Great short novel. Engaging character development and a really intriguing perspective on events that that impact many peoples lives.

I do not know where to begin regarding this book. Deeply engrossing, moving and so beautifully composed. What the 2 brothers went through..WOW!!! Some may find the book hard to read, but do not give up on this book. You will find yourself thinking about what you have read for days to come. Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the ARC of this book. Although I received the book in this manner, it did not affect my opinion of this book nor my review.

Brothers Michael & Francis are growing up without their father and mostly taking care of themselves while their mother is out working hard on their behalf. Children of immigrants, there are high expectations of both of them to succeed but Francis, the elder, is slowly dissuaded from following the acceptable path, rebelling and getting into trouble, eventually leaving school and receiving a reputation on the streets. A bright spot is the music he mixes with a friend, but that soon comes to a screeching halt as well.

The story flip flops between present day when Adult Michael who is hosting a friend from the neighborhood who is visiting her ailing father, and the roiling past when Francis was planning on packing up and leaving the Park behind. The pacing does a great job in hiding the secrets the boys have and the problems (with their mother especially) which they choose to ignore. Racism, stereotypes, violence, family clashes- and more are all included here and wrapped in a simple but beautifully written tale.

I have a bad habit of judging a book by its heft (or lack thereof) and will only dubiously pick up a novel under 300 pages from an unknown author... luckily I received the incentive I needed when I was approved to read this title on NetGalley because this tale deserves to be read. I feel like we're just starting to get a huge influx of novels written by and about diverse voices and I'm thrilled to have even a small part as a reader to promote this book in the real world.

As a reviewer, I try to be open and honest about my potential biases. One of those is my inherent distrust of the novella. I have read some excellent novellas, but I find most of them wanting; somehow they usually feel overlong and too short. <i>Brother</i>, out today, feels a little like that.

Coming in at a relatively scant 190 pages, this is a literary tale of immigration and racism and police brutality and the wealth gap, all vital and important topics in today’s society. And though this story takes place on the backstreets and in the ghettos of Canada, the lessons are applicable to the current political and social climate found in the U.S.

But the subject matter is never enough, not for me; what about the prose? Characters? Plotting?

I am happy to report this author’s prose is some of the most searing and poetic I’ve read in weeks, months. And the characters are well done too, though I would have appreciated spending more time with the peripheral folks. They felt almost totally bland, lifeless.

This short novel’s “gimmick” is switching between two time periods. In under 200 pages, this author tries telling two equally gripping and complex tales, never letting either one fully breathe. And the reader is never told when they have gone back or forth in time; the author just throws flashbacks in, seemingly, at random. Not a fan of that — it doesn’t make this story seem deep, it makes it seem chaotic.

And maybe that’s why I am so “meh” on this one. It’s good — Hell, it’s great at times — but it feels so chaotic. It should have been trimmed down, or expanded. As it stands, this is a solid 3-star read.

Published by Bloomsbury Publishing on July 31, 2018

Michael and his brother Francis were born in Canada to parents who were born in Trinidad. They grew up in a neighborhood that became rougher as they entered their teens. Francis was killed ten years before the story begins. Flashbacks acquaint the reader with the ugly days at the time of Francis’ death, the anti-immigrant fervor and the neighborhood condemnation of Michael for being Francis’ brother. We also see Francis’ anger management problem, the way provocation triggered a form of crazy violence that earned him, for better or worse, a reputation as someone who would stand his ground. And we see how Francis suffers an unjust death because he stood his ground, although the precise cause of that death is something that David Chariandy withholds until late in the novel.

Now Michael lives with his mother. She may be experiencing the first symptoms of dementia or (as Michael’s friend Aisha believes) she may be suffering from complicated grief that left her “stuck,” unable to mourn properly because she cannot accept Francis’ death. Michael has made it his mission to care for and protect his mother, but the reader will wonder whether Michael’s actions are protecting his mother from reminders of Francis’ death or harming her by keeping her isolated from people who might help her grieve.

Aisha has returned to Canada after ten years in Europe to be with her father during his last days. After he dies, Michael invites Aisha to visit him, staying in his bedroom while he sleeps on the couch. Aisha and Michael were high school friends. Michael doesn’t really want to deal with the grief of someone who is no longer stuck at home, but Aisha believes that the best way to process grief is to share it, and to that end triggers a reunion of sorts, bringing people who knew Francis into Michael’s home.

The novel’s initial drama derives in part from the flashbacks that lead up to Francis’ death and in part from a conflict between Michael and Aisha about the proper way to care for Michael’s mother. The latter conflict presents something like a coming-of-age moment for Michael, and suggests that the right kind of help might make grief less debilitating, even if it can never be overcome.

Brother is a short novel, almost a character study that focuses on key formative events in the lives of a few people. Apart from Chariandy’s graceful prose, atmosphere and music are the keys to its success: the neighborhood barbershop that bring together immigrants of different cultures; the mixing of music from different eras and styles in a way that finds their commonality; the way people share a heritage through music; the rise of the DJ mix as an art form. Despite its narrow focus, the novel touches upon broad themes of social injustice endured by immigrants and the children of immigrants as they try to define an identity and a path to happiness in an unwelcoming society. For that reason, Brother is as timely as it is rewarding.

RECOMMENDED

4 moving stars to Brother!

