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There are currently 38 member reviews
for Golden Child
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Rose N. (Saginaw, MI)
Choices
The Deyalsingh family from Trinidad is blessed with the birth of male twins...one considered a genius and the other seemingly a bit 'slow'. As years progress, the hard-working patriarch of the family is faced with a choice that will change his loving family forever and will leave the reader unable to stop reading until the very last word of the very last page. There are so many ideas presented in 'The Golden Child' that beg to be shared and discussed. Among these are education, crime and family life in Trinidad.
Claire Adam has given us a well-written, riveting story that will remain with the reader for a long, long time!
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Sally H. (Geneva, OH)
Golden Child
This haunting story pulls you in and doesn't let go until the heartbreaking, but inevitable, conclusion. Claire Adam's writing transports the reader to Trinidad, where you feel the weather, smell and taste the local cuisine, hear the musical Caribbean English, experience the family's grinding poverty in this setting of impossible beauty, and meet people who are unspeakably cruel and people who are incredibly generous. I highly recommend this book.
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Jane N. (Little Egg Harbor, NJ)
The Child
This story revolves around twins born to a family of Indian descent. One child is gifted and one is"slow" according to his description. The question is how do parents treat each child? Loving them is not the problem. They are loved, the problems arise as they are growing up. Do you keep them together no mater the cost to each or do you separate them, again no matter the cost? Are you strict with both or do make allowances for different behaviors that happen all the time? How do you know, as a parent what to do? This is the premise of the book and the questions are handled beautifully. Some choices will break your heart, others will make you laugh out loud, but you will never look at choices the same way again. The questions that the books brings up and explores have no set answers.
Interwoven in the story of the twins is the story of a family that doesn't always behave you expect them too. They sometimes border on the side of dysfunction proving that family dynamics are universal. Religion also plays a major role here also. I will not give any spoilers away here ! The book is well written and enjoyable. I recommend this for any Book Club, there is a lot to discuss here .
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Margaret H. (Springfield, VA)
Golden Child
I wasn't sure if I would like this book, as it is about a poor Indian family living in Trinidad, but once I started it I couldn't put it down. As it opens one of the ten boys is missing. Has he run away because his parents blame him for causing robbers to ruin the house looking for money, or has he just gotten lost because he is known as the "Retarded son". The reader suddenly returns to an earlier time when the twins were born and Paul is thought to be retarded as he lacked oxygen when born. Peter, the other child, is smarter but they are kept together in school. As the story progresses we meet the members of the extended family, all of whom have money. As the boys grow up the reader learns more about this dysfunctional family and the father's plan for them. Then the author takes as back to the missing boy and we find out the reason he was missing and the effect it will have on the family. This time shift is easier to understand then one that contains time or character jumps back and forth. The author is good at taking us to a cliff several times in the story. As I said, I could not put it down once I started reading and I think others may also not be able to. I am eager to share it with my book groups.
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R. Morgan, NC
Best New Book
Golden Child is one of those books that draws you in and doesn't let you go until the very last page. Every character is richly developed and realistic which made it a joy to read. I found myself wanting to know more about life in Trinidad. The urban slang words used in the book also enriched the story and I found myself looking some of them up to understand the meaning better. It also touched on so many aspects of human nature both good and bad. I highly recommend Golden Child for book clubs because of the wide variety of subjects that could be discussed. I hope everyone enjoys the book as much as I did.
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Beverly D. (Palm Harbor, FL)
WOW.
A family surviving in poverty, betrayal of the worst kind, and impossible choices, this is the story of Golden Child. The writing in this novel is sublime...just enough description to put you in rural Trinidad and feel the oppressiveness of both the weather and a family life that will shatter. For a first effort I find this novel astonishing. Highly recommended for book clubs!
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Catherine H. (Barnegat, NJ)
Golden Child by Claire Adam
This moving tale about the inter connectedness of familial bonds and how one's life can be altered by the decisions of those closest to us, is an excellent choice for book clubs. Use of multiple narratives revealed the characters qualities of devotion, fear, aspiration, and betrayal, allowing me to develop a relationship with each one. Details of their everyday life transported me into their world of rural Trinidad, a setting that directly impacted the story. I recommend this intense story that will stay in your head long after the book is done.
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