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A review by 2treads
The Autobiography of My Mother by Jamaica Kincaid
challenging
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I always enjoy the levels of self-awareness that Kincaid infuses her main characters with. You don't have to like them. They do not care because they know who they are and how they exist within their community. It is interesting that her characters would be viewed as selfish by some while others would clearly see their actions as being of someone who is choosing themself.
The ways in which the people, place, experiences drew reactions of glee, disgust, and commiseration from.me, made me think of similar stories within my own community and, by extension, my country.
I can see how the unfolding of events and the prose might throw some people off, but this way of relationships stories is so common in my country, where a subject mentioned in a memory or retelling launches the legs of a directly connected story or branches into something new yet similar.
The ways in which the people, place, experiences drew reactions of glee, disgust, and commiseration from.me, made me think of similar stories within my own community and, by extension, my country.
I can see how the unfolding of events and the prose might throw some people off, but this way of relationships stories is so common in my country, where a subject mentioned in a memory or retelling launches the legs of a directly connected story or branches into something new yet similar.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Death, Infidelity, Abortion, and Death of parent
Minor: Infertility