Reviews

Fruit of the Lemon by Andrea Levy

novelesque_life's review

3.0

3 STARS

"Faith Jackson fixes herself up with a great job and the perfect flatshare. Neither are that perfect. Furious when her parents retire to Jamaica, she makes her own journey there. Here she is enfolded in her Aunt Coral's endless talk of ancestors, stretching back to Cuba, Panama, Harlem and Scotland." (From Amazon)

Another enjoyable novel by Levy. I will read this any book by Levy.

sara_malo's review

inspiring lighthearted slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

tzwr87's review

funny inspiring lighthearted reflective 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

4.0

nerdybookies's review against another edition

emotional informative inspiring reflective relaxing slow-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

the_sassy_bookworm's review against another edition

2.0

This started off pretty interesting, but when the main character when to Jamaica it all sort of fell apart for me. The stories about the family history were very one dimensional and the way they were presented, made the second half of the book a bit jarring to read.

theladydoor's review against another edition

4.0

I love books like this, written by first-generation children of immigrants, because they tie in so closely with my own experiences. I identified so strongly with Faith Jackson, the main character. She is a young black woman in England trying to find her own identity when confronted on different sides by her Jamaican family, her bohemian friends, and her respectably white boyfriend. She goes to work at the BBC in the costuming department, and there faces daily racial micro-aggressions. With all that is happening in England at the time (the 1970's) including racially motivated crimes, Faith finds herself unable to continue on in her country of birth. Encouraged by her family, she decides to go to Jamaica to meet her extended family, and stay with her Aunt Coral.

Levy could have gone in a cliche route, having Faith immediately identify with her cultural roots, finding her true self. But instead, she maintains Faith's awkwardness and discomfort in Jamaica, indicating that Faith's problems may not have been her surroundings, but something within herself. She has to work at finding self-understanding, and I found that quality very admirable.

I look forward to reading Levy's other work, including The Long Song and Small Island, both of which have received much critical acclaim.

veronicap's review

challenging emotional informative reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes

3.5

ameliasbooks's review

emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I'm enjoying Levy's writing and her talent to tell vivid stories as well as her ability to create believable characters. But similar to Small Island I had a bit of a problem with the structure of this book. This time I struggled with the second half of the book, the part that's taking place in Jamaica. 
I was very interested in the backstory of Faith's ancestors, nevertheless I would have preferred to learn maybe not that many details about them and not written as extra chapters told as monologues, but through the story itself. The second part of the book is more telling than showing unfortunately. These parts took me out of the reading flow and left in the end not enough room for the actual narrative. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia and Racism

Moderate: Physical abuse, Slavery, Classism, Colonisation, Sexual violence, and Pregnancy

Minor: Violence and Miscarriage

cattytrona's review against another edition

4.0

The first third is slow and not very engaging. It really made me hesitate about getting into it, and about being able to recommend it. But once the second part starts, and you begin to get told all these stories — which are both really interesting snapshots of interesting lives, and so well told — and the family tree conceit comes through, the book becomes something a bit special.

nneka's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism