Review of Kalayla
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Tayyaba Rehman
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- Latest Review: Kalayla by Jeannie Nicholas
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Review of Kalayla
[Following is a volunteer review of "Kalayla" by Jeannie Nicholas.]
Set in 1999 Cambridge, MA, Kalayla by Jeanni Nicholas is the story of three generations of women from different families, all going through their own turmoils in life. Kalayla, the youngest of the three, is a strong headed bi-racial 11 year old who lost her father in an accident and likes to spend most of her time alone or doing small odd jobs in the neighborhood. Maureen, Kalayla's mother, belongs to an Irish family who disowned her after she decided to marry a black man. After her husband's death, she moved to another neighborhood where she worked at a small cafe as a waitress, trying to cope as best as she can as a single mother. Lastly, there is Lena, an Italian 72 year old widow who has had a rough bad marriage that led to the death of her twin sons. She is haunted by her tragic past and tries to turn things around for the rebellious Kalayla, in hopes that she does not meet the ill fate that her sons did.
Handling multiple narrative is not an easy feat but Nicholas handles each character with quite care, giving each of them time to deliver their thoughts. Dialogue plays an important role when it comes to that and what I loved about Kalayla was that each character's dialogue seemed genuinely their own and they do not want overshadow each other. What I also loved about this novel was that it handled the issues of race quite delicately. Since the novel is set in 1999, it is not surprising that how things are now are different than what they were back then but change was beginning to peak through and Nicholas displays that quite well especially through Lena's character and her affection towards Kalayla.
Aside from the positives, there were a few things that irked me about the novel as well. One of main things was the use of thoughts rather than dialogues to convey the background of Lena. Most of what the reader learns about her is through her own internal monologue but I would have liked it a lot more had she been caught in a heartfelt scene where she shares her life with Maureen, Kalayla or both. Another aspect of the novel that I did not like was how late Lena's past is revealed. I got to know a bit about Kalayla and Maureen and what led them to rent an apartment in Lena's building but I was left wondering why Lena is so concerned about Kalayla front the first chapter only to find out much later that her past experiences with her own children have made her protective of her neighbour.
Overall, I did like the book. I did not find any errors in it and it was well edited. I would give the book 3 out of 4 stars.
I would definitely recommend Kalayla to anyone interested in the domestic fiction category. Readers who love topics of race as well as complex relationships would also enjoy it as well.
******
Kalayla
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Set in 1999 Cambridge, MA, Kalayla by Jeanni Nicholas is the story of three generations of women from different families, all going through their own turmoils in life. Kalayla, the youngest of the three, is a strong headed bi-racial 11 year old who lost her father in an accident and likes to spend most of her time alone or doing small odd jobs in the neighborhood. Maureen, Kalayla's mother, belongs to an Irish family who disowned her after she decided to marry a black man. After her husband's death, she moved to another neighborhood where she worked at a small cafe as a waitress, trying to cope as best as she can as a single mother. Lastly, there is Lena, an Italian 72 year old widow who has had a rough bad marriage that led to the death of her twin sons. She is haunted by her tragic past and tries to turn things around for the rebellious Kalayla, in hopes that she does not meet the ill fate that her sons did.
Handling multiple narrative is not an easy feat but Nicholas handles each character with quite care, giving each of them time to deliver their thoughts. Dialogue plays an important role when it comes to that and what I loved about Kalayla was that each character's dialogue seemed genuinely their own and they do not want overshadow each other. What I also loved about this novel was that it handled the issues of race quite delicately. Since the novel is set in 1999, it is not surprising that how things are now are different than what they were back then but change was beginning to peak through and Nicholas displays that quite well especially through Lena's character and her affection towards Kalayla.
Aside from the positives, there were a few things that irked me about the novel as well. One of main things was the use of thoughts rather than dialogues to convey the background of Lena. Most of what the reader learns about her is through her own internal monologue but I would have liked it a lot more had she been caught in a heartfelt scene where she shares her life with Maureen, Kalayla or both. Another aspect of the novel that I did not like was how late Lena's past is revealed. I got to know a bit about Kalayla and Maureen and what led them to rent an apartment in Lena's building but I was left wondering why Lena is so concerned about Kalayla front the first chapter only to find out much later that her past experiences with her own children have made her protective of her neighbour.
Overall, I did like the book. I did not find any errors in it and it was well edited. I would give the book 3 out of 4 stars.
I would definitely recommend Kalayla to anyone interested in the domestic fiction category. Readers who love topics of race as well as complex relationships would also enjoy it as well.
******
Kalayla
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Kalayla by Jeannie Nicholas
