Brother

I started this book reluctantly, but by page 5 I was hooked by the beauty of the writing. A chapter or so later I was hooked by the characters and the story. So beautifully written, with a sadness that is uplifted by the quality of the writing. The tragedy is that there are almost no opportunities to escape this type of poverty. Chariandy has captured this despair so well. A remarkable book.

I couldn't put this book down. So poignant, beautifully written, and compelling. There aren't many books I give a "5 star" review but this one deserves it. Can't wait to read more from this author.

Writer is gifted. Has a way with words. Very descriptive in short/clear style.

Raw emotion beautifully expressed. The author exposes you to a world few have experienced. The sense of hope just out of reach...whew. I was moved by this book.

Nice descriptive book. A bit depressing but the story reminds you of how it is growing up with struggle and obstacles

A young man goes to meet an old friend who is returning to visit the neighbourhood where she grew up and he still lives. Aisha's visit prompts Michael to think back to his childhood and teen years in the 1980s, when he and his older brother Francis were being brought up by their mother, an immigrant to Canada from Trinidad whose husband had deserted her when the boys were young. She is strict with the boys, with the usual immigrant dream that they will make successful lives in this society that is new to her. But she has to struggle hard to make ends meet, working several jobs, often having to leave the boys alone and usually exhausted when she finally gets home. So the boys, good at heart, have too many opportunities to drift into the 'wrong' crowd. When they are caught up in an incident of street violence, it begins a chain of events that will ultimately lead to tragedy.This is a short book with no unnecessary padding, and its brevity makes it all the more powerful. It's a story of how the immigrant dream can go wrong, but it's not overtly hammering polemics at the reader nor too heavily making a 'point'. I found it eye-opening, though, because I'd never really thought of Canada as having the kind of immigrant neighbourhoods described so vividly in the book.Chariandy brings the neighbourhood of Scarborough to life, showing it as a place where a constant influx of immigrants from different countries around the world first settle when they arrive in Canada, seeing their life there as a stage on the road to either them or their children one day making it in their new world and moving on to more desirable areas. The city of which the neighbourhood is a suburb is, I think, Toronto, but really it could be any big city, in almost any Western country. There is poverty here, both financial and of expectations, and there's the violence and insecurity that usually goes with that; and the exploitation of these incomers as a ready supply of cheap and disposable labour by unscrupulous employers. But Chariandy also shows the kindness that can exist among people when they all face the same problems and share the same dreams.I found the portrait of the neighbourhood utterly believable, drawn without the exaggerated over-dramatisation that often infests books about the failure of the immigrant dream, making them feel like an unnuanced and often unfair condemnation of the host nation. Although this book centres on a tragedy, Chariandy also allows the reader to see hope – to believe that for some, the dream is indeed possible to attain; and this has a double effect – it stops the book from presenting a picture of unrelenting despair, and it makes the events even more tragic because they don't feel as if they were inevitable.There's also a short section of the boys and their mother visiting Trinidad – her home, but a new country to them, full of relatives they've never met and a lifestyle that is as foreign to them as Canada is to their mother. Again beautifully done, Chariandy shows the freshness of the immigrant dream through the eyes of the Trinidadian relatives, who assume that the mother's life in Canada is one of comfort and ease in comparison to their own, while the reader has seen the reality of constant days of struggle, hard, poorly-paid work and exhaustion.An excellent novel, insightful, beautifully written, and with some wonderfully believable characterisation. And happily, unlike too much Canadian literature, available in the UK! Highly recommended.NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, Bloomsbury Publishing.

First there were two young Trinidadian brothers and then there was one.Brother, more than anything, is a book about memory. Our narrator, Michael, recalls his brother Francis saying, “Memory’s got nothing to do with the old and grey and faraway gone. Memory’s the muscle string of now. A kid reaching brave in the skull hum of power.” And, he goes on, if you can’t memory right, you lose.Still, remembering comes with its costs. In the poor Toronto neighborhood, peopled by worn-down immigrant families, life is balanced between getting by and staying alive and between maintaining dignity and staying on the right side of the ever-present police. We know that Francis dies and the way he dies feels almost inevitable.The entire reverie—which moves back and forth in time—is sparked by the return of Michael’s childhood friend Aisha, a bright young girl who became a writer and is now home grieving her own loss. Both alone and together with Aisha, Michael recalls his protective slightly older brother who often tried to prepare Michael for their tough world, and also the denizens of the community that too often turn on each other in a “survival of the fittest” type of dynamic.Focusing alternately on what it feels like to be powerless and how to move forward in the midst of “losses that mire a person in mourning”, this deceptively short book is long on conveying its message of how we demystify the narratives of who we are and survive.

Typically I very much enjoy the immigrant experience sort of stories. This one didn’t quite connect, though, which probably had less to do with quality and more to do with the somewhat heavy handed, all too timely and ubiquitous Black Lives Matter message (kinda like Orange is the New Black’s blatantly flag waving character assassination). The writing itself was very good and the rendering of the frustrations and privations of the first generation West Indies family struggling to make ends meet in Canada was realistic and emotionally devastating at times. Tragic story, not exactly an American (well, Canadian) dream, more of a neverending struggle, the ghetto projects serving as a quicksand to their tenants, who seldom if ever get out and move on. Maybe there’s an underlying motif about the culture and its misplaced priorities, the street toughness and barbershop parties over prospects, plans, education? Something to be said for the fact that it is the softer, gentler brother who survives, although to not much of a life as such. Presumably the question is to what degree these youths’ paths are predetermined by society in general or specific surroundings. This book works very well as a slice of life sort of thing, although for where I live it’s neither distinctive nor exotic. Sad story, well executed, frustrating. Probably not strong enough or original enough of an argument to change anyone’s mind on immigration at a time where such arguments are much needed. Very quick one sitting sort of read.

This is a slim volume but it packs heart and soul into every page. The story of a mother and her two sons struggling to get by against the odds in a tough neighbourhood, it flits seamlessly between past and present in a very accomplished way. Michael is the younger brother and the narrator, and the fact that we know that his elder brother Francis has been killed from the outset does not make it any less impactful and moving when we find out how he died. It is a very skilfully written book about family, pain, loss and love. I read it in one sitting but it will stay with me for a long time. Recommended.

Brother is a complex read that offers insight to life lived at the edges. Mental illness, identity and the layered experiences of family drive the story in new interesting directions.

Great story about some of the realities of being an immigrant/second generation immigrant in the US. Heartbreaking but brilliantly told.

A friend recommended this to me so I picked it up - i normally would have passed, because it doesn't seem to have a well-defined storyline or a particularly interesting plot. I'm still not sure quite how to describe what happens in the story, but its a beautiful, heartwarming account of growing up, becoming your own person, and understanding family ties. There are definitely some sad parts but some triumphant parts too. The story shifts from past to present perspective, and at times I found it a little bit confusing to understand exactly where the narrator was in time. However, I really enjoyed the book overall and it will stay with me for some time.

I loved this story about the loss of a brother as well as the journey of a young man growing up in the actual neighbourhood where I live currently. it was a poignant tale , well told. The effects of loss on a family and friends is well explored and true to life. It was a good read however sad in parts.