Brother by David Chariandy

I purchased Brother by David Chariandy for my husband for Christmas because I was listening to CBC Radio's "Q" with Tom Power one morning in November. Power had a guest describing the best books to buy for Christmas gifts. This book was listed as the number one book to buy for anyone of any age and perference. So, I bought it, my husband read it, and when he finished, I read it too.

The author is Canadian and the book is set in Scarborough in the 1980s and 1990s, during a dangerous and tumultuous time. The narrator, Michael, recounts his youth with his immigrant mother from Trinidad and his older brother Francis who, at heart, is kind, loving, and smart, but gets mixed up with the wrong crowd, so to speak. At the start of the book, an old friend from Michael's childhood, Aisha, has returned to the old neighbourhood for her father's funeral. Her visit brings back several memories for Michael, many of which, he has tried to quash in his adulthood.

We learn quickly that Michael and Francis' hard working, stern, determined mother has not been well since Francis' death. What we don't know is what is wrong with her or how Francis dies. The book flashes between past and present with vivid descriptions of Michael and Francis' lives growing up in poverty in a gang-filled neighbourhood. Their area is typical of lower socio-economic areas in which drugs, gangs, crime, violence, and guns prevail. The setting is true of this area and time, making the novel a historical fiction.

Michael, a broken, lonely man in his adulthood, works tirelessly to care for his mother and forget his tragic past. Both Francis and Michael are highly believable characters to whom
any reader can easily relate. Francis' mother is also a compelling character, someone with whom all mothers can empathize because she loves her children fiercely, works long hours to support them, does her best to protect them, and is broken when she loses her eldest son. She is trapped by her setting because she cannot afford to move to a safer neighbourhood and yet she knows that it is this setting that creates problems for her children.

Michael is a complex character, at once perceptive and insightful, he is also socially inept and awkward. He tries so hard to fit in with the tough ganstas, but does a pitiful job. He cannot seem to break the barrier of being cool like his naturally slick, talented, attractive, witty, cool brother. Francis easily makes friends, is comfortable in his own skin, and finds his passion in rap and hip hop music, dreaming of making it big. When an opportunity to show off their musical talents arises, Francis and his best friend Jelly try out. What happens at this talent show competition brings us to the climax of the novel and the discovery of exactly how Francis dies.

Because Canadian authors bring a unique Canadian-ness (with a mixture of wit, realism, humbleness, compassion, and kindness), I always recommend reading them. As such, I do recommend Brother. Its writing is intellectual and vivid, its characters are completely real, and its plot is captivating. Long-listed for the Canadian Giller Prize, Brother certainly deserves praise and acclaim. Read it!