A review by nordstina
Rainbow Milk by Paul Mendez

emotional reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

Rainbow Milk is a touching debut novel by Paul Mendez about a young man named Jesse McCartney. He grows up in the Black Country in England, and is coming to terms with his identity as a black gay man. His life is in the Jehovah's Witness faith and he is disfellowshipped. He leaves everything he knows behind and goes to London to seek a new and more accepting community. Jesse is an engaging main character- we follow him through jobs in the food industry and as a sex worker. The descriptions are raw and intense, and music and art are common themes throughout. I want to go back and listen to the music that is referenced as it is so integral to how Jesse is feeling. The one thing in the book that took me out a bit was it had a long-dish beginning introducing us to a completely separate character in the 1950's who has recently moved from Jamaica to England. And his tale appears completely disconnected until the latter half of the book, and even then, I am not sure how much I needed that amount of context at the beginning. I really look forward to what Mendez writes next because this is an incredibly strong debut.
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