Scan barcode
bookishevy's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Friends, I traveled to my home island of Trinidad for this month's Read the World challenge, and it did not disappoint.
Each story in this novel focuses on a resident or former resident of Pleasantview, which is an ironic name for a town riddled with poverty and violence; overt violence between rival gangs and violence women suffer at the hands of powerful men behind closed doors.
I loved that all the stories are intertwined and the lives of the residents overlap. This book was hard to out down.
With drama from the start with a jailbreak and insight into how Venezuelan women are treated in Trinidad; a young man looks for a father figure in a man who is using him; a young woman naively makes plans for a future with a rich, married man; a political candidate gets what's coming to him; his estranged daughter struggles to accept her sexuality; a man grapples with his wife's acceptance of Jesus; his brother-in-law's leaves his family for better opportunities; a local seer woman's shame; and a boy comes to terms with his father's abandonment.
Thoughts while reading: The kinds of things people do to remain in the U.S. Women really think a scoundrel would change for them. The way some Trini men put Venezuelan women on pedestals while treating them like trash is nuts. I don't know how I would feel if my spouse accepted Jesus and changed entirely. The shame women carry around even though they are victims. Boys turning to gang leaders for father figures and in turn becoming father figures for other fatherless boys kind of makes sense. I love how Mohammed brings the novel full circle with these young men's stories.
With heavy themes like rape, abuse, animal abuse, homophobia, infertility, classism, racism and religion, it got heavy, but there were moments when I laughed out loud because I knew exactly what a character was going to say in a certain situation and it made me homesick. I'll have to make a trip soon.
Your main take away from this is these islands are paradise to tourists, but their citizens are doing things and putting up with people they don't want to just to survive.
Each story in this novel focuses on a resident or former resident of Pleasantview, which is an ironic name for a town riddled with poverty and violence; overt violence between rival gangs and violence women suffer at the hands of powerful men behind closed doors.
I loved that all the stories are intertwined and the lives of the residents overlap. This book was hard to out down.
With drama from the start with a jailbreak and insight into how Venezuelan women are treated in Trinidad; a young man looks for a father figure in a man who is using him; a young woman naively makes plans for a future with a rich, married man; a political candidate gets what's coming to him; his estranged daughter struggles to accept her sexuality; a man grapples with his wife's acceptance of Jesus; his brother-in-law's leaves his family for better opportunities; a local seer woman's shame; and a boy comes to terms with his father's abandonment.
Thoughts while reading: The kinds of things people do to remain in the U.S. Women really think a scoundrel would change for them. The way some Trini men put Venezuelan women on pedestals while treating them like trash is nuts. I don't know how I would feel if my spouse accepted Jesus and changed entirely. The shame women carry around even though they are victims. Boys turning to gang leaders for father figures and in turn becoming father figures for other fatherless boys kind of makes sense. I love how Mohammed brings the novel full circle with these young men's stories.
With heavy themes like rape, abuse, animal abuse, homophobia, infertility, classism, racism and religion, it got heavy, but there were moments when I laughed out loud because I knew exactly what a character was going to say in a certain situation and it made me homesick. I'll have to make a trip soon.
Your main take away from this is these islands are paradise to tourists, but their citizens are doing things and putting up with people they don't want to just to survive.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, and Classism
mwmakar's review
dark
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Abortion, Alcohol, and Classism
caribbeangirlreading's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-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
Unputdownable. Riveting. Heart-wrenching. Pleasantview is a novel-in-stories set in a fictional town in Trinidad and told from multiple points of view. Although each story stands individually it does not read like a short story collection because the stories, and many of the characters, are intertwined with each other. This is six degrees of separation, Caribbean edition. It may sound like too much, but it’s the complete opposite. Each story built upon the prior one but never felt confusing or overwhelming. Each and every character had a clear and distinct voice. The character development is top notch. The writing is impeccable. All I can say is . . . BRAVA!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Blood, Trafficking, Colonisation, and Classism
Moderate: Gun violence, Homophobia, Abortion, Murder, and Lesbophobia
Minor: Pedophilia
More...