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Cereus Blooms at Night

3.87 of 5 stars 3.87 · rating details · 840 ratings · 78 reviews

Shani Mootoo’s haunting debut took the international literary world by storm. A Book Sense selection and a finalist for the Giller Prize, the Chapters/Books in Canada First Novel Award, and the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize, Cereus Blooms at Night is an exquisite cross-generational history filled with thrilling passion and alluring mystery. Set in the fictional Caribbean town...more

Paperback, 272 pages

Published October 27th 2009 by Grove Press (first published 1997)

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Oct 11, 2007 Sarah Sammis rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: borrowed, released

Cereus Blooms at Night is one of the most powerful and thought provoking books I've read this year. I wish I had finished it before the BTT question last week about obscenity in literature because it makes a good argument for when explicit scenes are needed in a book to tell a story.

Shani Mootoo wastes no words in Cereus Blooms at Night. Everything has a meaning and often more than one. The cereus of the title both refer to the cactus that grows in Mala's yard and to Mala's brief moment of true...more

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Mar 25, 2012 Laura Rodd rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I absolutely loathed this book. I was really excited about the reviews, "Shani Mootoo’s haunting debut took the international literary world by storm. A Book Sense selection and a finalist for the Giller Prize, the Chapters/Books in Canada First Novel Award, and the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize, Cereus Blooms at Night is an exquisite cross-generational history filled with thrilling passion and alluring mystery. Set in the fictional Caribbean town of Paradise, Cereus Blooms at Night unveils the mys...more

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May 29, 2011 Vasha7 rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I read this book over the course of about three days. The generally smoothly written story, in spite of some problems of organization which betray a first novel, drew me through it. In spite of some terrible scenes of family violence (I admit that sometimes I skimmed this) it is not a depressing story at all. Mootoo does seem to to hesitate a bit awkwardly between realism and the fanciful, both in the depiction of the island of Lantanacamara and in the lives of her characters.

Although I liked Ty...more

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Apr 11, 2011 Zeborah rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: women-authors, poc-authors, lgbt-authors, unfantasy, 2011, 5star

This was a fantastic read but at times a very hard one; serious trigger warnings for child abuse (verbal, physical, sexual).

It begins as a beautifully sweet story about racial and sexual and gender identity; about family separations made by force or by choice, and about forbidden liaisons both healthy and unhealthy. Set in the country of Lantanacamara, colonised by the Shivering Northern Wetlands -- more an open code than fantasy countries -- the story focuses on three generations of locals, str...more

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Jan 19, 2013 Nicole rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book is a top shelf favourite. The voice of the narrator (Tyler) hooks you from the first page and carries you through the majority of the story. At certain points focalisation is through other characters and while I found the transitions to be seamless, I did prefer the p.o.v of Tyler. The writing didn't disappoint at all and the characters were rich and well fleshed out. Elements of rape and incest were disturbing but they were an integral part of the protagonist's journey and I felt the...more

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Jul 14, 2011 J rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2011, avid-reader-recommendations

(FROM JACKET)Set on a fictional Caribbean island in the town of Paradise, "Cereus Blooms at Night" unveils the mystery surrounding Mala Ramchandin and the tempestuous history of her family. At the heart of this bold and seductive novel is an alleged crime committed many years before the story opens. Mala is the aging, notoriously crazt woman suspected of murder who is delivered to the Paradise Alms House after a judge finds her unfit to stand trial. When she arrives at her new home, frail and mu...more

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Dec 31, 2008 Lindi rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I love putting holds on books at the library and then being surprised when they come in. I have no idea why I requested this book, but I am so glad. It is a beautifully written novel, with astonishing characters. Shocking and violent, tender and sweet, occasionally funny, more often sad; it is the story of Mala Ramchandin, a woman who copes with the unbearable by detaching herself from reality. She's helped to reconnect by Otoh, a young person who has willed herself to be a man; Tyler, her gay n...more

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Mar 03, 2012 Michelle rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-own, contemporary-fiction, for-school, literary-fiction

(Review originally posted on my livejournal account: xhttp://intoyourlungs.livejournal.com...)

