birdyreadsbooks's review against another edition
4.0
The writing is beautiful. My only disappointment is that I was expecting a novel and it read more like a collection of short stories.
red_steele's review against another edition
3.0
1. The voice actor Bahni Turpin delivered five star performance, she is an all-time favorite.
2. The island of Madagascar is the central focus of the Red Island House and I was intrigued to read about this island nation. This is the first book I read by Andrea Lee. She is a talented writer and I would be interested in exploring other novels in her catalog, however, this book was a disappointment. The book is a collection of short stories culminating as a literary “bridge to nowhere”. Ultimately there was no plot and the heroine’s personal struggles with the island and her husband were unresolved.
3. This book explores neocolonialism, class, race, privilege and economics to name a few. The book also highlights the necessity of Malagasy women to participation in sex tourism, the economic exploitation of white Europeans who continue the colonization mindset of their forefathers, and how the island is used to fulfill youthful fantasies at the expense of the Malagasy inhabitants.
4. Shay Gilliam is an Ivy League educated Black American expatriate, who was raised in a middle class family in Oakland, California. Shay married a non-college educated, wealthy yet stingy Italian named Senna who is fifteen years her senior, and they have two children together. The author never convinced me of a true love connection between Shay and Senna, which lead to the believability that their flawed marriage went over a relational cliff as the book progressed.
Although Shay is connected to the island by race, there is a disconnect with the Malagasy people who work in her home and live in the surrounding community due to socioeconomics. Shay realizes that the grandiose house built by Senna in Madagascar, is opposite of the ideals of her youth, and who she was raised to be as a Black women. Ironically, when Shay explores the house for the first time, she symbolically observes the red color of the floor tiles, leaving her with an unnerving impression that “the ground is covered with blood”.
5. The book suffered from a lack of character development, and unfortunately allows one of the most intriguing characters Bertine Lagrande to die (the book could have benefited from more of her presence). I would like to have learned more about Shay’s life in Italy, her visits to California to see her family, and more about how her bicultural and biracial children navigated the world, and their experience of receiving a college education in the United States.
2. The island of Madagascar is the central focus of the Red Island House and I was intrigued to read about this island nation. This is the first book I read by Andrea Lee. She is a talented writer and I would be interested in exploring other novels in her catalog, however, this book was a disappointment. The book is a collection of short stories culminating as a literary “bridge to nowhere”. Ultimately there was no plot and the heroine’s personal struggles with the island and her husband were unresolved.
3. This book explores neocolonialism, class, race, privilege and economics to name a few. The book also highlights the necessity of Malagasy women to participation in sex tourism, the economic exploitation of white Europeans who continue the colonization mindset of their forefathers, and how the island is used to fulfill youthful fantasies at the expense of the Malagasy inhabitants.
4. Shay Gilliam is an Ivy League educated Black American expatriate, who was raised in a middle class family in Oakland, California. Shay married a non-college educated, wealthy yet stingy Italian named Senna who is fifteen years her senior, and they have two children together. The author never convinced me of a true love connection between Shay and Senna, which lead to the believability that their flawed marriage went over a relational cliff as the book progressed.
Although Shay is connected to the island by race, there is a disconnect with the Malagasy people who work in her home and live in the surrounding community due to socioeconomics. Shay realizes that the grandiose house built by Senna in Madagascar, is opposite of the ideals of her youth, and who she was raised to be as a Black women. Ironically, when Shay explores the house for the first time, she symbolically observes the red color of the floor tiles, leaving her with an unnerving impression that “the ground is covered with blood”.
5. The book suffered from a lack of character development, and unfortunately allows one of the most intriguing characters Bertine Lagrande to die (the book could have benefited from more of her presence). I would like to have learned more about Shay’s life in Italy, her visits to California to see her family, and more about how her bicultural and biracial children navigated the world, and their experience of receiving a college education in the United States.
rocomama's review
adventurous
emotional
informative
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? No
5.0
shannonli1026's review against another edition
dark
informative
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? It's complicated
4.0
pamiverson's review
5.0
An African-American scholar marries an Italian man who builds a villa/hotel in Madagascar. This series of interconnected stories is the result. Very enjoyable, themes of love and betrayal, interactions between tourists, long-time residents, and those they employ. Cultural appropriation, colonialism. Lots to think about. 4.5
gloweyyyy's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
4.0
kbrown5455's review against another edition
3.0
More a series of portraits of the many colorful characters that populate the Madagascar life of a married Black American woman and her much older Italian husband than the story of their life, this book leaps forward disconcertingly through time. The stories are interesting, but this often feels much broader than deep
juliaschweitzer's review against another edition
5.0
ohmygosh this book is so so beautiful. the first few pages almost scared me off with the embarrassing amount of words I didn’t know lol but i’m so glad i stuck with it!!
iamkarla's review against another edition
DNF- I only got a few chapters in but could tell this wasn’t a book for me. The writing style is unique and I’d say over the top and the characters don’t interest me.
jennrid's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
slow-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? It's complicated
3.5