Imagine a run down Toronto 'ruled' by the equivalent of a mob boss living in the C.N. Tower. Imagine a young mother trying to distance herself from the buff (drug) using father of her child. Now imagine a grandmother who's deep into voodoo. And you'll have some idea of what to expect in this 2008 Canada Reads pick.Don't let the dialect of the main characters stop you from enjoying the book. You quickly get used to the not quite english they use. And pay close attention, because the passages you think only serve to show character development or scenic description will come back later as having significantly more meaning the further you read. This book is fun, surprising and thought provoking.
Thank you!
ReplyDeleteYou're more than welcome. We met very briefly at Book Expo, and your friendly, cheerful attitude put your book at the top of my to be read pile. I loved it.
ReplyDeleteThis does sound like a very interesting book indeed.
ReplyDeleteIt is a great book. And while I called it voodoo in my review, that's not a completely accurate description of what the grandmother's doing - it was just easier to phrase it that way.
ReplyDeleteThe book is one of those rare glimpses between modern life and post apocalyptic fiction. It actually reminded me of Octavia Butler's Parable of the Sower in this respect (though Parable showed the actual breakdown of society while in Brown Girl the complete collapse had yet to happen).
I enjoyed Nalo's "Brown Girl in the Ring" - particularly the grandmother figure and the strong sense of a very different cultural heritage. Nalo rocks.
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