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62nd out of 106 books
—
36 voters
The Heart Does Not Bend
Family loyalty, betrayal and the redemptive power of love are at the heart of this poignant and unforgettable novel set in Canada and Jamaica.
When Maria Galloway dies, she leaves everything to her spoiled, wayward grandson, Vittorio. Her only granddaughter, Molly, whom she raised from infancy, is left to confront the unyielding bitterness Maria harboured against her. As Mo...more
When Maria Galloway dies, she leaves everything to her spoiled, wayward grandson, Vittorio. Her only granddaughter, Molly, whom she raised from infancy, is left to confront the unyielding bitterness Maria harboured against her. As Mo...more
Hardcover, 272 pages
Published
February 26th 2002
by Random House Canada
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This book really drew me in. The character development was very good. As the cover says, the story portrays the relationships between mothers and daughters for several generations. It seems that the issues of race and sexuality took a definite backseat to the portrayal of mother-daughter relations. The book did feel a bit incomplete and certainly didn't have the feel-good ending(/beginning?).
A fun read, filled with lots of Jamaican patois and references to Jamaican locales, food, and sayings, as well as references to locales in Toronto. It was interesting and simply written. The story is about the relationships between grandmothers, mothers and daughters, and their "wutliss" [worthless:] men, which are fraught with both friction and undying love. Well worth the read!
This was a powerful, captivating novel that examined the intersections between original and created families, social inequality, post-colonial island culture and the racial history of the Caribbean. Silvera explores the complicated politics surrounding both adolescent and aging adult sexuality, uncovering the multiple social responses to sexualized bodies, young and old. Mama, the matriarch of the family, symbolizes the racialized experiences of immigrants in the Canadian context, as well as the...more
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Makeda Silvera was born in Kingston, Jamaica, and spent her early years there before immigrating to Canada in 1967. Now living in Toronto, she is co-founder of Sister Vision: Black Women and Women of Colour Press, where she is the managing editor. Her previous publications include Silenced, an acclaimed collection of oral histories of Caribbean domestic workers in Canada; Growing Up Black, a resou...more
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