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Atmospheric, immersive, un-put-down-able, truly impressive storytelling from a Caribbean voice you will want to hear from again…and again…. Highly recommended. A stunningly powerful first novel, and an early contender for the 2023 Booker Prize. I can't say I enjoyed the book because it gives a view of the lives of people who are simply too downtrodden by their circumstances to drag themselves out of the mire. There are so many strikes against them from birth that unless a miracle occurs they will remain in poverty. I thought this had some really solid storylines and they all tied in well together at the end. There were some really well written parts, and the plot was interesting to follow.
a b c d e f newsamericas (26 July 2018). "This Caribbean National Wins The 2018 Commonwealth Short Story Prize". Caribbean and Latin America Daily News . Retrieved 3 February 2021. This is not an easy read, however it is a rewarding one and will stay with its readers. The Creole combined with some of the most beautiful English words is a symphony of language. A deftly written novel with evocative, lyrical prose, vivid characterisation and a heartbreaking plot. Hungry Ghosts is a mesmerising novel about violence, religion, family and class, rooted in the wild and pastoral landscape of 1940s colonial central Trinidad.Hosein's characters warrant investment, as their hopes and fears strike a chord. Yet a looming cloud of violence and narcissism pervades the island, prompting the reader's urge to scream a warning to the imperiled characters or to hold their breath, hoping against the odds that somehow the goodness of humanity will prevail. Sadly, it rarely does. Hungry Ghosts is an intriguing read that forces us to confront the harsh realities of life and its varying juxtapositions of violence and beauty, love and hate, faith and despair... continued
The plot pivots on Dalton Changoor’s disappearance, which prompts Marlee to pay Hans extra to keep watch overnight – money Hans wants to buy his family a plot of land for a house in Bell. Shweta realises, too late, she never “exactly agreed” to Hans taking the post. There isn’t a dud moment or misplaced word. Hosein – a biology teacher who writes poems and stories by night – has a poet’s gift for similes (“the dawnlight appeared as a single painted fingernail hoisting itself over the mountain range, glowing hot and focused as a soldering iron”). But his writing is at its electric best when the weather is as stormy as his characters’ emotions. Go!’ Tarak yelled and White Lady went running. Pounced on Mikey, threw him down. The plank in the pool. Will this novel win prizes? Undoubtedly. In fact it is the first book I have read this year that I hope to see on the Booker Longlist. Visible in the distance was the church, a monolith so tall that it was visible from any walk. The rictus of Christ more like an adjudicating scowl than a pained grimace. The chorus of some Friday evening rehearsal warming the still air like birdsong. Suddenly, the sound of a bell. A lady in the store commented to a clerk, Hear that? Look like Miss Betsy finally pass on, God rest that old woman soul. Krishna wondered if the bell tolled for all souls – or only for the ones that’d been baptised.That decision, initially supported by Hans’ wife Shweta, sets forth a propulsive chain of events that rises to the true definition of tragedy: a tragic hero in his prime who is disastrously brought down by his own flaws, in this case, trying to escape from an impoverished and restricted life. The organic trajectory of the plot is breathtakingly wrenching and painstakingly profound. Reading Paulette Jiles' revenge western Chenneville, it's easy to remember she's a poet. She plays ... It was a test, devised by the Lord. And he passed. The Lord appeared before the future king and spoke the quote. Yudhishthira was now worthy of being a king. A king is often spoilt and not subjected to suffering, but must come to know it for the sake of his subjects. So the quote isn’t about being tortured or punished, but a divine call for sensibility, for empathy... A tale that throbs with the threat of danger, both emotional and physical … Hungry Ghosts is a dazzling debut This room, right here, where my wife does her art and the washing machine is on, so I usually have my headphones on. And there’s a window view where I do my long writing, unedited stuff. Sometimes, I just type-type-type, whatever comes to me. I usually do editing in bed before going to sleep. Which is not really ideal, but it’s what I’ve become used to.
Wonderful, talented, poetic writing. Filled with words, plants and animals I don't know, some of which I actually looked up. Hosein has (re)created an entire world for me out of the barely subsisting poor of Trinadad in the 1940's, families living out of single rooms on an estate that floods, rots, carries disease and is subject to invasion from enemies. I can't say whether this is an act of imagination or is faithful to the society of the time, but it is absorbing and thrilling. During the first year of marriage, she had deconstructed her entire self with the revered language of dead writers. Patched herself with ideas and metaphors until she wasn’t sure where her former self dies and this new self was born. Her mind its own Ship of Theseus”
Book Summary
Lyrically narrated and inspired by storytelling traditions, Hungry Ghost is astonishing -- my first SIX-STAR book of 2023. It’s hard to summon words to convey how resonant and remarkable this book is.
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