Secrets We Kept
Three Women of Trinidad
by Krystal A. Sital
This title was previously available on NetGalley and is now archived.
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Pub Date Feb 20 2018 | Archive Date Jan 31 2018
Description
A Note From the Publisher
LibraryReads nominations due by 12/20 and IndieNext nominations due by 12/5.
Advance Praise
“Powerful and heart-wrenching, Krystal Sital's beautifully written memoir, Secrets We Kept, details her family history on Trinidad, as her grandmother and mother finally unleash their voices to uncover the brutal truth of who her grandfather truly was.” - Jean Kwok, author of Mambo in Chinatown and Girl in Translation
“In this stunning, unforgettable memoir, Krystal Sital writes with unflinching honesty, exploring with great depth and complexity her grandmother's liberation after her grandfather's death and the complications that arise from this fiery matriarch's quest to selfhood after years of abuse and servitude. A brilliant account of gender inequality and the burdens we bear as women in the Caribbean.” - Nicole Dennis-Benn, author of Here Comes the Sun
“Once a decade or so, if we're fortunate, comes a book that seems to insist itself into being, on that rises from the heartbreakingly silent depths of the voiceless. Secrets We Kept is that book. It is a love song to the author's Trinidadian mother and grandmother, yes, but it is also a hymn of justice to the ignored and forgotten wounds of enduring and resilient women throughout the ages. It is a tribute to truth in the face of denial. It is a deeply resonant, timely, and necessary work of art.” - Andre Dubus III, author of Townie
Available Editions
EDITION | Other Format |
ISBN | 9780393609264 |
PRICE | $25.95 (USD) |
PAGES | 352 |
Featured Reviews
What a beautiful and heartbreaking account. I am still reeling from the extent of violence this family endured. Sital does an incredible job of weaving together the storylines, bouncing between past and (relative) present, and keeping the reader engaged...not because Shiva's violence is sensationalized, but because you need to know that these people made it out OK. With the recent exposure of domestic violence as horrifically commonplace, this is a very timely book. Sital deftly tackles how muddy the waters get when domestic violence is so pervasive in a society and the complex twists families become when living in fear of an abuser (not to mention the added factor of mores specific to a particular culture--in this case, the Trinidad desi).
Let's also talk about the feel of Secrets We Kept. It is very much a "place as character" book. Sital's descriptions put you right there in Trinidad--the sights, smells, tastes, people, culture, everything. It also reminded me how much I love conversation written phonetically in the local patois. It probably took me longer to read because I was so caught up in the language; by the end, I was putting much of the non-conversational script in the dialect.
Thank you to WW Norton and Co. and Net Galley for this ARC.