I struggled with this book. While I acknowledge the quality of the writing in illuminating the characters and the time and place, I think that perhaps I was just in the wrong place for the darkness of the themes. Somehow I found it quite difficult to connect with these women and without that, there is no story.

For some reason, I struggled a lot more with this one than I did with Love After Love, which overall I really enjoyed so I had high hopes for this.

It took me a while to get into this and once I did, it still wasn't an easy read. There's a lot of interesting (if dark) themes throughout the book and I don't doubt Persaud is a good author. Overall, good but I preferred Love After Lovel

I was so keen to read this after thoroughly enjoying Love after Love. This is a really great read too and well worth reading.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me access an advance copy of this book in exchange for my review.

Based on the life of a real-life gangster who was executed for murder in Trinidad in 1957, Ingrid Persaud has woven a tapestry of the stories of four women who fall for Boysie Singh’s charms and are caught up in his increasingly nefarious exploits. Narrated from the point of view of each of them and in their own distinctive voices, we gradually get to know Boysie who reigns supreme on the island, almost like a mythological figure, as a mass murderer, gambler, pirate and even a preacher for a short while. At first the reader falls under his spell, just as the women do, but it soon becomes apparent just how bad a man this bad man is, and as the violence ramps up, the narrative becomes more and more shocking. It’s never romanticised – there’s rape, sexual and physical abuse and murder galore - but because we see it all through the women’s eyes, who are essentially on his side, it takes a while to really see the situation for what it is. The novel brilliantly conjures up island life, not least because the women speak in the local vernacular. It’s a compelling narrative, well-paced and well-written, and I very much enjoyed it.

I hate bailing on books, particularly ARCS, but I just couldn't get into this. I adored Love After Love and it was one of my favourite books of the year when I read it.

I tried this on both print and audio but it felt like it was going to be too dark for me and I don't think the 4 different perspectives helped - it was too choppy.

I'm sure it was me and not the book (hence 3 stars not 2) and I may come back to it sometime, but not for me right now.

Boysie Singh is a bad man but one that women love. His childhood sweetheart loves him and bears his child but he lives with Popo, an ex-prostitute. When he meets Doris she sees a way into society but she needs to smarten him up. Each woman thinks she can control Boysie Singh and each is destined to suffer before making her escape.
This is quite a slow-burner of a novel. It is written in a Trinidadian patois and it does help to have a little understanding of Panjabi as well, however the language is lyrical and the story so compelling that the reader is hooked. Boysie is a very unlikable character but is based on those 'bad boys' that the girls can't keep away from and the setting in 1950s Trinidad is evocative and vibrant.

This second novel of Persaud is so different from Love After Love that at first I really didn't know what to make of it. For a while I've been afraid it was going to be a DNF, but the lost love songs of Boysie turned into a siren song, luckily with a happy ending for me :D. The language can be a barrier. I've struggled with it while reading Love After Love, but I've found it even ticker here and I must admit that in the beginning it was one of the reasons I couldn't get into the story. But of course, one would not want to read a Trinidadian author without having an authentic experience. And it does get easy, have patience and you'll be rewarded!
And when I say you'll get an authentic experience, I truly mean that. You will be rewarded with a flavoursome picture of Trinidad in the '50s: it's constant heat; ethnic fractions, culture, traditions, superstitions; but also corruption and crime and at the top its famous criminal: the Rajah.
Boysie comes alive through the stories told about him by his women. And let me tell you that there's nothing good about this man. What a sleazy peace of work The Rajah was! My goodness! From his deceiving ways, to his violent tendencies to becoming a ruthless criminal - there really was nothing that would have redeemed him! I felt that each women added to what made Boysie Boysie; but Popo was truly the architect of making him someone. Without her in the picture he went downhill, being harder and harder to keep himself in check and his business successful! Needless to say that she was my favourite character and her faith really pained me! Rosie was another interesting woman: strong headed and unafraid to seek revenge but I cannot say she really touched me... Doris: a perfect example of a gold digger: very determined and willing to go to great lengths to achieve her goals, but not much else. And then we come to Mana Lala - what can I say: I really despised her weaknesses. At lease she's learned her lesson and lived with the guilt of precipitating Popo's faith!

I also loved that this is based on a real person and I would love to know more about this historical women. A project for the future!

I only read a few pages, but was shocked by the graphic portrayal of brutal sex, so I did not want to read any more. However, after getting used to the language used and the many Trinidadian words, I managed to read enough by skimming, to get the gist of the story and the characters realized that this was quite an extraordinary novel but a very disturbing one.

What a beguiling writer Ingrid Persaud is. I was transported to Trinidad by this marvellous book, fully immersed in the lives of all the protagonists. Wonderful.

I loved hearing the stories of the relationship from the woman from their perspectives which was hard to read at points, overall I really enjoyed the book.

The Lost Love Songs of Boysie Singh is a story of survival by several women who find themselves in a relationship with a gangster and his brutal hands. Is it love or a matter of ensuring the need for protection in a society that deem women are only good for sex, birthing babies, and keeping house.

These women all sing the same song-they want love and respect. Boysie Singh doesn't know who to give either.

At times this story was tough to read because you felt for the women and sometimes you had sympathy for Boysie as well. I enjoyed the language, but feel that the book will need a glossary for alot of phrases that readers who read not Trinidadian will need to understand. I feel that th audiobook will definitely bringg this story to the next level (cue Bahni Turpin)..