Fiction

How the One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her House

How the One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her House

  • Downloads：6921
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-03-28 09:12:58
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Cherie Jones
  • ISBN：1472268784
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
  • Download

Summary

A debut novel in the tradition of Zadie Smith and Marlon James， from a brilliant Caribbean writer， set in Barbados， about four people each desperate to escape their legacy of violence in a so-called "paradise。" 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。

Download

Reviews

Jarin ，

Stunning。

Susan Goldstein ，

Slow getting into this one and I almost gave up。 The writing is really strong but the plot and characters were confusing in the beginning and I was having trouble figuring out how people were connected。 It does all come together， though， in a tragic story about poverty and domestic violence underneath the island aura sold to tourists。 Beautiful writing。。。I would definitely read another book by this author。

Sandy ，

3。5

Celia ，

An island paradise。 Murder， rape， sexual assault at gunpoint， incest/child abuse， domestic violence， and the death of a baby。 Unrelenting yet compelling。

Suziep11 ，

I couldn’t finish this book。 It was so depressing and I couldn’t connect to the characters。 Very disappointed。

Jennie ，

Really heavy， but masterfully written and very compelling。

Monique Johnson ，

Well written debut novel， but one of the most depressing books I have ever read。 Every trigger warning under the sun。

Molly ，

Generational trauma set against the backdrop of tropical tourist beach paradise。 I listened to the audio （thank you Libro FM for my complimentary copy）， but I think I would recommend reading this one to get the full impact of how well written it is。 Lots of CWs， including murder， domestic violence， and loss of an infant。

ClaireEva ，

I’m finding this one hard to rate。It touched me deep in my soul and made me feel so many things。 And I flew through the pages， unable to stop。 But it is not an easy read。I don’t recommend reading this one until you are in a mentally strong place。It really took its toll on me and I was not ready for it。But on the other hand I’m glad I read it。

Patricia ，

Exquisite

Becca ，

The Adan character in this book is such a menace that it colors the whole book with apprehension。 You know that you want Lala and Tone to both get away from him but you also know that it is probably impossible。 I loved how the background stories of Lala and Tone slowly reveal themselves in this book and even that the story of Mira has so much depth to it。 This is a page turner for sure and set in a place I didn't know anything about。 The Adan character in this book is such a menace that it colors the whole book with apprehension。 You know that you want Lala and Tone to both get away from him but you also know that it is probably impossible。 I loved how the background stories of Lala and Tone slowly reveal themselves in this book and even that the story of Mira has so much depth to it。 This is a page turner for sure and set in a place I didn't know anything about。 。。。more

KYLE MILLER ，

I admire the novel's themes but have read much better novels exploring the same territory。 Given the glowing praise for this book， I expected more。 Perhaps my expectations were too high。 In short， I find it hard to recommend。 I admire the novel's themes but have read much better novels exploring the same territory。 Given the glowing praise for this book， I expected more。 Perhaps my expectations were too high。 In short， I find it hard to recommend。 。。。more

Onome ，

Wow。 Intense。 I found myself on the edge of my seat towards the end。 Good one！

Katrina ，

3。5 stars。 This book was recommended on several must-read book lists but it's quite grim。 3。5 stars。 This book was recommended on several must-read book lists but it's quite grim。 。。。more

Tatiana S。 ，

This book was unexpectedly tragic for me。 Every character I just wanted better for them。 The author did such a good job making me feel for each situation。 The ending wasn't my favorite， but it is truly a book to read and discuss with others。 So thought provoking and frustrating， yet a story that I'm so glad I jumped into。 This book was unexpectedly tragic for me。 Every character I just wanted better for them。 The author did such a good job making me feel for each situation。 The ending wasn't my favorite， but it is truly a book to read and discuss with others。 So thought provoking and frustrating， yet a story that I'm so glad I jumped into。 。。。more

Laura ，

I actually really struggled to classify this。 I gave it 3 stars because it is exquisitely written but incredibly， incredibly violent。 I felt really unsettled and horrified for long sections of text and I just。。。 I don't know。 I don't know how I feel about it。 I actually really struggled to classify this。 I gave it 3 stars because it is exquisitely written but incredibly， incredibly violent。 I felt really unsettled and horrified for long sections of text and I just。。。 I don't know。 I don't know how I feel about it。 。。。more

