Hungry Ghosts by Kevin Jared Hosein is set in 1940’s Trinidad, a country whose history I knew little about, he made the characters and their culture come to life in a remarkably vivid way.
Whether relating the stories of the wretched ‘lesser lives’ of the five families who
live in squalor in a five roomed estate barrack, showing the contrast between their lives and that of their rich employers and what happens when their lives intertwine, or describing the colourful flora and fauna in the surrounding countryside, his writing is never less than lyrical even when much of the content is bleak.
I was fascinated by the back stories of the characters and how hard they tried to be better than their parents and strived for a different life for their children.
At the heart of the book is the question: how hard is it to escape from the sordidness of existence and what price will be paid when this is attempted?
I absolutely loved this book and will be surprised if it doesn’t deservedly win awards.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bloomsbury for an ARC

Hungry Ghosts is utterly compelling and completely compulsive reading. The writing is so sharp, The characters are so well drawn. The story is never predictable even though, in a sense, the outcomes for all the key characters seem entirely inevitable, the inexorable force of destiny denying all before it. Rudra and Rustram, the twins, are two particularly unforgettable characters. Keven Jared Hosein has produced a masterpiece which I cannot recommend highly enough. Special thank you to Bloomsbury Publishing Plc (UK & ANZ) and NetGalley for a no obligation advance review copy.

I struggled with this book mainly because it is so full of Trinidad patois and words that were unknown to me. For the first few chapters I spent more time stopping reading to look words up. Some words the kindle dictionaries did not know either and these unknown ones may well have been made up by the author. Eventually i decided to skip read which at least let me read the story by not concentrating on terminology and grammar . Having said that I read though to the end but felt that it was left up in the air and had no real ending.. I found that in places it just seemed descriptions were added just to fill the pages as they did not add to the story.
The main characters were well described and although I found them exhibiting strange behaviour patterns that I could not relate to or fathom out.

An award winning short story writer, this book is being widely described as the author’s literary novel debut – although a previous novel “The Repenters” was longlisted for the 2018 Dublin Literary Prize.

The book has featured on a number of 2023 previews and it is one that I can see featuring as a contender for the 2023 Booker longlist – although oddly I think its chances might be stronger (if translated) with a typical International Booker jury as it feels like more of a fit for that prize with its mix of lyricism and brutality.

In particular it is distinguished by:

Distinctively poetic writing which cleverly jumbles: Trinidadian patois, Trindadian food/plants/animals (the Corbeau or black vulture is particularly important), Hindu beliefs and customs and a learned use of English which had me reaching for a dictionary and great use of simile and metaphor;

An often searing examination of poverty, police brutality, crime, class and religious discrimination in 1940s Trinidad with some violent scenes (as an aside – some graphic scenes involving the serial murders of four dogs will I think ruin the book for a number of readers as I know a number of readers particularly object to violence to animals in books).
The story itself opens with four younger teenage boys making a blood pact and forming a gang they christen Corbeau.

Two are cousins – Krishna and Tarak. Krishna’s father Hans(raj) is an ex-sugar cane labourer, now working on grounds maintenance on the nearby estate owned by the rich but much feared Dalton Changoor who lives there with his wife Marlee (whose past is a source of gossip). Hans is from a difficult abusive background and he and, particularly his wife (Krishna’s mother) Shweta are haunted by the loss, at a very young age, of their daughter. Tarak’s mother is dead, his father is Hans’s older brother. The two families live with three others: Dolly and her daughter Lata (close to the two cousins in age); Roomkin (an expert on ghosts, spirits and rituals – and whose description of Shweta’s daughter gives the book its title) and Murali, their simple son Sachin and their pregnant daughter Niala (suffering from extreme morning sickeness); Kalwatie and Teeluck – another older couple; and with a communal dog White Lady.

The families live in some ex sugar cane estate barracks and the barrack inhabitants are largely despised for their poverty and Hindu religion by the inhabitants of the nearby Bell Village – with Krishna (the only one to go to school) subject to bullying there, particularly by the sons of the local lawman. His and Tarak’s attempts to fight back against the village boys is to a large part behind their alliance with the other two teenage boys – Rudra and Rustram Lakhan, the notorious law-defying twin sons of an even more notorious bandit father who died while trying to violently escape Bell police station.

Meanwhile both the town and barracks and overshadowed by the Changoor estate, and there as well as Marlee we encounter her two other workers Baig and (my favourite character) Robinson.

