How the One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her House was an intense story about characters and choices. It’s a story about our dreams, when they’re flickering in the darkest nights, when they’re crushed on top of the rocks. Keep reading this book review to find out the things I enjoyed about this intense debut.
Summary
In Baxter Beach, Barbados, moneyed ex-pats clash with the locals who often end up serving them: braiding their hair, minding their children, and selling them drugs. Lala lives on the beach with her husband, Adan, a petty criminal with endless charisma whose thwarted burglary of one of the Baxter Beach mansions sets off a chain of events with terrible consequences. A gunshot no one was meant to witness. A new mother whose baby is found lifeless on the beach. A woman torn between two worlds and incapacitated by grief. And two men driven by desperation and greed who attempt a crime that will risk their freedom — and their lives.
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the Libro.fm. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
TW: rape, incest, domestic abuse, assault, sexual assault
How the One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her House is a story about the truths we deny and the stories we don’t believe. It’s about the relationships, bonds, and families we find ourselves in. The choices we have made, the ones that have happened to us, and the ones we cannot escape. All of their lives are intertwined in this story of circumstances, fate, and ambition. The worlds and houses we are trapped in day in and day out. The choices we are forced to make. Sacrifices and compromises we make for what we think is enough.
How the One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her House is a complex and intense story about the mistakes we have made and the silences we let sit. I listened to this on audiobook and had to take a few breaks. The heart wrenching emotional situations the characters endure had me needing a moment of solitude. These scenarios and situations have tightened their insecurities and fears, that seeeminglyleaves us with no choice. Because of the layers of abuse and trauma, How the One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her House is for those who who are searching for a character driven story of mystery and escape.
Overall,
It was a difficult book to listen to at some points and the audiobook reader just made the emotional turmoil even more pronounced. At the core of How the One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her House is a story about lives hopelessly intertwined. Featuring complex and flawed characters, it examines the ways we are broken and (re)made through fire. About the dangers of curiosity, of ambition, and wanting more.
Find How the One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her House on Goodreads, Amazon, Indiebound, Bookshop.org, Libro.fm & The Book Depository.