untold stories shape people's lives both when they are withheld & when they are revealed

Everything is connected to everything else, if you only go far enough back in time

3.75/5⭐

I don't know if this is because I'm coming off of reading a lot of action/crime books, I just couldn't understand the need for secrecy. Other than that, I absolutely loved the book. I didn't like the prose at certain parts of the book but it didn't ruin the story in anyway for me. So many social and political issues are discussed in this book, but I would have loved those discussions in the book more if the author had named them explicitly rather than trying to convey something without actually naming it, which just leaves a bad taste for me, although, again it could be a "me" thing and it's not like other readers would feel how I felt when reading those parts of the story.

Even though it's labelled as a mystery with a mention of "murder" in the blurb, I just couldn't care much about it, reading this book, I felt like it was inconsequential, because so much had happened to Eleanor in the last five decades, that I just felt like she and everyone else are making a big deal out of it ? Even though I had that feeling, I still enjoyed this book and it made me smile and cry in various moments. Hoping to catch the TV show that was adapted from this book next

I already know this will be one of my favorite books of the year and one I’ll recommend to others.  This debut novel follows two estranged siblings as they process their mother’s death and learn more about her past.  The story weaves between present day and past events in their mother’s life in the Caribbean, London, and California.  We experience multiple points of view, woven together to illustrate the complexities within family relationships.  

I think this is the part that made the book so deep and meaningful for me.  I tend to fall hard for books that look at family lineage, grown children seeing their parents as full people for the first time, and the quiet build of empathy that happens when characters realize other’s experiences were not the same as their own.  Working through defensive mechanisms and beginning to share openly, while listening without judgement, is one of my favorite character evolutions.  

As these siblings work their way towards empathy and understanding, both for each other and for their mother, the reader gets to hear the story of their family unfold along the way.  Parts are heartbreaking, parts are beautiful, though mostly there is love and resilience.  I truly loved this novel.