Title: Brother
Author: David Chariandy
First published September 26, 2017
192 pages, Hardcover
ISBN: 9781635572049 (ISBN10: 1635572045)
Rating: 4
Overview
Brother, a riveting and poignant novel by David Chariandy, explores the intricacies of identity, race, and family in a housing complex in Scarborough during the summer of 1991. Michael and Francis, sons of Trinidadian immigrants, are facing the harsh realities of growing up as young men of black and brown ancestry in a world that sees them through a lens of prejudice and low expectations.
As they navigate their way through The Park, a townhouse complex in the outskirts of the city, they cling to their dreams of a better life. Francis dreams of music, Michael dreams of Aisha, and both brothers find solace in the Rouge Valley, a green wilderness that slices through their neighbourhood.
However, their hopes are shattered by a violent shooting, followed by a police crackdown that leaves them reeling with suspicion and grief. With his mesmerizing prose, Chariandy captures the intense bond between brothers and the devastating loss of lives cut short by senseless violence.
Brother is a timely and heart-wrenching story that explores the complexities of masculinity, family, and the search for identity in a world rife with prejudice and violence.
About the Author
Meet David Chariandy, a Canadian author and co-founder of Commodore Books. He gained recognition with his debut novel Soucouyant, which received ten nominations and awards, including the 2009 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, the 2007 Scotiabank Giller Prize, and the 2007 Governor General’s Award for Fiction.
It was also a winner of the 2007 ForeWord Book of the Year Award for literary fiction from an independent press. The book was also shortlisted for the 2008 Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Best First Book of Canada and the Caribbean, the 2008 Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize of the British Columbia Book Prizes, the 2008 City of Toronto Book Award, the 2008 “One Book, One Vancouver” of the Vancouver Public Library, the 2008 Relit Award for best novel from a Canadian independent press, and the 2007 in Canada First Novel Award.
Chariandy earned a master’s degree from Carleton and a doctorate from York University. He currently lives in Vancouver and teaches in the department of English at Simon Fraser University.
His second novel, titled Brother, is set to be released by McClelland and Stewart.
Editoral Review
David Chariandy’s Brother is a hauntingly beautiful novel that explores themes of identity, family, and race with a deft and nuanced hand. Published in 2017, Brother was shortlisted for the Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize and longlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize, cementing its place as one of the most important books of the year.
Set in Scarborough, Ontario in the 1990s, Brother tells the story of Michael and Francis, two black brothers who are struggling to find their place in a world that is hostile to them. Michael is the older brother, a quiet and studious type who dreams of escaping his poverty-stricken neighborhood through education.
Francis, on the other hand, is a charismatic and rebellious teenager who finds solace in the local hip-hop scene.
As the novel unfolds, we see the brothers grapple with their past and their future, as well as the racial tensions that permeate their community. From the vivid descriptions of the local park where the brothers play basketball, to the brutal violence that erupts when the police raid a nearby nightclub, Brother is a novel that captures the complex realities of life in a marginalized community.
Chariandy’s prose is nothing short of extraordinary, with a lyrical quality that is both evocative and haunting. He has a gift for capturing the nuances of human experience, from the small moments of tenderness between the brothers, to the larger social forces that shape their lives.
The result is a novel that is both deeply personal and universally resonant.
One of the book’s greatest strengths is its characters. Michael and Francis are both complex and fully realized, with their own hopes, dreams, and fears.
Chariandy does an excellent job of showing how their experiences are shaped by their race, class, and gender, without reducing them to caricatures or stereotypes. The supporting cast of characters, from the boys’ mother to their friends in the hip-hop scene, are equally well-drawn and add depth and nuance to the story.
If there is a weakness to Brother, it is in its pacing. The novel is slow and deliberate, with a focus on character and mood over plot.
While this is a strength in many ways, some readers may find themselves wishing for a little more action or excitement.
Overall, Brother is a stunning achievement, a novel that is both timely and timeless in its exploration of race, family, and identity. It is a book that will stay with readers long after they have turned the final page.
Highly recommended.
Rating: 4.5/5
