I’ve seen a few reviews call this a Beauty and the Beast retelling (not sure why; maybe because of the "rose" on the cover?), but it’s blurbed as a reI’ve seen a few reviews call this a Beauty and the Beast retelling (not sure why; maybe because of the "rose" on the cover?), but it’s blurbed as a retelling of Snow White, and in light of how much the story has to do with mirrors and being beautiful, a comparison to Snow White makes a lot more sense.
Merged review:
I’ve seen a few reviews call this a Beauty and the Beast retelling (not sure why; maybe because of the "rose" on the cover?), but it’s blurbed as a retelling of Snow White, and in light of how much the story has to do with mirrors and being beautiful, a comparison to Snow White makes a lot more sense.
Merged review:
I’ve seen a few reviews call this a Beauty and the Beast retelling (not sure why; maybe because of the "rose" on the cover?), but it’s blurbed as a retelling of Snow White, and in light of how much the story has to do with mirrors and being beautiful, a comparison to Snow White makes a lot more sense....more
"Every black knows how to react to a tragedy. Just bring out a wheelbarrow full of the Same Old Anger, dump it all over the Usual Frustration, and wat"Every black knows how to react to a tragedy. Just bring out a wheelbarrow full of the Same Old Anger, dump it all over the Usual Frustration, and water it with Somebody Oughtas...."
One of the narrators in Delicious Foods is cocaine. Yep, you read that right. It's the reason I was compelled to pick up this book. I had to know how Hannaham used this character to tell a story and how he chose to convey cocaine's voice. Reader, I was not disappointed.
The first chapter told from the perspective of cocaine (aka "Scotty") gives the impression that this book will be darkly comedic, but it's not. It's a tragic contemporary story about enslavement and exploitation. It's also a story of a mother's struggle with addiction: what it costs, what it takes from the person whose life it consumes, and how difficult it is to break free.
A slow burn that builds to a gruesome climax, Delicious Foods is a harrowing story of a mother and son's search for love, freedom, and forgiveness....more
"Maybe we belonged here, in America, deserved nothing more than to be exiled to this far corner of the world. Halfway living and halfway dying. Even i"Maybe we belonged here, in America, deserved nothing more than to be exiled to this far corner of the world. Halfway living and halfway dying. Even in death we are not part of this place. We are a haunting."
I thought I could simply dive into this book knowing little more about it than the fact that it won the 2023 Center for Fiction First Novel Prize, but a few chapters in I had to stop and read the blurb to orient myself. From that point onward, I had a better understanding of who the characters were and how they related to each other.
This is a book that needs to be read slowly, allowing for time to soak up the lyricism of Tyriek White's writing. His descriptions of the city and the weather are particularly mesmerizing. I'm talking about "the sun bouncing off glass and metal" or the sky being "a creamy blue you'd want to scoop a spoonful out of" or the September rain making "the city slip from under your feet"; it all felt like something I'd never read before, and that artful language infuses the text throughout.
In terms of craft, this book wowed me, but in terms of story, I found myself wanting something with a clearer trajectory or narrative arc. Even so, the scenes concerning ghosts were haunting and beautiful, and I can see myself possibly picking this up again down the line and giving it another read.
Overall, a highly impressive debut. I'm keen to see what novel Tyriek White publishes next....more
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