Nicole SM

"...when you lived a life, under any name, that life became entwined with others'. You left a trail of potential consequences. You were never just you, and you owed it to the people you cared about to remember that. Because the people you loved were part of your identity too. Perhaps the biggest part." This novel so vividly captured the harsh realities of racial discrimination and violence, showing how our identities are shaped by these issues as well as our relationships and shared history, whether we know it or not.

I was fully captivated at the beginning of this book, by the author's honesty and vulnerability about her family life as a child. The story is punctuated by her interactions with Sir Derek Walcott as he provides her with his thoughts on the manuscript of this book. I didn't mind this, as to me it allowed for a comparison of who she was growing up to the person she is now. As the chapters progressed though, I found it to be repetitive and focused mainly on her maternal lineage of elite society. The paternal grandparents were mentioned only once and there was a lot of name dropping as well. The detailed recall of her ancestors was in stark contrast to the vagueness of her own life, her relationship with her husband and children, and her struggle with depression and anxiety. The book is well written, but it felt to me writing this was cathartic for her in understanding her relationship with her grandmother, while I am more interested in her story. If there is a sequel that is focused on her personal experiences and development, I would definitely read it.

While reading this book, I felt like I was going through a labyrinth to get to the heart of what caused this dramatic change in the lives of these 7-year old twins. Each chapter revealed a bit more of the people involved, the change which occurred, the religious views, the forbidden love, the political climate, the caste system, a young mother's frustration, the consequence of carelessly spoken words; and then we get to the heart of the the labyrinth where the events of just a few hours impacted so many lives. I don't believe I've ever read another book written in this style, but it was definitely intriguing.