Thank you to my friend, Elyse, for this recommendation. I am so grateful I found out about this memorable and life-changing book.

Brother is so powerful, so deeply moving, I am not sure I can describe this one as well as it deserves, but I am going to do my best because this is a book I wish everyone would read.

The main characters in Brother are, no surprise, brothers born of Trinidadian immigrants. While their mother works all the shifts she can pick up to support her sons, their father has all but disappeared.

Growing up in concrete towers known as The Park, the brothers experience discrimination from all angles. No one sees them for who they are, only as their skin color. Everything comes to a head with tragic shooting, and their lives are changed forever.

Brother is a deeply moving, important book. The writing is absolutely stunning, and the messages are urgently needed. I also have to say, the characters are absolutely unforgettable.

Thank you to Bloomsbury USA for the complimentary copy to review.

This novella deals with a young black man living in a Toronto community and trying to move past the death of his elder brother. It’s told in first personal narrative and often in the form of flashbacks to when they were growing up. His mother has never quite recovered from the death of her son. Both are dealing with their own individual grief.

The book is very timely, especially when it delves into the plight of black teenagers, stopped and questioned, just for being. Someone’s always calling and complaining to the cops. I found it interesting to see this was not purely an American issue.

It’s a very depressing book. Francis was everything to Michael and when he was lost, so was Michael and so was his mother.

I struggled with the writing style. The back and forth between present and past was disjointed. The writing itself is well done. Hard, bitter and dark. “ We were losers and neighborhood schemers. We were the children of the help, without futures. We were, none of us,what our parents wanted us to be. We were not what any other adults wanted us to be. We were nobodies or else, somehow, a city.”

The book makes some important points. This book grew on me. I appreciated it more after I was done than while I was reading it. It was so dark, it was hard to read.

My thanks to netgalley and Bloomsbury USA for an advance copy of this book.

I've been waiting to read this novel for a long time, after it came out in Canada, was listed for the Giller Prize and Canada Reads. I received a review copy from the publisher, finally couldn't wait and finished it on my one day in Canada on vacation, and it still doesn't come out in the USA until the end of July, 2018. So add this to your to-read list now.

This is a quick read, but not an easy subject matter. A Trinidadian-Canadian family is already trying hard to eke out an existence in a rougher, poorer neighborhood in East Toronto. Two brothers with different perspectives end up making different decisions, and a tragedy shapes the family in the most significant way.

I hope to read more from this author.

Did not read. Removing from shelf. Did not read. Removing from shelf. Did not read. Removing from shelf. Did not read. Removing from shelf.

I had no idea what I was in for when Nicole at Bloomsbury Publishing recommended this book to me. I can’t 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 wouldn’t have without reading the book. But given what I just ‘experienced’ those words penetrate so much deeper.
Kudos to whomever wrote it...and thank you! Some tears happened in one scene —achingly hurt.

Agree- agree- agree with the blurb: it’s “INTENSELY BEAUTIFUL....searingly powerful, tightly constructed”.
It’s also exquisitely excruciating painful.
It knocked the wind out of me. For a short novel - it packs a DEPTH-PUNCH!!

Read the Blurb - No need to repeat what’s already perfectly written.

Frances Joseph is “Brother”. His character shows up as a guy to reckoned with at a very young age. I mean this in the best of ways. As first born son - he didn’t just take on the role of adult child - living with his mother and younger brother Michael - he tried to hide his contributions. He was aware of people’s pride. His mother’s in particular. I absolutely fell in love with him right away.
Frances loved his family. He loved his friends - especially his friend Jelly. He loved music - understood old music - ( that heritage of love)....
He enjoyed listening to Nina Simone, Otis Redding, and Sam Cooke.
Frances had no intention of having poverty define him. He says:

“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”.

Frances had one of those devastating experiences of just the opposite of the above quote.
He says:
“We were losers and neighborhood schemers. We were the children of the help, without futures. We were, none of us, what our parents wanted us to be. We were not any other adults wanted us to be. We were nobodies, or else, somehow, a city. We’re all just dreaming”.

We were putty in the hands of younger brother, Michael as the voice for this story. I loved him as much as Frances too. We feel, sense, touch, hear, and smell everything through him. From children playing in the neighborhood, to foods, music, dialogues, strangers, murder, racial and immigrant prejudice, poverty, the police, to all out violence....and devastating loss and sadness. Michael’s storytelling is as personal as personal is.

Mrs. Joseph- Mother - brought her sons to Canada - ( the Scarbrough housing complex), leaving her village - Ste.Madeleine in the middle of the island - in Trinidad....
......leaving her sister and relatives behind....people she loved...leaving slavery, indenture, murder, disease, dirt pot holes, yet love and beauty too, for a better - safer place with more opportunities. As you read the story - one wonders was the REALLY HARD HARD HARDSHIPS worth it? She never told her family the truth about her life in Canada or that her husband was out of the picture.

Even the minor characters are bigger than life - in some cases with only the smallest scenes. - Aisha, Dru, Professor, Aunt Beulah, Jelly....and *Desirea’s*, the Barbershop takes on a character in its own rite.

Everything about this book felt authentic to me —-although —- I did ‘question’ one scene.
But? Simply questioned it.

My final thoughts.......”This book must be read”!!!

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. Thanks Netgalley.