Why I Read It: Required reading for my Gender and Sexuality in Literature class.

I had never heard of this book before finding out it was an assigned text for one of my classes, which is kind of sad because this was written by a Canadian author (though she was born in Ireland and grew up in Trinidad before immigrating to Canada.) It apparently received a lot of critical acclaim when it first came out, bu...more (Review originally posted on my livejournal account: xhttp://intoyourlungs.livejournal.com...)

Why I Read It: Required reading for my Gender and Sexuality in Literature class.

I had never heard of this book before finding out it was an assigned text for one of my classes, which is kind of sad because this was written by a Canadian author (though she was born in Ireland and grew up in Trinidad before immigrating to Canada.) It apparently received a lot of critical acclaim when it first came out, but seeing as I was only seven years old, it makes sense that I wouldn't remember THAT. Anyway, my point for all this is that I had zero expectations jumping into this, and had no idea what to expect.

What I got was something incredibly original: the story read a little bit like a gothic story set in the Caribbean with heavy overtones of post-colonialism, with a hint of magic realism and a lot of playing around with gender. These all sound like disparate parts, but Mootoo was somehow able to bring them all together in a cohesive whole.

I should clarify that this isn't really a gothic novel set in the Caribbean. It has gothic elements in it, such as this being a multi-generational story that is full of violence and taboo (most notably the rape of the main character Mala at the hands of her father). There's also a dash of magical realism that gives it a bit of that element of the supernatural that can be found in gothic novels as well. The story of the life of Mala Ramchandin is an incredibly sad one; it made me ache a little with how depressing everything was. I do also feel compelled to warn that anyone who is triggered by scenes of abuse (verbal and sexual) should stay far away from this novel. There was a rape scene closer to the end of the book that had my stomach churning. Ultimately though, the story ends on a note of hope, which was a welcome relief to all the despair that came before it. Despite how depressing it all is though, the story of Mala Ramchandin is incredibly compelling as well, and is perfectly paced by Mootoo. As the story progresses, things wind tighter and tighter as the reader approaches the eminent disaster that unravels Mala's life. It's not told in chronological order, so it was interesting watching the elements of the story that were initially confusing or just had no context all come together in the end.

Throughout the novel, there's a lot of ambiguity regarding gender and sexuality. Nurse Tyler for example, is gay, a cross-dresser, still identifies as male, but is largely characterized in the female spectrum. Then we have Otoh, someone who was born a female, then "transforms" into a male (an instance of the dash of magical realism found in the novel) but it still *biologically* female. Mootoo however, still uses male pronouns whenever referring to Otoh. This brought up some interesting discussion in my class about the nature of Tyler and Otoh's budding relationship. Some people argued that while they both identified as men (which would make their relationship homosexual) they still felt that the book was perpetuating heteronormativity because Otoh was still biologically a woman. Others felt that whether Otoh had a vagina or not irrelevant because he still identified as male (I more a part of the latter camp.) It's a lot of fodder for interesting discussion and I love how Mootoo bent and twisted up gender in this way and presented it as something so fluid.

As I mentioned earlier, the writing is beautiful. It feels like every word is important, and everything is loaded with symbolism, from the recurrence of insects, to the cereus flower (which reflects the climax of the novel perfectly.)

Final Judgment: This is probably one of the most original books I have ever read. It's a story set in the Caribbean that has elements of the gothic, some magic realism and a little gender-bending. These might not sound like they all go together, but Mootoo pulled it off amazingly. The story is an incredibly sad one, but it ultimately ends up being a very hopeful one. There is a lot of scenes of abuse though, so if this is triggering for you, I would advise to stay away. With that, I wholeheartedly recommend this book, especially if you're looking for a book that's doing something completely different from the norm (it doesn't hurt that it's very well written as well.)(less)

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Aug 20, 2011 Sheena rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-pre-2010, university-reads