The main narrative of the book begins with Marlee realising that Dalton is missing and that one of his three dogs has died, and then receiving what appear to be blackmailing notes which as she fails to respond to them lead only to further violence, threats and notes. Pretending that Dalton is away on business she asks Hans to act as a nightwatchman in exchange for a large sum of money (enough to secure a plot of land in Bell Village) – but both she in her offer and Hans in his acceptance are heavily motivated by sexual attraction – and from there the lives of the Barrack, Village and Estate inhabitants unravel forwards while at the same time we gain a greater realisation of what happened and greater understanding of the legacy of the violence of past generations.

Overall a memorable novel.

One review I read of this book described it as ‘linguistically gorgeous’ which should maybe have been a red light to me not to request to read an advance copy to review. I wanted to like this book a lot but I found it linguistically frustrating. My attention was constantly drawn from the plot in order to look meanings of words. Thankfully very easy to do on a Kindle. Many were words describing the flora and fauna in Trinidad where the book was set. Others were words that I still have no clue as to their meaning as they were not in the dictionary or Wikipedia. It was like being in an episode of Call my Bluff at times. Eventually these obscure words became so frequent that I decided the only way to get through this book was to speed read and accept I wasn’t going to digest and appreciate every sentence.

There was a decent plot but it was so bleak, gloomy and full of darkness that I really wish I hadn’t opted to read this galley. This wasn’t helped by there being a lot of cruelty and trauma inflicted on animals, especially dogs. This was written about in graphic detail and left images that will affect me for too long. This, together with a lot of violence towards people as well, meant this wasn’t a good read for me.

With thanks to NetGalley and Blooomsbury Publishing for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

It took me a little bit to get into the book but I'm glad I carried on. I enjoyed reading about the two families and how their lives entwined. Lots of topics covered and well written

A gritty yet poetic novel. There is something devastatingly imaginative about this narrative.

This is not an easy read. Besides the synopsis, what would prospective readers want to know?
1. This novel is extremely well edited.
2. There are a number of fairly well developed characters. Shweta, Rookmin are probably my favourite.
3. Great plot! So much happens for a shorter novel.
4. Themes of class, inequality, friendship, death, family relationships are dealt with in ways that open up discussion and debate.
5. Will this novel win prizes? Undoubtedly. In fact In fact, first book I have read this year that I hope to see on the Booker Longlist.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bloomsbury for providing me with an ARC.

Tragedies of epic, ancestral relevance in 1940s Trinidad

I wish I had been able to surrender to what the writer was doing here, as this is a book encompassing huge themes within a strong narrative. I felt as if I was reading something which at heart was as bold, deep and important as a book about Russia and its soul by Dostoievsky, or Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath, or a Greek tragedy like Oedipus Rex, but with its own specific setting, which could open out to universality.

This is an account of dark, bleak, violent humanity, riven by injustice of class, race, religion, gender, with graphic accounts of killings, beatings and maimings of humans and animals. There is little, if any, hope to be found here.

The problem I found which made for the low rating, was one of relentless overwriting. If I had read this as a hard copy book, I would have abandoned it within pages – the author clearly loves complex language – and so do I, but if, at times a dictionary is needed every few lines, it becomes exhausting and interferes with the narrative flow and absorption.

I completely appreciate that a book set so intensely within Trinidadian geography, complex culture, and linguistic patterns will of course be referencing plants, birds, animals, often using local names, and that characters will speak with their own regional and national dialects. It is not that which felt overwritten but the use of language, over and over, which one might only expect to find in a gathering of lexicographers, or a convention of thesaurus compilers.

And sometimes, the overcomplex images made no sense :

“During the first year of marriage, she had deconstructed her entire self with the revered language of dead writers. Patched herself with ideas and metaphors until she wasn’t sure where her former self dies and this new self was born. Her mind its own Ship of Theseus”

Sometimes, images are wonderful, striking, unusual – but when a writer is doing this almost on every line, there is something which gets in the way of the necessary forward propulsion of a novel

“The swifts in the darkening sky were moving like a knife slitting the dusk”
“the distant rain looking like grey marionette strings dangling from the sky”

I was not surprised to find that the author is a poet. Yes, often the precision and load of language poetry demands will bring wonderful freshness of image and avoidance of cliché to a novel, when poets also are novelists. And for sure, Jared Hosein does this. But far too often.

Reading on my Kindle I was at least able to fairly quickly locate some of the words unfamiliar – plants, birds, items of clothing – more problematic was that there were SO many words not in the Kindle’s own dictionary, even. Meaning that if a reader wanted to pay attention and really understand, they needed to read with access to wifi so that online dictionaries, including arcane, archaic, words could be found.

In the end, I stopped looking up all the new words, which could not be found in the Kindle’s own dictionary and began to skim read. Which is no way to be reading.

Less would have been so much more. This IS an ‘important’ book, as all those other books which made their way into my mind as I read, were telling me, but the overwriting stopped me from the kind of powerful resonances which those named books and writings created.

