Hungry Ghosts by Kevin Jared Hosein

Hungry Ghosts by Kevin Jared Hosein
UK Publication: Feb 2023
Reviewed by: Book Worm
Rating: [★★★]

This ARC was provided by Bloomsbury Publishing PLC UK (via NetGalley) in exchange for an honest review.

One word review – Haunting.

Synopsis from Goodreads: From an unforgettable new voice in Caribbean literature, a sweeping story of two families colliding in 1940s Trinidad–and a chilling mystery that shows how interconnected their lives truly are

Trinidad in the 1940s, nearing the end of American occupation and British colonialism. On a hill overlooking Bell Village sits the Changoor farm, where Dalton and Marlee Changoor live in luxury unrecognizable to those who reside in the farm’s shadow. Down below is the Barrack, a ramshackle building of wood and tin, divided into rooms occupied by whole families. Among these families are the Saroops–Hans, Shweta, and their son, Krishna, all three born of the barracks. Theirs are hard lives of backbreaking work, grinding poverty, devotion to faith, and a battle against nature and a social structure designed to keep them where they are.

But when Dalton goes missing and Marlee’s safety is compromised, farmhand Hans is lured by the promise of a handsome stipend to move to the farm as a watchman. As the mystery of Dalton’s disappearance unfolds, the lives of the wealthy couple and those who live in the barracks below become insidiously entwined, their community changed forever and in shocking ways.

A searing and singular novel of religion, class, family, and historical violence, and rooted in Trinidad’s wild pastoral landscape and inspired by oral storytelling traditions, Hungry Ghosts is deeply resonant of its time and place while evoking the roots and ripple effects of generational trauma and linked histories; the lingering resentments, sacrifices, and longings that alter destinies; and the consequences of powerlessness. Lyrically told and rendered with harrowing beauty, Hungry Ghosts is a stunning piece of storytelling and an affecting mystery, from a blazingly talented writer.

My Thoughts: This is a book that deserves to have the readers full attention and even then I feel that subtle things might slip pass the reader only to have their significance realised later on, because of this I intend to read the book again to see what it is that I missed along the first journey.

The writing is a poetic blend of languages and the has a distinct Trinidadian patois which serves to fully immerse the reader in the lives of the characters. Each character has their own distinct voice and while some may seem good and some bad they are actually all just the product of their circumstances.

While the story may centre around the affairs of the adults it is ultimately the lives of the children that are most impacted by the decisions they have had no say in. Each child is judged (rightly or wrongly) by the standards applied to their parents and that judgement affects every aspect of their lives.

This is a clever book and one that says a lot more about history, colonialism and disparity than you might at first think.

Who would like this? I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys historical fiction, who enjoys immersive fiction and who appreciates storytelling that has a voice distinctive of place and time.

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