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A review by girlglitch
Windward Family: An atlas of love, loss and belonging by Alexis Keir
3.0
Mixing memoir with historical biography, Windward Family charts the course of St Vincentian diaspora over the years through the lives of a few individuals. It's about place, identity and belonging, families both biological and found. It's a labour of love, and every word is heartfelt.
There are pockets of brilliance, but looking at the book as a whole, I struggled a little with the structure. The essays flit back and forth in time, sometimes covering the same themes and imagery; I wanted a stronger linear narrative to tie it all together. And while I loved the inclusion of the biographies, I found the fictive style they were written in jarring. It's a great premise, I just felt it needed a little more constructive editing to really tie it all together.
*Thank you to Netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review*
There are pockets of brilliance, but looking at the book as a whole, I struggled a little with the structure. The essays flit back and forth in time, sometimes covering the same themes and imagery; I wanted a stronger linear narrative to tie it all together. And while I loved the inclusion of the biographies, I found the fictive style they were written in jarring. It's a great premise, I just felt it needed a little more constructive editing to really tie it all together.
*Thank you to Netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review*