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A Coastline Is an Immeasurable Thing: A Memoir Across Three Continents by Mary-Alice Daniel
Drawn by its stunning title & cover, I requested an arc for A Coastline Is an Immeasurable Thing. For some reason or other I ended up neglecting to read it but at long last decided to give it a try, and I’m really glad that I did get round to it. Written with clarity and…
1990s, 2000s, 3.5 STARS, A Coastline Is an Immeasurable Thing, A Coastline Is an Immeasurable Thing: A Memoir Across Three Continents, Adult, America, belonging, biography, Black & Black heritage authors, black diaspora, CHILDHOOD, Christianity, Contemporary, cultural dissonance, elementary school, england, family, female authors, generational trauma, girlhood, growing up, HIGH SCHOOL, history, identity, Islam, language, Mary-Alice Daniel, MEMOIR, MEMORY, migration/immigration, Nigeria, nigerian american author, Nonfiction, otherness, published in 2022, RACE, read in 2022, Religion, school setting, snapshots, social issues, story within a story -
If I Survive You by Jonathan Escoffery
“I’d be able to move out of my car and rent my own apartment; I could live like a fully formed twenty-first-century North American human. I needed this.” Being a big fan of collections of short stories following the same character/s, I was keen to read If I Survive You. Each chapter in this debut…
1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 20th century, 3 STARS, Adult, adulthood, America, AMERICAN AUTHOR, belonging, Black & Black heritage authors, black diaspora, brothers, Caribbean, CHILDHOOD, collection of short stories, Contemporary, contemporary malaise, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), drama, family, fathers & sons, FLORIDA, gritty realism, growing up, HIGH SCHOOL, homelessness, HUMOR, interconnected stories, intergenerational, jamaica, Jonathan Escoffery, LITERARY FICTION, male authors, masculinity, Miami, migration/immigration, music band, natural disasters, PRIVILEGE, published in 2022, RACE, read in 2022, satire, short stories, snapshots, SOCIAL COMMENTARY, work culture -
The Furrows by Namwali Serpell
At first, The Furrows presents its readers with a labyrinthine yet hypotonic narrative about trauma, grief, and guilt. Cassandra, our central character, now an adult, recalls the death of her seven-year-old brother, Wayne when she was twelve. Then, this accident is presented to us again, except this time the circumstances are different. Cassandra tells different…
Adult, ambiguous protagonist, ambivalent mood, America, bad love, Black & Black heritage authors, black diaspora, CHILDHOOD, cold tone, Contemporary, DEATH, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), female authors, GRIEF, GUILT, incest-y, LITERARY FICTION, MEMORY, MYSTERY, Namwali Serpell, psychological, published in 2022, read in 2022, rich people, sea, siblings, snapshots, style over character, surreal, The Furrows, toxic relationships, trauma, Zambian author -
Someday, Maybe by Onyi Nwabineli
“Grief is not neat. Pain is not dignified. Both are ugly, visceral things. They rip holes through you and burst forth when they see fit. They are constant, controlling companions, and if they don’t destroy you or your relationship with others, they certainly go a long way to damaging you […] There is nothing eloquent…
1st pov, 3 STARS, Adult, Black & Black heritage authors, black diaspora, Contemporary, DEATH, DEPRESSION, england, evil stepmother, female authors, forgiveness, GRIEF, GUILT, MARRIAGE, MEMORY, mental health, nigerian british author, Onyi Nwabineli, photographers, pregnancy, published in 2022, read in 2022, Someday Maybe, suicide, widows