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A review by sharese_reads
Here Comes the Sun by Nicole Dennis-Benn
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Here Comes the Sun follows Margot and Thandi and to a lesser extent their mother, Delores, as they navigate being a woman in different generations and circumstances in a small town on the northern coast of Jamaica.
I recommend this book for anyone who wants to experience Jamaica outside of the walls of a resort. Please don’t confuse this with every Jamaican’s story or experience, but a lot of the themes seem to be fairly universal. There are themes of neo-colonization through resorts taking land from the Jamaican ppl thereby displacing them, themes of sexual violence and coercion, the dynamics between mothers and daughters, and absent and peripheral men who mostly just cause harm (this is not an exhaustive list).
Ms. Dennis-Benn does an excellent job in writing the setting (I can feel the dry heat now and the smells are with me) and character development (I will forever have a visceral reaction to the name Delores or Alphonso). In places I felt it read too dramatic, more like a script than a novel and I felt the ending was rushed and not fleshed out quite enough- but those points do not take away from the intricacies and meticulous construction throughout the book.
I was lucky enough to get to attend a Q&A with the author. In the Q&A I got to know more about the writing process and reasons, one thing that stood out to me is Nicole Dennis-Benn’s explanation of the title “Here Comes the Sun” meaning that everything we are hiding is going to be brought to light. What a perfect concept for such a breathtaking story.
I recommend this book for anyone who wants to experience Jamaica outside of the walls of a resort. Please don’t confuse this with every Jamaican’s story or experience, but a lot of the themes seem to be fairly universal. There are themes of neo-colonization through resorts taking land from the Jamaican ppl thereby displacing them, themes of sexual violence and coercion, the dynamics between mothers and daughters, and absent and peripheral men who mostly just cause harm (this is not an exhaustive list).
Ms. Dennis-Benn does an excellent job in writing the setting (I can feel the dry heat now and the smells are with me) and character development (I will forever have a visceral reaction to the name Delores or Alphonso). In places I felt it read too dramatic, more like a script than a novel and I felt the ending was rushed and not fleshed out quite enough- but those points do not take away from the intricacies and meticulous construction throughout the book.
I was lucky enough to get to attend a Q&A with the author. In the Q&A I got to know more about the writing process and reasons, one thing that stood out to me is Nicole Dennis-Benn’s explanation of the title “Here Comes the Sun” meaning that everything we are hiding is going to be brought to light. What a perfect concept for such a breathtaking story.