studiouslysarcastic's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
maddierossetti's review against another edition
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
booksinbedinthornhill's review against another edition
5.0
Beautifully crafted and concise. Hurts the heart, though. All too relevant, then and now.
stadarooni's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
trulybooked's review against another edition
5.0
There is a lyrical beauty that undercuts the horror that you know is lingering within the world that David Chariandy writes. Set in Scarborough, a city in the Greater Toronto Area, Chariandy delves into the childhood and lives of two brothers growing up in a world where the deck seems stacked against them and their mother who wants nothing by the best for them.
It was heartbreaking, but in a quiet and understated way. There were times when I coudl feel the grief as it were palpable and other times it felt further away, like a wound that time was trying to heal. It's not the easiest read, but I loved it and I loved that it's so far from what's been considered (and mocked) as Canadian fiction.
It focuses on a side of Canada that we rarely see and that we tell ourselves doesn't exist. We look at the US and go well, we're not that bad as if that makes it any better. Brother, among so many other things, is a mirror reflecting parts of the world back to us that people may not want to examine more deeply.
It was heartbreaking, but in a quiet and understated way. There were times when I coudl feel the grief as it were palpable and other times it felt further away, like a wound that time was trying to heal. It's not the easiest read, but I loved it and I loved that it's so far from what's been considered (and mocked) as Canadian fiction.
It focuses on a side of Canada that we rarely see and that we tell ourselves doesn't exist. We look at the US and go well, we're not that bad as if that makes it any better. Brother, among so many other things, is a mirror reflecting parts of the world back to us that people may not want to examine more deeply.
wamia's review against another edition
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
crikeyastoria's review against another edition
4.0
this is the best example of dual timelines ive ever read. they flow seamlessly between past and present, but we always know where we are in the timeline. this book is harrowing but also a beautiful exploration of brotherhood and masculinity. loved this!
sjklass's review against another edition
4.0
I love when I try a new writer, love them, and know I have more of their writing to look forward to! David Chariandy is such a writer! Brother is emotionally charged and politically relevant in under 200 pages. Not a word wasted. The setting of 1980’s Scarborough, Ontario is a character itself in this coming of age novel of brothers Francis and Michael, sons of their Trinidadian immigrant single mother. “Sometimes, explained my aunt, she had been jealous of her older sister, and the perfect life she alone had found by going away. Mother stayed quiet. She did not say that our father had left us years before. She did not admit that she had not had the time or money to complete her studies to become a nurse. She did not hint at the debt or struggle or the aches she often felt”.