Golden Child by Claire Adam

A deeply affecting debut novel set in Trinidad, following the lives of a family as they navigate impossible choices about scarcity, loyalty, and love WINNER OF THE DESMOND ELLIOTT PRIZE • “Golden Child is a stunning novel written with force and beauty. Though true to herself, Adam's work stands tall beside icons of her tradition like V.S. Naipaul.”—Jennifer Clement, author of Gun Love Rural Trinidad: a brick house on stilts surrounded by bush; a family, quietly surviving, just trying to live a decent life. Clyde, the father, works long, exhausting shifts at the petroleum plant in southern Trinidad; Joy, his wife, looks after the home. Their two sons, thirteen years old, wake early every morning to travel to the capital, Port of Spain, for school. They are twins but nothing alike: Paul has always been considered odd, while Peter is widely believed to be a genius, destined for greatness. When Paul goes walking in the bush one afternoon and doesn't come home, Clyde is forced to go looking for him, this child who has caused him endless trouble already, and who he has never really understood. And as the hours turn to days, and Clyde begins to understand Paul’s fate, his world shatters—leaving him faced with a decision no parent should ever have to make. Like the Trinidadian landscape itself, Golden Child is both beautiful and unsettling, a resoundingly human story of aspiration, betrayal, and love. Praise for Golden Child “In fluid and uncluttered prose, Golden Child weaves an enveloping portrait of an insular social order in which the claustrophobic support of family and neighbors coexists with an omnipresent threat from the same corners.”—The New York Times Book Review “[A] powerful debut . . . a devastating family portrait—and a fascinating window into Trinidadian society.”—People “[An] emotionally potent debut novel . . . with a spare, evocative style, Adam (a Trinidad native) evokes the island’s complexity during the mid-'80s, when the novel is mostly set: the tenuous relationship between Hindus like Clyde’s family and the twins’ Catholic schoolmaster, assassinations and abductions hyped by lurid media headlines, resources that attract carpetbagging oil companies but leave the country largely impoverished.”—USA Today

3/5 Stars

I have a lot of mixed thoughts surrounding this book. I really take well to books that give you a real sense of what a different culture is like; I love feeling immersed in the culture and grasping a sense of customs, environment and traditions. In that sense, I loved it. Nods to Caribbean mythological creatures and traditional foods were weaved throughout. I also throughly appreciated the plot of the story. The “Golden Child” obviously refers to Peter. It's heartbreaking, really, how the plot plays out in the end. The sacrifices the family makes in order to provide Peter with the life they envision him having and the success that awaits him, are tragic. It was distressing to see Paul as the outcast and the lack of faith in him as a person, especially by his own father. It's clear that Clyde is disappointed in Paul, referring to him regularly as “retarded.” I won't say too much about the ending of the book, but know that you should mentally prepare yourself for heartache and betrayal.

Unfortunately, I felt as though the pace of this book was relatively slow. It started out promising, with Paul missing, and from there back-tracked to Paul & Peter's childhood. The childhood piece I felt was too drawn out. I didn't feel as though I was truly interested in the book again until about 175 pages in (the book is 260 pages). I also felt as though there were too many characters introduced in a short span of time. I caught myself referencing back to previous pages to refresh myself on who is who.

Again, I did enjoy the overall plot of the book and the tragedy & betrayal that unfolds in the end. However, it took a lot of “fluff” to get to the meat & potatoes. It's because of this that I'd rate this book a 3/5 stars.

Grief is basically the thing with which you're left at the end of this book. Everyone needing to believe extreme sacrifice is worth a good outcome for someone.

This was an beautiful evocation of a place with which I am not familiar. And it's also a depressing study of humanity, family, and love. It broke my heart.