Published by SJP/Hogarth ISBN 9780525572992
Hardcover, $26, 281 pages
Actress Sarah Jessica Parker's first book from her SJP Hogarth imprint at Penguin Random House is the brilliant debut novel by Fatima Farheen Mirza, A Place For Us (my review here). The second book from her imprint is also a debut novel, Golden Child, by Claire Adam, and it is another fantastic novel.
Set in Trinidad, we meet Clyde Deyalsingh, a hardworking man, and his wife Joy. They have twin thirteen year-old boys, Peter and Paul, and live in a modest home that they own in a rural area. The boys travel a long way daily to their Catholic school.
Peter is a brilliant young man, and his parents are very proud of him and hope to be able to send him to a good college. When the boys were born, the cord was wrapped around Paul's neck and it has resulted in him being considered mentally challenged by many.
Joy's brother Vishnu believes that Peter could do great things and encourages Clyde to support Peter, even giving him money to do so. Father Kavanagh from the boys' school does not believe that Paul is mentally challenged and is tutoring him.
One day Paul leaves home to go for a walk and doesn't come back. Did Paul wander off and get lost, did he run away, or has something nefarious happened to him, perhaps related to the recent incident when two men came into their home and robbed and tied up Joy, Peter and Paul?
Much of the book takes place as Clyde tries to discover what has happened to his son. Clyde has always been a strong husband and father, and has worked hard to make a good life for his family. As he pieces together what has happened to Paul, he is forced to confront an unimaginable choice, one that puts him at odds with his family.
Golden Child immerses the reader in the countryside of Trinidad. We meet the neighbors and family of the Deyalsinghs. The homes all have dogs and barred windows to protect them, and in the wealthier neighborhoods, (including where Joy's brother Philip, a judge, lives) security guards on site.
The reader senses the undercurrent of danger that surrounds them, where at any moment they may be accosted by someone looking for money.
There are some wonderful food passages here as well. Joy makes a simple dinner for Clyde of "melongene choka, with plenty of onion and garlic, the way he likes it, some cucumber salad, and some warm paratha roti wrapped up in dishcloth."
Clyde eats at the work canteen, "where they have all kinds of food: dhalpuri roti and buss-up-shut, chicken wings and drumsticks, pelau, corn-soup, callaloo." You'll definitely want to look all these dishes up online.
SJP has done it again with Claire Adams' Golden Child- found a debut novel with a brilliant distinctive voice, one that takes the reader into a culture they may not be familiar with, yet deals with universal theme of what it means to be part of a family, and the joy and heartbreak that can bring. I highly recommend it.
Thanks to TLC Tours for putting me on Claire Adams' tour. The rest of her stops are here:
Instagram Tour:
Monday, January 28th: @hotcocoareads
Tuesday, January 29th: @prose_and_palate
Tuesday, January 29th: @bookstackedblonde
Tuesday, January 29th: @dropandgivemenerdy
Wednesday, January 30th: @jennblogsbooks
Thursday, January 31st: @readingbetweenthe_wines
Thursday, January 31st: @bookishmadeleine
Friday, February 1st: @tbretc
Saturday, February 2nd: @eternalbooks_
Sunday, February 3rd: @bookclubwithbite
Review Tour:
Monday, January 28th: A Bookish Affair
Tuesday, January 29th: Rockin’ Book Reviews
Wednesday, January 30th: BookNAround
Thursday, January 31st: Amy’s Book-et List
Monday, February 4th: Run Wright
Tuesday, February 5th: @booksandpolkadots
Wednesday, February 6th: Book by Book
Thursday, February 7th: Palmer’s Page Turners
Monday, February 11th: Bookchickdi
Tuesday, February 12th: Books and Cats and Coffee
Wednesday, February 13th: Kahakai Kitchen
Thursday, February 14th: Lit and Life
Friday, February 15th: Thoughts from a Highly Caffeinated Mind
Monday, February 18th: Booktimistic and @booktimistic
Tuesday, February 19th: Eliot’s Eats
Wednesday, February 20th: @worldswithinpages
Thursday, February 21st: Wining Wife
Monday, February 25th: Patricia’s Wisdom
Monday, February 25th: @wherethereadergrows
Tuesday, February 26th: Tar Heel Reader and @tarheelreader
Wednesday, February 27th: @thesaggingbookshelf
Friday, March 1st: Thoughts on This ‘n That
I love the unique setting of this book, it really sets it apart and that alone makes me want to read it. Thanks for being on the tour!
ReplyDeleteSara @ TLC Book Tours