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Alissa C. (Woodstown, NJ)
Golden Child...with a black heart
I don't know where to begin with this novel- on one hand, I loved it. Claire Adam's writing is beautiful and engaging, I fell in love immediately with her style of writing. I also loved her location - rural Trinidad, a place I know very little about. While I enjoyed so much about this book, I'm almost evenly torn by what I didn't like- that is, the actual story, the hideously depressing ending, and the callous characters. Why write this book, or such a story? I finished the book and could not stop it from replaying in my mind, especially that question of...why? Perhaps the ending comes to show what little choice
…more the very poor in impoverished environments really have? And that, when in those places, you grab on with all you have to a chance to escape
However, it was a beautiful and haunting book- I could see it being discussed by a book club. I'd be curious to hear others experiences with this story, how they found the characters, and particularly the ending. I feel that I won't soon leave this book behind, that I'll keep that lost boy in my mind, and wonder about his family. (less)When I read this book, I wasn't sure whom I had the most compassion for... Clyde, Joy, Peter or Paul. I think it makes a great book for book clubs as there is a lot up for discussion. Since reading the book, I have found myself thinking about the characters and how the fate you are given defines your destiny. Were the characters just resigned to their preordained paths or could they have changed their fate. Who is really the Golden Child? Peter or Paul?
Florence H. (Laguna Woods, CA)
Golden Child
Adam has written a sensitive, yet disturbing novel of different lives in Trinidad. I could easily identify with the problems involved in raising two children of very different abilities. The insights into Paul's thinking as being labeled retarded were touching. Clyde, the father, is presented as a strong character with difficult choices. Having the suspense introduced by a criminal element kept me riveted to the end. I did find the format of part one being the present, part two the past, and returning to the present in part three somewhat confusing until rereading a little.
Colleen F. (Carrollton, TX)
The Tale of Two Sons
This book is full of emotions. It makes you think about what you would do in certain situations. When you have children sometimes you have to make choices that may not be favorable to everyone. This book will have you on a rollercoaster of emotion and insight. This is a book that would be great for a book club.
Ruth H. (Sebring, FL)
Trinidad Tragedy
I enjoyed the book! Clyde, Joy, Peter and Paul are very interesting characters, well developed and unusual in their thinking. I was not always sure the rest of the family was good for them. So much violence in their neighborhood, could not believe they stayed there. I didn't trust the priest, thought maybe he had a hand in the violence. I liked the kooky relatives! The ending came as quite a shock, but see a sequel in the future. Claire Adam did a great job, would read more of her books.
Kathy (ME)
Recommend with Reservations
This is a difficult book to rate and review. The prose and characters are four to five stars, but the plot and details of the third book within Golden Child diminished my overall enjoyment of the book greatly.
Having read A Place for Us, the first book under SJP's imprint, I was incredibly eager to read Golden Child, the second book published by SJP. I was immediately drawn into Adam's straight-forward but lovely prose, and the dialogue of the already realistic characters places the reader in the setting of Trinidad so effectively. Adam introduces her characters in the first book of the novel largely through
…more Clyde, a husband and father of twins, but the second book takes the reader back in time several years and shifts mainly to Paul's perspective (one of the twins), as well as that of a kindly priest/teacher. I typically don't enjoy this technique of shifting back in time and shifting perspectives at the same time (it can feel gimmicky), but these techniques are incredibly effective to the plot and structure of Golden Child. Adam's pacing and revealing of contrasting perspectives serves to show Paul in two starkly different lights - that of a trouble-maker who is incapable of learning, and that of a gentle boy who feels his fate has been sealed by his retardation (using the term from the novel, not my own). The plot comes to its climax in the third book and this is where the novel began to disappoint me. I don't read for happy endings or plots that are easily tied up in a neat package - I like complex characters and dynamics. However, Adam steps too far into gratuitous violence/abuse in the third book; it is both difficult to stomach and not fitting with the tone of the rest of the novel. Without providing spoilers, Adam could have achieved the same end result through less gruesome means. This is a stunning debut novel but one I would recommend with reservations. (less)
Rebecca G. (Havertown, PA)
Family Tragedy
Peter is a golden child; he's intelligent, well behaved. He's the perfect child. His twin brother is brain damaged, considered retarded; a frustration for his father. This story is not so much the story of a boy that disappears but of a family, not so different than most families. It's a family that loves and struggles and, at times, resents each other. But then, the resentment takes a tragic turn. The family endures difficulties; a tragic car accident, a murder, betrayal and, finally, the disappearance of their frustrating child. In the end, they pull through with hope carried by their golden child. I liked
…more this book, though at times it was hard to identify with the family, mostly I think because of cultural differences. (less)A glossary of Trinidad euphemisms which are used profusely throughout the story would have contributed to a more colorful depiction of the the cultural setting.
