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All Decent Animals

Oonya Kempadoo

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Mar 16, 2013 Beverly rated it liked it

This was a 3.5 star book for me.

• After finishing this book – I am trying to put my thoughts together – at times this book was a page turner, then it also confused me, then I wondered what did the author want me to take away from this book, was I getting all of the nuances/cultural references of the story.
• This is the first book by the author that I finished. I tried reading the author’s first novel Buxton Spice when it first came out and remember the first chapter did not work for me so put th This was a 3.5 star book for me.

• After finishing this book – I am trying to put my thoughts together – at times this book was a page turner, then it also confused me, then I wondered what did the author want me to take away from this book, was I getting all of the nuances/cultural references of the story.
• This is the first book by the author that I finished. I tried reading the author’s first novel Buxton Spice when it first came out and remember the first chapter did not work for me so put the book down with the intention of picking it back up again – but have not. After reading All Decent Animal I am interested in reading her other books – as this book was set in Trinidad, and other books are each set in a different island – one Guyana and the other Grenada.
• This was a relatively short book for be about 250 pages (and was appreciated as it seems I have been reading a lot of BAB books lately) was the storylines moved along quickly.
• I would categorize the authors writing style as intense, dense yet lyrical. You have to pay attention like you do when reading a Toni Morrison book.
• The themes of the book were about art and creativity in Trinidad and she does this with having one of the main characters Ata not sure what direction she wants her artistic talent to take so accepts a position as costume designer with a Carnival team and another of the characters Fraser being an architect. Also the author gets into how Trinidad is trying to be a world class country and the interaction with developmental agencies such as the UN to provide guidance/support/reporting in project. These are the big picture ideas but also it is a story of friendship, community and who do you rely on when there is a crisis.
• The characters are all striking and complex and move the story along nicely and interconnect the various storylines and makes it seem very plausible how the characters all connect though each is in Trinidad for different reasons (some are native that never left, show are returnees, some are foreigners). While I may not have “liked” all of the characters, I was intrigued by all of them.
• One of the things that I liked most about the book was the vivid imagery of the landscape.
• Overall this book felt like I was hovering over Trinidad getting an intimate birds-eye view of this slice of Trinidad with this diverse group of characters as they weaved their personal and profession ambitions with the culture and norms at this time.
• The language does switch between the “proper” English and Creole but this did not distract from my reading pleasure.
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