mostly implied in passing.
Nothing really happens in this book. Kwasi and Rupert, both separately and together, lament on their pitiful situations and don’t really accept help from anyone, not even each other, not even in the end. I did appreciate the unique writing style. It’s rather brisk and whimsical and sometimes poignant, and it often leaves room for inference. Kwasi especially seems to have a brilliant, creative mind. I think I would’ve loved to have a whole book where he described things from his beautiful point of view.
Overall really not a bad book. There were nice notes of finding community and fighting for want you believe in, and traces of modern issues. It’s just not the suspenseful or action packed or deep story that I usually seek.
Kwasi is a young Black boy living with his mother and several “aunties” in a London suburb. Kwasi struggles with finding acceptance from his family and his schoolmates, with speaking up for himself, and with focusing on anything except for drawing.
Rupert is an older white man who owns a struggling curiosity shop of sorts called “The Chest”. He is still mourning his dead wife, struggling with some sort of alcoholism and/or drug addiction, unable to pay the bills, unwilling to accept help, and stubborn in his ways.
Kwasi is basically failing school and is therefore a failure in his family’s eyes. He is socially awkward and does not want to get mixed up in some of the illicit activities that his peers are into. The Chest becomes his safe space. When Kwasi and Rupert meet it is certainly an unlikely duo. They don’t really become friends or help each other in any way. Kwasi seeks refuge at The Chest because it is the one place his drawings are accepted, therefore he feels accepted. Rupert likes Kwasi because ??? he has good drawings ??? and perhaps reminds Rupert of what his shop could be ???
The book also touches on important topics like gentrification and racism but never really goes anywhere with them. They felt like they could’ve been a focal point but were mostly implied in passing.
Nothing really happens in this book. Kwasi and Rupert, both separately and together, lament on their pitiful situations and don’t really accept help from anyone, not even each other, not even in the end. I did appreciate the unique writing style. It’s rather brisk and whimsical and sometimes poignant, and it often leaves room for inference. Kwasi especially seems to have a brilliant, creative mind. I think I would’ve loved to have a whole book where he described things from his beautiful point of view.
Overall really not a bad book. There were nice notes of finding community and fighting for want you believe in, and traces of modern issues. It’s just not the suspenseful or action packed or deep story that I usually seek.