Cover of Redemptor by Jordan Ifueko

Behold the Saviour Empress in Redemptor by Jordan Ifueko

-- Originally published on December 12, 2021 in the Stabroek News Last December, I had the pleasure of reviewing a gift: Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko, which sits on my bookshelf as one of the best books I have ever read, and I was happy to share it with my readers last year. Thankfully, Ifueko herself …

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Cover of Beneath the Rising by Premee Mohamed

The triumphs and woes of genius in Premee Mohamed’s Beneath the Rising

-- Originally published on November 14, 2021 in the Stabroek News Photograph of Premee Mohamed I love cosmic horror. There is something unsettling about one day finding one’s self battling against giant incomprehensible forces older than humanity itself. Add a dash of action/adventure to the mix and set it in the early 2000s and I …

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Cover of The Rainmaker's Mistake by Erna Brodber

Overcoming post-Emancipation stagnation in Erna Brodber’s The Rainmaker’s Mistake

Today is Emancipation Day, and millions of Afro-Caribbean people within the Region and across the diaspora will be celebrating the 183rd anniversary of the abolition of slavery across the British Empire. We have come a far way since this first Emancipation Day, but there are still many ingrained colonialist systems and thought processes that we …

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The Ministry of Utmost Happiness by Arundhati Roy

I was drawn to The Ministry of Utmost Happiness by a Guardian Article in 2016 when the publication announced that Arundhati Roy was breaking her 20-year fiction hiatus and publishing a second novel. I was intrigued. I had come across Roy’s work near the beginning of my original reading challenge when I got a kindle sample …

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The Things They Carried

The Things They Carried is the only book on my list that I have listened to exclusively. This was purely coincidental. My father had bought the audiobook months ago, and for some reason, I was struck with a pang of laziness upon seeing the cover. I just didn’t feel like seeing the words for this …

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Reading Update (Halfway There!)

Note: For a full analysis table of my readings, click here. Dear Lord! I have been gone for quite a long time, haven’t I? I was so busy with my school work that I was forced to take a very LONG hiatus. There were so many exams, assignments, tests, and presentations that I needed to …

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Reading Table

Hello! Here is a table of the books I have read along with their associated countries and regions. I will be updating this from time to time, so do enjoy! # Book Countries and Regions 1. The Valley of Amazement by Amy Tan China East Asia U.S.A. (California and New York) North America 2. Memoirs of …

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The Sweet Tale of Queen Sugar

Social media has been helping me discover so many of my readings. For instance, when I started following Ava DuVernay on Twitter last year, I inevitably stumbled upon her OWN series Queen Sugar during her fan-comment retweets. Most of these comments were mini thankyou-notes that ranged from “thank you for exploring ____ theme” or “I …

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Binti – An Afrofuturistic Tale

Afropunk steered my readings to Nigeria again by introducing me to Binti. I don’t remember what their Facebook post said, but I do remember reading the book's description...

Middle Eastern Sojourns – Part 2

It took me almost a month to get through And the Mountains Echoed. I spoke about my initial difficulties in my first installment of Middle Eastern Sojourns, only to be bombarded with even more hindrances soon after. Nevertheless, I persevered through sporadic reading and once I had finished the book, I developed a new appreciation …

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