This novel is a beautiful piece of fiction. The characters are so layered and complex that you could not possibly "hear" everything Mootoo has to say about gender, sexuality, religion and post-colonialism is one reading. The story is set in a fictional colony called Lantanacamara and centres around a mysterious woman called Mala, who has arrived at the local nursing home. Tyler, Mala's caregiver, narrates Mala's story while telling his own, showing how they are connected. I loved this novel for...more

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Apr 05, 2011 Scott Smith rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Eh, not really my favorite, but certainly not bad. People say that it uses the same sort of "magical realism" that Marquez uses in Hundred Years of Solitude, but I certainly don't see it, and comparing this to that book will end poorly for Mootoo.
The subject deals with the performativity of gender roles and murder and trauma and nature, etc. Not bad topics but there were some rhetorical issues that irritated me and I think compromised some the arguments Mootoo was trying to make.
But it was enjo...more

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Sep 17, 2009 Jackie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book made me angry. Characters saw the tragedy occuring in their town but none of them did anything until it was too late, including the main character, Mala. Asha was the only sensible person in the whole book. But, I think that is what the book is about, closing ones eyes to hurt (abuse, racism, colonialism), doing nothing about it and the consequences.

The story was interesting and powerful. I loved the imagery. (The whole reason I picked up this book was because I have night-blooming cer...more

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Jan 06, 2012 Aurina rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

In Cereus Blooms at Night, Mala Ramchandin, the novel's protagonist, is the subject of malicious rumours in the small Carribbean island she calls home. Tried for being a dangerous murderer, she eventually finds herself at a home for the elderly. Old and decidedly crazy, the horrifically tragic truth about Mala unravels as she is befriended by Tyler, a male nurse, with a secret of his own. The two misfits find solace in each other, and despite Mala's inability to communicate, Tyler is emboldened...more In Cereus Blooms at Night, Mala Ramchandin, the novel's protagonist, is the subject of malicious rumours in the small Carribbean island she calls home. Tried for being a dangerous murderer, she eventually finds herself at a home for the elderly. Old and decidedly crazy, the horrifically tragic truth about Mala unravels as she is befriended by Tyler, a male nurse, with a secret of his own. The two misfits find solace in each other, and despite Mala's inability to communicate, Tyler is emboldened by her gentle disregard for the mainstream to unleash his own quiet rebellion.

I could not put down the book for the first 100 pages or so. In this first third of the book, Mootoo's prose is taut, vivid and incredibly lush, with hints of magical realism. Mootoo recreates colonial Lantamacara - a thinly veiled Trinidad - with impressive detail, quietly urging the reader to connect the dots between colonialism, Christianity and sexuality.

Sadly, though, my enthusiasm waned in the middle of the book. Suddenly, the magic realism becomes unsure and haphazard, and the symbolism crosses the line across from "rich" to become overwrought. In fact, the crucial scene in which we discover the horrifying source of Mala's madness, while incredibly difficult to read, is a wee bit overdone, literarily speaking. I also found Elsie's speech to Otoh at the very end, about his "true" nature, to be incongruous with the magic realism of that narrative, not to mention gratuitous after the climax of the book had already been reached.

Despite these flaws, Cereus is a well-intentioned, interesting book that, in parts, is beautifully written. It is a story about the pain, terror and most of all, the crippling loneliness of incest abuse. It is also a tale about sexuality and its meandering, complicated, unpredictable, luscious, and harrowingly wicked ways. Especially moving is the trajectory of the protagonist's life: Pohpoh, the precocious yet plucky child is forced to capitulate to the profound cruelty of her world, becoming Mala, abandoned and insane. The end may seem disingenuous in its feel-good resolution, but I greatly relished it. Mala, whose heartwrenching story is the story of so many women in the world, deserved her happy ending.
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Jun 22, 2012 Madeline rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012, novels, queer, marriage-lets-you-down, colonialism, race, lord-help-the-mister, family, women, magical-realism, social-agenda, love-story

