Reviews with content warning for Drug use - An Olive Grove in Ends

Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

An Olive Grove in Ends by Moses McKenzie

6 reviews

kate_in_a_book's review

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adventurous dark medium-paced

4.25

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shakilacarter's review

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dark emotional fast-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? Yes

5.0

A beautiful story.

I had an immersive experience with this book, the characters in the story resonated so strongly with the people I know in real life.

As I was reading I could see everything as if it was a movie. It’s going to play on my mind for a while.

Moses McKenzie now why did you end Cuba’s story like that. Whyyyyyyy?

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signeskov's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense 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

3.75

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bookynooknook's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

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

5.0

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serendipitysbooks's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective 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? Yes

4.75

An Olive Grove in Ends is a debut novel, a realistically gritty story with plenty of moral complexity - just the sort of book I love to read. Sayon Hughes has ambitious plans to escape his crime ridden life in a run down Bristol neighbourhood and buy his dream house on the hill in nearby Clifton. There are a couple of problems with his plan. The money he needs for the deposit comes from selling drugs. And he has just killed someone.

Obviously the set-up had me hooked. I went on to really admire McKenzie’s writing skills and the story he crafted. Not only is the book chockful of quotable passages pertaining to social justice, but he wrote his characters so well that I was sympathising with them - especially Sayon - and rooting for them, even when their actions were reprehensible. I also loved the way he brought the sights, sounds and atmosphere of Ends to life , especially the liberal use of Jamaican patois and Somali in dialogue. The Ends really was a character in its own right and McKenzie clearly depicted the reality of growing up there, and of the factors that tie people there even when they wanted to find a way out. Loyalty, especially to family, is depicted in very nuanced way. The author isn’t afraid to show the negatives as well as the positives, and especially the conflict when loyalty to your family is at odds with what you want for yourself, with what is in your own best interest. Another highlight for me - and one that really surprises me - is the role of religion in the story. As a non-religious person, preachy books are a total turn-off. In this book Sayon is exposed to two different versions of Christianity as well as Islam by those he is close to. When he is struggling to turn his life around religion is something he seriously considers. In a very logical fashion he picks the religious path that makes sense to him, one that offers him what he feels he needs to live the life he wants to live. This is the first book I can recall that has explored religion in such a manner.

Definitely recommend reading this one.

“Childhood and innocence are only synonymous to the privileged.”

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gabb_reads's review

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challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced

4.0

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