A review by jayisreading
When We Were Birds by Ayanna Lloyd Banwo

emotional mysterious medium-paced

3.75

Knowing very little about Trinidad and Tobago, When We Were Birds was a delight to read to learn more about Trinidadian culture. There’s beautiful prose and a wonderful rhythm in Banwo’s storytelling that pulls you into the novel, the use of Trinidadian English further immersing you. Centering the living’s relationship with death through Yejide and Darwin, we also discover the prevalence of complex love in death, especially in one’s relationships.

I have to admit, as beautifully written as this book was, the pacing was kind of all over the place for me, with the beginning being a little too slow and the ending a bit fast. In addition, I would have loved Yejide’s character to be fleshed out more; it felt as though Banwo spent far more time with Darwin that we have a better sense of who he is. (I must also confess, I think I would have enjoyed this book more if I was in a better headspace, but I had to return the book soon…)

This was a wonderful debut novel, though, and I really look forward to what more Banwo has in store for her readers.
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