Here's the thing about Cereus Blooms at Night: it is almost achingly transparently a first novel. Metaphors of all kinds announce themselves again and again and again. The social points are stated kind of obviously (though they are themselves sensitive and perceptive points). The plot, although amorphous, is firmly rooted in one event - but that event is not firmly rooted in anything; rather it happens because it needs to happen in order to allow the rest of the book to happen. (Which, by the wa...more Here's the thing about Cereus Blooms at Night: it is almost achingly transparently a first novel. Metaphors of all kinds announce themselves again and again and again. The social points are stated kind of obviously (though they are themselves sensitive and perceptive points). The plot, although amorphous, is firmly rooted in one event - but that event is not firmly rooted in anything; rather it happens because it needs to happen in order to allow the rest of the book to happen. (Which, by the way, is fine: but if you're going to use that, you need to leave more mystery behind it, instead of explaining everything, but that one thing on which the entire novel hinges. We only care about parts of a book if a writer directs our attention to them. Don't sabotage willing suspension of disbelief!) I've no idea if Shani Mootoo's writing has improved: this is the only novel of hers I've read, and it's also the most buzzed (my copy has a complimentary blurb from the NYT Book Review), and the only one with a Wikipedia page.

But! But! There's a lot to love about Cereus Blooms at Night, starting with the title. Which is amazing. A++ title there. Almost worth reading this book for the title alone, right? It's weirdly dense, too, although it's less than 300 pages long and the writing doesn't have a lot of frills; Mootoo's style is lush, but not baroque or self-referential - it's not particularly difficult to read, and actually is written in a fairly straightforward way. (And I'm as desensitized to sex and violence as you can get, basically, so it wasn't that either.) I don't know how the book can be written in a way both lush and streamlined, but the result is that it doesn't push you forward as you read. It was a little disorienting. What wasn't disorienting was the setup. You know as soon as Tyler tells you "this isn't my story, I'm hardly in it, actually" that Tyler's story is going to squirm to the front every chance it gets. That's totally fine with me, I liked the humanity and humor of that touch, and I liked Tyler's love story a lot. In addition, the basic facts are set out almost as soon as the novel starts. This isn't a mystery, even in a Dickensian way.

I like what the novel says, but I wish it were better at saying it. There are a lot of first novel problems (in this instance, I don't mean the framing device, although normally I hate the back and forth in time organization), but there's also a . . . lightness, a sense of vigor probably unique to a first novel that I admire. Cereus Blooms at Night is good, but it could have been so much better.(less)

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Jan 17, 2011 Michael Greenwell rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

It is difficult to create sweet without allowing the dubious scent of saccharine to invade your creation, but Shani Mootoo masterfully interweaves her hope with sorrow, and thus presents a tantalizing slice of humanity, with the sadness of shortcomings barely overcome by joy of possibility. The damaged characters that inhabit the surreal setting of Paradise, Lantacamara are a study in anti-heroes, with limited viewpoints and broken spirits, and yet the subtle acts of preserverence and desperatio...more

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Nov 02, 2010 Lisa Hutchinson rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

When I embarked on "Cereus Blooms at Night" at 7:44 am, my pores were thrusted to surface by the luminous and mellifluous language used by the narrator Nurse Tyler. As an artist, I truly appreciated the colourful and scented details that Mootoo wasted no time using. Though magically written- with reference for the numerous blossoms, cereus plants, insects, scented breeze and soulful snails to name a few- the story line for all the characters is devastatingly sad. This Paradise of Lantanacamara i...more

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Nov 20, 2009 marissa rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: anybody interested in stories about strength and survival

I grew up in Trinidad, so it's clear to me that Shani Mootoo is using Trinidad as the basis of her setting of Lantanacamara. Although I wondered initially why she fictionalized the setting, after reading the book I realized that it might be an effort to keep people from assuming that "this is what life is like in Trinidad" -- so hey, good choice there, Shani Mootoo.

