Two sisters could hardly be more different. At 27, Verona is bright and capable, but confused. Defiantly fat, she seeks refuge from a monotonous existence by imagining herself as the blond, blue-eyed heroine of popular romance. Desiree is more level-headed, but less than satisfied with her role as mother to two spirited daughters and unofficial uniform washer for her husband John and his football team. Then Granny Ruby and Grandpa Clifford arrive from Jamaica—and everything starts to look up.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Kirkus Reviews
From a Jamaican writer now living in Britain, an overly schematic tale of immigrant anger and alienation. Set in contemporary London, Riley's (A Kindness to the Children, 1992, etc.) domestic tale about two Caribbean-born sisters who are coping with racist whites and sexist black males is framed, clumsily at times, by political ideas. The characters, struggling to find themselves, expound soberly on such topics as racism and feminism while taking their tea or cooking their dinners. Desiree has always been the responsible one, raising younger sister Verona after their father was killed in a car crash, then marrying the seemingly stable John, a fellow immigrant, and bearing and caring for two daughters. On the other hand, overweight Verona still lives with Desiree at the advanced age of 27, has been stuck for the past 12 years in a dead-end job at a mail-order company, and spends much of her time reading romances and eating candy. As the story begins, Desiree is terrified by the possibility that she might have cancer. John, too, is in a bad patch; among other things, he won't support his wife's desire to go back to school. And Verona has not only been unjustly fired but won't be able to get a job reference job from her previous employer. (This is only her latest uncomfortable secret; the others include the fact of her rape at 14 by Desiree's boyfriend Ronnie.) John blames racism for his failure to be promoted at his own job, and he's far from pleased when Desiree has to have a hysterectomy. But as she's recovering, John's grandparents unexpectedly arrive from Jamaica and manage to turn the family's fortunes around by sheer force of their wisdom (``Granny Ruby was right: there never had been anything to liberate herself from but herself''). By the close, Desiree and John grow closer, Desiree indeed returns to school, and Verona even sheds some of her secrets. Vivid writing, compromised by clich‚s and didactic undercurrents. -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
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