After loving my last Caribbean read in Bahamas, I was hopeful that this novel from Barbados would also become a favorite read for this challenge. But unfortunately, that was not the case.
How the One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her House by Cherie Jones is a tough read. It’s a story of domestic violence, sexual abuse and violence. Heartbreak and violence doesn’t ever seem far from Wilma and her granddaughter, Lala. While Baxter’s Beach seems like a quaint tourist beach community, the reality is not like the postcards. Lala is a young pregnant woman whose husband is a career criminal. As she tries to leave the violence behind for the sake of her baby girl, Lala just can’t shake her past and the decisions she made to get herself there. Wilma has tried to protect Lala and warn her, but is forced to watch her granddaughter live in hurt for too many years. When a wealthy tourist is murdered on Baxter’s Beach, the police will stop at nothing to find the killer and anyone else involved.
The subject matter in this book is DARK. It’s a bleak read with little hope. It also written in a particular way. If I were an English major, I’m sure I could tell you the grammar style the author is using, but I’m not. But her use of what I’ll call the hypothetical English was so common that it stuck out. Sentences like “if she had heard that call, she would have said this.” or “if she knew how it would end, she would have done this, and then she would have this and then this would have happened, instead of that. But she didn’t and so that didn’t happen.” It’s super strange.
Overall, it was a quick read but not a great one.
⭐️ My rating: 3 stars of 5
An American Mom in Asia 
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