Thursday, October 11, 2018

GOLDEN CHILD by Claire Adam
























5.5
Crown Publishing
Publishing date January 29, 2019

About

Rural Trinidad: a brick house on stilts surrounded by bush; a family, quietly surviving, just trying to live a decent life. Clyde, the father, works long, exhausting shifts at the petroleum plant in southern Trinidad; Joy, his wife, looks after the home. Their two sons, thirteen years old, wake early every morning to travel to the capital, Port of Spain, for school. They are twins but nothing alike: Paul has always been considered odd, while Peter is widely believed to be a genius, destined for greatness.

When Paul goes walking in the bush one afternoon and doesn't come home, Clyde is forced to go looking for him, this child who has caused him endless trouble already, and who he has never really understood. And as the hours turn to days, and Clyde begins to understand Paul’s fate, his world shatters—leaving him faced with a decision no parent should ever have to make.

Like the Trinidadian landscape itself, GOLDEN CHILD is both beautiful and unsettling; a resoundingly human story of aspiration, betrayal, and love.


My view

I just now finished GOLDEN Child by Claire Adam. Noticing 1 star ratings, I hesitated and put the book aside to read closer towards the publishing date.
Having a friend born in Trinidad changed my mind glad it did. 

The story of Paul and Peter, twins begins at their birth, Peter arrives in this world a healthy boy followed by Paul who's birth is overshadowed by a more difficult birth which will follow him throughout his life. 
Both boys are loved, by their mother and father, including a large extended family comprised of Aunts, Uncles differing in social status which will play a deciding role in Paul's and Peter's lives.
Although the story takes us deep into the underbelly of Trinidad, it is a tale easily imagined in places were crime infringes upon the innocent, a feeling I had throughout the novel.
Claire Adam's pen brings Paul and Peter right off the page into ones heart, crying while reading a novel doesn't happen often, I cared for these boys deeply.
Reality drives this story, its strength lies in the truth the author brings to the page, perhaps not quite comfortable for everyone...whence the 1 star ratings. For me this novel rates a solid 5 stars.


A must read

Thank you to Crown Publishing for giving me a chance to read this beautiful novel before being published.

Thank you to NetGalley for the arc