PositiveThe Times (UK)Picture in your mind a book about mermaids. Now turn that image upside down, set it on fire and pee all over it. That’s what Monique Roffey does in The Mermaid of Black Conch with her playful disregard for our conventional expectations ... Shortlisted for the Costa best novel award, the book is based on an ancient legend passed down by the indigenous people of the Caribbean ... There\'s comedy to lighten the mood ... The narrative is interspersed with poetry, journal entries, recollections and passages that give insight into various characters’ perspectives; this entertaining novel, like Aycayia, is itself a shape-shifting curiosity.
Brit Bennett
PositiveThe Times (UK)For this mixed-race reader, each page of Stella’s fakery, each page of her pretending to be white even in the face of so much racism, felt like a punch to the gut. Stella has to sacrifice so much of herself to maintain the lie. \'Passing\' requires utter vigilance; Stella must avoid black people who are most likely to spot her deception. And this feeling of utter frustration fuels the book’s power as a page-turner ... The novel leaps back and forth, occasionally disorientating, from the segregated 1950s to the 1990s, and across cities and states. Sometimes Bennett’s storytelling is unsubtle — white-aspiring Stella works in the White Building. But the intricacies of identity, of \'shadeism\' between differently skin toned African-Americans, of white privilege are skilfully pursued in this poignant and clever multigenerational saga about race in America.
Angie Cruz
PositiveThe Sunday Times (UK)Cruz’s sensuous and passionate descriptions, especially of the Dominican Republic, make the tough story bearable. You can almost smell the mangos, chayote and platanos; the stolen childhood Ana so desperately longs for ... The novel offers a gritty insight into the sacrifices people make to get US citizenship and the hard-nosed choices forced on them ... Still, the harsh reality of immigration is balanced with a refreshing dose of humour...and honesty ... The alternating focus of the chapters—not only on Ana’s experience, but also on Juan’s—attempts to coax out a degree of compassion towards Juan who, pining for another woman...has also been forced to make sacrifices. Cruz is not entirely successful at this; empathy towards Juan, who has a violent streak, is hard to muster.