But even more than her visceral evocation of the West Indies, Mootoo is notable as a writer who is not afraid to delve into the dirt...more

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Nov 14, 2009 Shane rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

In Shani Mootoo’s novel “everyone wants to be someone they are not” – just like the unassuming Cereas flowers that bloom at night into something phenomenal. Thus all the character’s have alter ego’s – Mala has her child personality Pohpoh, Otoh was once a girl and is now becoming a man but not quite, narrator Tyler discovers that he is gay and likes to cross-dress, Ambrose goes from a sleepy man to an energetic force after he is released from his guilt.

The tale of incest, child abuse and mansla...more In Shani Mootoo’s novel “everyone wants to be someone they are not” – just like the unassuming Cereas flowers that bloom at night into something phenomenal. Thus all the character’s have alter ego’s – Mala has her child personality Pohpoh, Otoh was once a girl and is now becoming a man but not quite, narrator Tyler discovers that he is gay and likes to cross-dress, Ambrose goes from a sleepy man to an energetic force after he is released from his guilt.

The tale of incest, child abuse and manslaughter takes place in a town called Paradise on a fictitious Caribbean island named Lantanacamara (which I take is Trinidad). Even the colonial mother country, which seems to be England, gets a new moniker: Shivering Northern Wetlands – how original! But Canada is mentioned towards the end of the book– so I guess, Canada grounds this story in reality. Mala and her sister are abused by their father Chandin, a budding preacher, who in turn was cheated by his wife when she outed as a lesbian and took off to the Shivering Northern Wetlands with her lover and the daughter of Chandin’s boss. One argues who is the victim here: Chandin, or Mala who has to bear the burden of her mother’s absence?

The violence is brutal when it happens, the sex is bold, and the descriptions of scents and tastes—both from nature and of humans—are heavy and palpable. The story unfolds in five segments, alternating between the present when Mala is consigned to an old age home, and the past when she was a child before her mother fled and sank the family into dysfunction. And yet we traverse a narrative arc that is dramatic and unrelenting.

Mootoo uses a variety of devices: the town folk as a chorus to give us valuable back-story in places, the heavy Caribbean accents for verisimilitude, the cereus as a metaphor for the pursuit of redemption amidst the darkness surrounding Mala, rapidly shifting points of view to denote Mala’s split personality, especially as her dark secret is unearthed in the family home on Hill Side.

There is redemption in the end, but the characters in the drama are forever scarred but left boldly enjoying what little they have left of their flawed lives. A great debut effort!
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Sep 26, 2009 Courtney rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Extracted from my blog, written just after completing this book:

Amidst the twisted plot filled with a defiance of, what Arundhati Roy describes as "the love laws that lay down who we should love and how much," the reader is exposed to different sets of circumstances that demand judgement. This judgement that the reader subconsciously makes is later deconstructed along with society's ideas of "should" and "should not." Throughout the novel, tortured souls practice forgiveness of pasts speckled li...more

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Mar 30, 2009 Emily rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was a beautifully-written novel about rape, oppressive gender roles, and colonialism, which all intertwine as metaphors for each other ("The Crying Game", anyone?). Although the literary concept works and the prose is exquisitely descriptive, I wished it wasn't while I was reading vividly graphic incest/rape scenes. I accept that this topic needs to be discussed, even in graphic detail, so that survivors have resources and the subject becomes less taboo, but I worry that feminist authors to...more

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May 21, 2007 Eric Gulliver rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

I read this book for a class entitled "Literature of the Asian Diaspora." It was under the auspices that I read and analyzed the text.
Cereus Blooms At Night is a story of the visceral experience (and present condition) of Mala Ramchandin. The setting is a fictional island called Paradise located somewhere in the Caribbean. As Nurse Tyler cares for Mala Ramchandin, her condition is viewed as insanity as she merely interacts with insects and audibly speaks to herself. The backstory of the novel is...more

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Dec 02, 2012 Robert Podolsky rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book has elements that I just don't enjoy in my reading, including rape and violence. While the book accurately portrays people in an abusive relationship, I just don't enjoy reading such things. At the same time, I very much felt that the main character was well developed, and I kept reading to see what would happen with her. Unfortunately, I don't think all of the characters are as well developed. During the first half of the book, we begin to learn more about the narrator, and the narrat...more

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Mar 04, 2012 Mieke rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: own

When I read this book I wasn't sure what to expect, but was very surprised when I finished. The story is very strong and has a lot of emotions in it. The story of Mala's life is hard and her abusive father doesn't make it any easier in her and her little sister.

