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A review by chantaldjohnson
Brown Girl, Brownstones by Paule Marshall
5.0
So I changed my rating to 5 stars after reading the book's afterword. It made me love and appreciate it that much more and gave me a much deeper understanding of its contents.
I was so sad to say goodbye to Selina and her world. This is a contender for one of those classics you would read in high school, and could pull so much analysis for your essays and whatnot. Brown Girl, Brownstones is a coming of age novel surrounding Selina Boyce, a first generation child of Barbadian immigrants. The setting is in Brooklyn, NYC in the 1930s upward. Selina is not your average Barbadian girl and constantly challenges the traditions of her West Indian roots. She doesn't find a connection with her peers but is guided through life by the adult women in her life. As she grows up, she experiences tragedy, loss, feeling lonely, racism, a sexual awakening, and this fear of "what's next"--which a lot of us can relate to.
I love that there's this connection between her and her mother throughout the novel that she doesn't really understand until the end. I had an IB English moment thinking of the cyclical themes of mother and daughter. The painting of this hardworking Barbadian immigrant community is also wonderful. A people that is faced with oppression but refuses for it to hold them back. The style of this novel is what really drew me in. Paule Marshall's writing style always dropped me into the story, as if I was part of this world. This story will stick with me for a long time. This is a classic in so many ways and a story I think everyone should read.
I was so sad to say goodbye to Selina and her world. This is a contender for one of those classics you would read in high school, and could pull so much analysis for your essays and whatnot. Brown Girl, Brownstones is a coming of age novel surrounding Selina Boyce, a first generation child of Barbadian immigrants. The setting is in Brooklyn, NYC in the 1930s upward. Selina is not your average Barbadian girl and constantly challenges the traditions of her West Indian roots. She doesn't find a connection with her peers but is guided through life by the adult women in her life. As she grows up, she experiences tragedy, loss, feeling lonely, racism, a sexual awakening, and this fear of "what's next"--which a lot of us can relate to.
I love that there's this connection between her and her mother throughout the novel that she doesn't really understand until the end. I had an IB English moment thinking of the cyclical themes of mother and daughter. The painting of this hardworking Barbadian immigrant community is also wonderful. A people that is faced with oppression but refuses for it to hold them back. The style of this novel is what really drew me in. Paule Marshall's writing style always dropped me into the story, as if I was part of this world. This story will stick with me for a long time. This is a classic in so many ways and a story I think everyone should read.