Rose ，

dark

Moira Allbritton ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Tough themes make it tough to give 5-star rating。 Jones offers a multi-generational retelling of violence in all its forms toward females。 （And， to be fair， males don't escape unscathed in this book either）。 Starts strong， but ends with rather a whimper。 The author did so many things well -- conveying dialect， connecting characters， jumping back and forth to give backstories with terrific clarity， etc。 But around the halfway mark the sheer volume of characters trapped in poverty， in peril， in is Tough themes make it tough to give 5-star rating。 Jones offers a multi-generational retelling of violence in all its forms toward females。 （And， to be fair， males don't escape unscathed in this book either）。 Starts strong， but ends with rather a whimper。 The author did so many things well -- conveying dialect， connecting characters， jumping back and forth to give backstories with terrific clarity， etc。 But around the halfway mark the sheer volume of characters trapped in poverty， in peril， in isolation， and on an island became discouraging。 I experienced echoes of The Vanishing Half and My Sister， the Serial Killer。 I would definitely read Jones' future novels。 。。。more

Marla ，

Heavy read full of domestic abuse and trauma。 The hopelessness and powerlessness of the women in the story will haunt me for a while

Andy ，

I need to process before I can rate this！ Also just too tired to make logical decisions right now haha

Samantha Bowman ，

This book was a slow burn for me。 I found the characters interesting and the premise of the story intriguing。

Rebecca ，

4 plusI really enjoyed the writing style of the author。 It was a really interesting story， lots of women who are figuring out how to survive in a male dominated world。 The violence is hard to read but worth it for the story unless it really bothers you。

Matt Chisling （MattyandtheBooks） ，

A huge thank you to Little， Brown and Company for my gifted finished copy of this book！ Looking forward to hitting the beach with this unique cast and fresh new literary voice。

Tamyka ，

This book was so good I’m about to read it again then I can give a proper review。 However my recommendation would be to read this。 ASAP。 You won’t regret it。

Mandy ，

A fast paced book set on a beach in Barbados。 I enjoyed this but it is not a light read dealing with poverty and domestic abuse。

Sue ，

3。75 Difficult read as it has very dark themes。 I found it to be extremely depressing。

BookOfCinz ，

Updated March 22， 2021 I choose How The One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her House as the March BookOfCinz Book Club pick after reading the advanced copy in 2020。 I felt this is a book that would elicit very strong emotions， give us a lot of material to talk through and explore。 The book is set in Baxter Beach， a small beachside community in Barbados。 On the night that the main character， Lala gives birth there is a murder at one of the villas。 Lala is a new mom whose husband is in hiding and not able Updated March 22， 2021 I choose How The One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her House as the March BookOfCinz Book Club pick after reading the advanced copy in 2020。 I felt this is a book that would elicit very strong emotions， give us a lot of material to talk through and explore。 The book is set in Baxter Beach， a small beachside community in Barbados。 On the night that the main character， Lala gives birth there is a murder at one of the villas。 Lala is a new mom whose husband is in hiding and not able to share the joy of having a new addition to the family。 Added to this Lala does not have a support system， her mother is dead and her she is estranged from her grandmother。 After leaving home at an incredibly young age， Lala must now survive on her own。 One of the main themes in this book is generational curses， how trauma is passed from mothers to their daughters。 I think Cherie did a great job of showcasing that in a really moving way。 There is a deep sadness that continues throughout the book and it does not lift， even after you close it。 This is not your light easy beach read， you are taken into the lives of the people in the community。 I think what stood out for me was theme of classism and colorism， how that played out on the beach front。 We see a hair braider interacting with a villa owner and how their lives shift but comes together。 What I liked about the writing was how Jones was able to truly showcase the characters。 I love reading a character with a strong back story and I felt that Jones spend a lot of time developing the stories of the characters。 I also felt each character could have their very own spin off including Queen Sheba， Sargent Beckles and Mira。 There is something for everyone in this book。 A very strong debut novel。 。。。more