The way the author used her on life experience for her story makes you even think more about sexual and mental abuse. I believe the book is a perfect way to make people aknowledge the problem.

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Sep 08, 2008 Parallax added it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, 2008-read, fiction-poc, fiction-queer, mainstream, author-poc

The book goes back and forth in time and narrators about the life of Mala Ramchandin, an insane elderly woman accused of murder on the fictional Carribean island of Lantanacamara. It does indeed address diaspora/post-colonialism, race, gender, and queerness and all that weighty stuff I'd heard it was supposed to contain. Definitely thought provoking and a heavy read (or it could have just been the incest themes addressed), but now I'm ready to read something lighter or incest free.

One of the pa...more

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Apr 12, 2010 Michelle rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book was a fun read for several reasons. The most significant is that I enjoy interacting with and/or reading about people who exist outside of the "normal" world. I am fascinated by the processes of human habit formation and of the development of coping skills, especially when unusual persons, events, or situations are in the mix.

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Aug 27, 2009 Mark rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

I wish I was able to give this 3.5 stars. I really liked the descriptive language and the way the overall story was threaded together. I could have done without the intense rape scene descriptors. I also didn't like that it was an imaginary island. I don't understand the point of making it imaginary, with imaginary dialects and "Northern lands". Not sure why that part even bothered me but it did...The scene where she is sitting outside and the Cereus flowers open up...tear

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Dec 03, 2008 Jessica rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Jessica by: Feminist Book Club

This was a pleasant way to spend the day after Thanksgiving. Simple, languid prose made it a quick read, and the characters and plot made it an engaging one. Mootoo offers unconventional characters but treats them as people, not tokens. She creates just the right mixture of odd, tragic, mundane, and wonderful for the plot to feel real. If you're in the mood for an airplane novel but can't take the stereotypes and the drivel that come with such a mindless read, this is the perfect substitute. It'...more

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Feb 23, 2010 Amy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Unique and thought provoking. A subtle yet unabashed story dealing with gender, identity, sexual abuse, and what it means to go against cultural norms. Shani Mootoo's writing is beautiful, personal, and best of all, not pretentious in the slightest. Definitely a good quick read that can open your mind if you'll let it.

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Aug 14, 2012 Caseythecanadianlesbrarian rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: canadian, caribbean, feminist, fiction, lesbian, queer, south-asian

A few months ago when I reviewed Shani Mootoo’s most recent novel, Valmiki’s Daughter, I prefaced the review with an admission that I already loved Mootoo’s writing before I even started the book. It was her first novel, Cereus Blooms at Night (1996), that instigated this love. The worth of something as rich as Cereus would be hard to overestimate. I’ve honestly never read anything that had such a strong sensory effect on me: the lilting rhythm of the language, the bittersweetness of the narrati...more

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Jul 27, 2012 Sara rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

My hopes were low for this book, as it was assigned reading for a Caribbean Literature class :/ BUT was a very interesting story, with very complex characters.

Some really graphic rape scenes, which were difficult to read - but if you can get past that, it ends up being a very enjoyable read!

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Jun 12, 2010 Andrea rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I picked this up on recommendation from a friend, and because I needed to get away from freaky, end-of-the-world, monsters and dystopias. Not disappointing at all. In fact, I really liked it. But maybe there wasn't enough "the sky is falling in" for me.

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“I brought my face inches away from hers and whispered, 'If I were strapped like that, I would hate it, too.' And then I felt foolish, for what was the point of empathizing without taking more positive action? I wanted to touch her again but I left and returned to my room feeling impoverished and weak.” — 1 person liked it

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