Brother

An intensely beautiful, searingly powerful, tightly constructed novel, Brother explores questions of masculinity, family, race, and identity as they are played out in a Scarborough housing complex during the sweltering heat and simmering violence of the summer of 1991 With shimmering prose and mesmerizing precision, David Chariandy takes us inside the lives of Michael and Francis They are the sons of Trinidadian immigrants, their father has disappeared and their mother works double, sometimes triple shifts so her boys might fulfill the elusive promise of their adopted home Coming of age in The Park, a cluster of town houses and leaning concrete towers in the disparaged outskirts of a sprawling city, Michael and Francis battle against the careless prejudices and low expectations that confront them as young men of black and brown ancestry teachers stream them into general classes shopkeepers see them only as thieves and strangers quicken their pace when the brothers are behind them Always Michael and Francis escape into the cool air of the Rouge Valley, a scar of green wilderness that cuts through their neighbourhood, where they are free to imagine better lives for themselves Propelled by the pulsing beats and styles of hip hop, Francis, the older of the two brothers, dreams of a future in music Michael s dreams are of Aisha, the smartest girl in their high school whose own eyes are firmly set on a life elsewhere But the bright hopes of all three are violently, irrevocably thwarted by a tragic shooting, and the police crackdown and suffocating suspicion that follow.With devastating emotional force David Chariandy, a unique and exciting voice in Canadian literature, crafts a heartbreaking and timely story about the profound love that exists between brothers and the senseless loss of lives cut short with the shot of a gun. Free Read [ Brother ] By [ David Chariandy ] – kino-fada.fr I had no idea what I was in for when Nicole at Bloomsbury Publishing recommended this book to me I cant thank her enough I went in completely blind Literally seconds ago I read the blurb I read it twice Having read the book myself, this blurb, made me cry I know it wouldnt have without reading the book But given what I just experienced those words penetrate so much deepe...Powerful, bold and timely It wasn t just she alone All around us in the park were mothers who had journeyed far beyond what they knew, who took day courses and worked nights, who dreamed of raising children who might have just a littlethan than they did, children who might reward scsrifice and redeem a past And there were victories, you must know Fears were banished by the scents from simmering pots, denigration countered by a freshly laundered tablecloth History beaten back by the Powerful, bold and timely It wasn t just she alone All around us in the park were mothers who had journeyed far beyond what they knew, who took day courses and worked nights, who dreamed of raising children who might have just a littlethan than they did, children who might reward scsrifice and redeem a past And there were victories, you must know Fears were banished by the scents from simmering pots, denigration countered by a freshly laundered tablecloth History beaten back by the provision of clothes and yearly school supplies Examples were raised Their mother came from Trinidad, but others in Toronto, in the housing unit called the Park came from many other places She had to work three jobs, long bus rides, to take care of Frances and Michael They had to raise themselves, learn how to navigate where they lived, stay away from those with bad reputations which would do them harm Yet, she showed them beauty too, tired as she was, she took them for picnics at the creek, called Rouge Showed ...This is what I call a bittersweet story through and through Its beautiful, the relationship between the two brothers tremendously touching, and yet its also harrowing and frustrating Why does it have to be this way Why cant we change the situation What about love What about love I wish I didnt have to pause each time Im picking up a Canadian title to congratulate myself for picking up a Canadian title but alas I rarely seem to give attention to non US books And thats a shame because I live This is what I call a bittersweet story through and through It s beautiful, the relationship between the two brothers tremendously touching, and yet it s also harrowing and frustrating Why does it have to be this way Why can t we change the situation What about love What about love I wish I didn t have to pause each ti...4.5 Youve got to be cooler about things, and not put everything out on your face all the time Youve got to carry yourself better and think about your look Doesnt matter how poor you are You can always turn up the edge of a collar to style a bit, little things like that You can always do things to let the world know youre not nobody You never know when your break is coming.Brother Big brother to little brother This could have been a quote from Grease, couldnt it But these brothers are 4.5 You ve got to be cooler about things, and not put everything out on your face all the time You ve got to carry yourself better and think about your look Doesn t matter how poor you are You can always turn