Goodreads Monday is a weekly meme that was started by @Lauren’s Page Turners. This meme is quite easy to follow – just randomly pick a book from your to-be-read list and give the reasons why you want to read it. It is that simple.

This week’s book:

How the One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her House by Cherie Jones

Blurb from Goodreads

A debut novel in the tradition of Zadie Smith and Marlon James, from a brilliant Caribbean writer, set in Barbados, about four people each desperate to escape their legacy of violence in a so-called “paradise.“

In Baxter Beach, Barbados, moneyed ex-pats clash with the locals who often end up serving them: braiding their hair, minding their children, and selling them drugs. Lala lives on the beach with her husband, Adan, a petty criminal with endless charisma whose thwarted burglary of one of the Baxter Beach mansions sets off a chain of events with terrible consequences. A gunshot no one was meant to witness. A new mother whose baby is found lifeless on the beach. A woman torn between two worlds and incapacitated by grief. And two men driven by desperation and greed who attempt a crime that will risk their freedom — and their lives.

Why I Want To Read It

A new week has commenced but another month has come to an end. Happy Monday everyone and happy last day of May! It has been a challenging month and for sure, there are a lot more in the coming days and, perhaps, months. On another note, these challenges are opportunities for us to learn and, in the process, create a better version of ourselves. The Manila heat has been insufferable these days. Nevertheless, I am hoping everyone had or will have a great start to the week. I also hope everyone is doing well despite this uncertain time. I am fervently praying and hoping that the pandemic will end soon.

Culminating my Goodreads Monday update for the month of May is Cherie Jones’ How the One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her House. Set in Barbados, the book is in line with my Latin American Literature reading month, which, although the progress was slow, went well and I am seriously considering making an extension to cover books I haven’t been able to read such as this debut novel; I am stuck with Mario Vargas Llosa’s The Feast of the Goat as of the moment but I am hoping to finish it in the next day or two.

I first encountered How the One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her House earlier this year. I have never heard of Cherie Jones previously but her debut novel has been listed by many as a book to look forward to in 2021. Because of this, I added the book to my own 2021 Top Books I Look Forward To. It was, actually, the book’s interesting title that piqued my interest, and curiosity as well. What does this book hold? Later in 2021, the book was announced as one of six books shortlisted for the 2021 Women’s Prize for Fiction. This has made me more interested in reading the book. Thankfully, I managed to purchase a copy of the book through an online seller. I also didn’t have to wait long before I received the book.

I just might read How the One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her House after The Feast of the Goat. How about you fellow reader? What work by a Latin American or a Caribbean writer do you have in your reading list? What made you add it to your list? I hope you could share your answers in the comment box.

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