1940s Trinidad - I was not familiar with the history of the island, but I have learned a lot by reading this book. The intertwined story of two families from opposite sides of town, rich and poor. The coming of age of the son, love and death. Well worth a read!

This is a wonderful book. Full of well drawn characters and beautifully descriptive language. The novel is so atmospheric that you can almost see and smell the barracks and the gruelling life that its inhabitants lead. The storyline is engaging and I didn’t want it to end.

The book ha a very. strong sense of place and Time and I felt I learned a lot about the history of Trinidad by reading the story . In its heart is the story of one family where the father becomes enamoured with a wealthier land owning widow and is tempted to leave hs struggling family to live with this woman at her property . the novel looks at the effects of this decision on both his immediate family and others living in the same situation
I found the novel easy to read , the author has a flowing straightforward prose style , the characters I. the story were well defined and believable
After. reading the novel I was left with a memory of the heat and poverty of the island. but found it hard to remember the story of the novel beyond the basics
I read an early copy on Netgalley Uk the book is published in the uk 16th February 2023 by Bloomsbury Publishing . This review will also be published o. my Wordpress book blog Bionic Sarah's Books

This is an intriguing novel revealing an amazing awareness of life in 1940s Trinidad. The first couple the reader is introduced to live on a farm and are the local,employers. Mysteriously, the owner Dalton Changoor disappears leaving his wife Marlee to cope. She offers a financial incentive to one of her employees to stay overnight to ensure her safety! It turns out that the woman he lives with and has children with is not actually his legal wife. His son is Krishna whose boyhood dreams and disappointments are well described. The locals live together in what is called a barrack where they are lucky to have one room for the family and share facilities. It is a dreadful existence which the young ones dream of leaving behind. This book is exceedingly well written, sure to rouse all kinds of feelings in readers. This reveals issues of class war and religious and ethnic discrimination. I recommend it not as a comfortable read but as an important record.

Brilliant novel. Wonderful writing and use of unusual and underused words. It gives a great insight into Trinidadian life and culture in the 1940s, with all the poverty, illness, racism/classism, and the criminality of those with power. Tender, compassionate and heart-breaking with well-observed characters and beautiful descriptions.

I heartily recommend it.

This book describes Trinidad in the 1940's with an exceptional 'voice'. Some of the descriptive passages in the book really evoke the time and place. They describe the differences between the 'haves' and the 'have nots' beautifully. At one point I thought that the author had used a thesaurus for some of the descriptive adjectives but on reading the his biography I can see that he is also a poet so this will explain his use of language.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bloomsbury Publishing plc for the advance copy of this book.

This is not an easy read and addresses many contentious issues - race, greed, poverty and superstition amongst them. There is a lot of Trinidadian patois used and this takes some getting used to but it is a well-written story which moves along at a good pace.

A beautiful, heartbreaking, deeply moving book dealing with issues of family, race, class, poverty, and love in 1940s Trinidad. The many characters are all skillfully rendered and their many story lines come together to create a compelling book I didn't want to put down! Highly recommend this title, and I look forward to reading this author's next work.

Impactful and haunting, Hungry Ghosts is an absolutely stunning novel. Here we have two families in 1940s Trinidad, each struggling with past traumas while feeling strong desires for their future. And then their lives change dramatically as their fates become intertwined.

The engaging characters, the atmosphere, the many important themes and deeper layers within this story.. I am blown away. Kevin Jared Hosein is a gifted storyteller and I am sure this novel will impress many readers.

Thank you NetGalley & Bloomsbury publishing for the ARC!

On a hill overlooking Bell Village sits the Changoor farm, where Dalton and Marlee Changoor live in luxury unrecognisable 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, who live hard lives of backbreaking work, grinding poverty and devotion to faith.
When Dalton Changoor 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 watchman. But as the mystery of Dalton’s disappearance unfolds their lives become hellishly entwined, and the small community altered forever.
Hungry Ghosts is a mesmerising novel about violence, religion, family and class, rooted in the wild and pastoral landscape of colonial central Trinidad. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Hungry Ghosts is a beautifully written, page turner of a novel. All the characters are well drawn, and the locations are vividly described. The Story is well told and keeps you reading out of a genuine interest in what happens next. I haven’t come across Kevin Jared Hosein before, but I feel when this book is published, there will be a lot of chatter about it. If he doesn’t become well known after this book is published, it will not be a fault of the book. I highly recommend this book.

One half of my family is Trinidadian so I picked this up to try to learn a little more about my heritage. It did not disappoint. Gripping, poignant and incredibly atmospheric, I found it impossible to put down.