up the edge of a collar to style a bit, little things like that You can always do things to let the world know you re not nobody You never know when your break is coming Brother Big brother to little brother This could have been a quote from Grease , couldn t it But these brothers are immigrants from Trinidad, trying to fit in in Canada, spec...I grew up in the neighbourhood this novel is set in, and am also a child of West Indian immigrants, so this book really resonated with me The familiarity of the settings, along with the realistic story of living in a low income suburb, made this all too relatable I particularly identified with Michael, as he navigated violence, and rumours of violence, that ran rampant within this community, while also trying to hold the best interests of his too hard worked, sometimes absent, mother at heart I grew up in the neighbourhood this novel is set in, and am also a child of West I...Absolutely blew me away From the first page I just knew I d be utterly destroyed by the end It just takes a while to get used to the sudden jumps in timeline Chapters have no headings or identifiable differences from one another to mark whether the new chapter exists in the past or present, so one m...3.5 starsA tightly written novella that explores pressing topics like race, immigration, masculinity, andwithin a small family living in Canada The story revolves around two brothers, Michael and Francis, the sons of Trinidadian immigrants, of whom their father has disappeared and their mother works tireless hours so her sons can survive The novel follows Michael and Francis as they come of age surrounded by hip hop music and potential romantic interests, as well as the anti black 3.5 starsA tightly written novella that explores pressing topics like race, immigration, masculinity, andwithin a small family living in Canada The story revolves around two brothers, Michael and Francis, the sons of Trinidadian immigrants, of whom their father has disappeared and their mother works tireless hours so her sons can survive The novel follows Michael and Francis as they come of age surrounded by hip hop music and potential romantic interests, as well as the anti black prejudice that pervades their environment Their lives change in drastic ways after the brothers experience a police crackdown and the consequences that follow.I liked this book a lot but wanted , which may be my fault David Chariandy writes beautifully and searingly about these brothers development, their search for security amidst racism and toxic masculinity and uncertainty He also writes poignantly about grief and loss, which are explored...David Chariandy s buzzed about short novel Brother centres around one man reflecting on his Carribean family s life in Scarborough, and his brother s life cut short during their shared adolescence This slim volume s prose is captivating, imaginatively descriptive, and deeply poetic Chariandy opts for subtlety and inference rather than long passages of exposition, lending the book a sense of reality Life, after all, rarely provides answers to some of the most tumultuous events we experience David Chariandy s buzzed about short novel Brother centres around one man reflecting on his Carribean family s life in Scarborough, and his brother s life cut short during their shared adolescence This slim volume s prose is captivating, imagina...4.5 stars The reviews of some Goodreads friends had previously put BROTHER on my radar Canada Reads 2019 bumped this book to the top of my to be read list I want to read the five finalists before the debates begin I have oneleft to read and it is on hold at the local public library Praise for BROTHER Mesmerizing Poetic Achingly soulful BROTHER is a ...3.5ish 4 stars I thought that this was quite good I loved how it focused on not only a family, but a community too The area where this is set is inhabited by a lot of immigrants from different places and their children They come from all parts of the world but they all make up one community now What I loved was that sense of lots of different cultures being integrated into the community I m from a rural Irish town so everyone I know here is Irish and there aren t other cultures celebrated 3.5ish 4 stars I thought that this was quite good I loved how it focused on not only a family, but a community too The area where this is set is inhabited by a lot of immigrants from different places and their children They come from all parts of the world but they all make up one community now What I loved was that sense of lots of different cultures being integrated into the community I m from a rural Irish town so everyone I know here is Irish and there aren t other cultures celebrated around here I think that s why I loved that aspect so much A bit I found really beautiful was quite a simple thing when the family are grieving, dishes are left at their front door for them and Michael mentions how some of the dishes are unfamiliar to him I just thought that that really reiterated how there were all these different cultures at work in this one community I also loved that sense of community Chariandy created It highlighted that it doesn ...

• English
• 22 November 2019
David Chariandy
• Hardcover
• 192 pages
• 1635572045
• David Chariandy
• Brother