Patsy is one of the best books I've read this year. It tells the story of a mother, Patsy, and her daughter, Tru, as they search for themselves in a world that tells them who they should be and where they're allowed to exist.
When Patsy leaves Jamaica for New York at age twenty-eight, to rekindle her love with her childhood friend, Cicely, she leaves five year old Tru behind. The novel weaves between the lives of Patsy and Tru as it captures the sonic rhythms of the streets of New York and the vibrancy of Jamaican life. It addresses love and its requirements, race and diaspora, survival and immigration, the rigidity of gender and sexuality, and the search for self in a world that defines and confines.
1 really thought this was a beautiful book. I laughed and cried (cos I'm a softy) throughout and I was gripped by the sounds and imagery captured in Dennis-Benn's writing. It's one of those books that I was excited to keep picking up. The characters are complex, flawed, and in some ways undeserving of forgiveness, but this is what made me love it. I was disappointed by them, but always rooting for them. Worried for them, but had faith in them. Shocked by their decisions, but empathetic to the contexts in which those decisions were made.
I do think the ending was slightly rushed, but regardless of that I felt satisfied, and overall would definitely recommend! This has excited me to read more of Dennis-Benn's work.
4.5/5