LindaJ^ ，

This was really good， much better， and much different， than the impression GR blurb gave me。 The predominant topic is the mistreatment （putting it mildly） of women by men。 Another topic that appears is class differences， demonstrated mostly by the different treatment and expectations of the wealthy tourists versus the year round inhabitants of the island。 The book opens with pregnant， teenager Lala going into labor， running along the beach trying to find her husband （maybe/maybe not） Adon， and r This was really good， much better， and much different， than the impression GR blurb gave me。 The predominant topic is the mistreatment （putting it mildly） of women by men。 Another topic that appears is class differences， demonstrated mostly by the different treatment and expectations of the wealthy tourists versus the year round inhabitants of the island。 The book opens with pregnant， teenager Lala going into labor， running along the beach trying to find her husband （maybe/maybe not） Adon， and ringing the doorbell of one of the big houses of the rich。 She finds Adon， interrupting his robbery and murder of the inhabitants -- the Whalens， leaving the husband dead and the wife Mira traumatized。At first the book alternates between Lala and Mira as narrators， but eventually other characters share their thoughts too。 We hear from Lala's dead mother Esme and Lala's grandmother Martha， both of whom suffered at the hands of their husbands。 We hear from Tone， Adon's friend who is a rasta giglo and a very important character in the story - one of the two men who were not abusive。 Police Officer Beckles seems an okay guy in his first appearance but soon reveals his true nature。 Finally there is Sheba， the "love" of Beckles' life， according to him， and a rapist according to Sheba。 The author slowly reveals the connections among and the histories of the characters， movinf back and forth in time。 This is one of the nominees on the 2021 Women's Prize longlist。 。。。more

Deena ，

Whew。 This is quite a story and a hard one to rate。 I waffled between four and five stars， and am rounding up from 4。5。 It's a fascinating， fast-paced story that uncovers a dark side of life in "paradise" （which in this story is Barbados） that most tourists probably couldn't - and certainly wouldn't want to - imagine。 The story follows four main characters and how their lives intersect with one another， not in a good way， during the late summer of 1984。 The story is beautifully written with some Whew。 This is quite a story and a hard one to rate。 I waffled between four and five stars， and am rounding up from 4。5。 It's a fascinating， fast-paced story that uncovers a dark side of life in "paradise" （which in this story is Barbados） that most tourists probably couldn't - and certainly wouldn't want to - imagine。 The story follows four main characters and how their lives intersect with one another， not in a good way， during the late summer of 1984。 The story is beautifully written with some of the most vivid imagery I have ever read。 The character development is fantastic， as the narrative bounces back and forth in time to give us each character's backstory and what led each one to his or her fate during that summer of 1984。 However， many of the scenes are violent and downright gruesome， which made parts of the book very difficult to read。 This is a story filled with one devastating tragedy after the next， and has given me a lot to think about with regards to the long-term effects that colonization of the West Indies has had。 This is not a part of the world to which I have ever traveled， and this - even though it is fiction - was my first glimpse of what life might actually be like there for the local population and how that life is so vastly different between the rich and the poor。 This is an excellent novel， and a must-read， but I would caution you to read it at a time when you can balance it with something lighter。 While this is not a story that will lift your spirits， it's such an important one that had to be told。 。。。more

Linda ，

This was a brutal and sad story of Lala who suffers greatly both from her husband's brutal attacks and the distance of her grandmother。 At times I almost put the book down based on the main character's （LaLa） demeanor and the horror of the circumstances each character tells。 There is more to the main story than meets the eye and as each story threads into each other， you will feel trapped into reading to the end just to find out the conclusion。 This was a brutal and sad story of Lala who suffers greatly both from her husband's brutal attacks and the distance of her grandmother。 At times I almost put the book down based on the main character's （LaLa） demeanor and the horror of the circumstances each character tells。 There is more to the main story than meets the eye and as each story threads into each other， you will feel trapped into reading to the end just to find out the conclusion。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=How the One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her House

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=How the One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her House&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,How the One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her House&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0