![]() ![]() You spot the threat that is not only about young men with weapons, about ‘gangs’ and ‘predators,’ but also the threat that is slow and somehow very old. The prose is beautiful and unflinching without giving way to sentimentality: “I know now that by the age of fourteen, you feel it. ![]() ![]() Alternating between Michael and Francis’ teenage years and a present time in which everything is darker, sadder, and Francis is nowhere to be found, Chariandy reveals a world of violence, frustrated hopes, and the delicate family bonds necessary for survival. Chariandy’s second novel ( Soucouyant, 2007) is a slender volume with the heart of a family epic. They know how to posture, which guys to avoid, and how to act when the police roll through. Michael and Francis are learning how to survive in the Park as young men. Ruth came from Trinidad with dreams of becoming a nurse instead, she’s working multiple jobs, riding buses for hours, and coming home too exhausted to even sleep. Like so many of the Park’s residents, Michael and Francis are the children of an immigrant single mother. The Park is a sprawling complex home to thousands of residents struggling to find work, take care of each other, and get through another day. ![]() A novel about the indignities, frustrations, and joy found in a Toronto public housing complex. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |