What We All Long For by Dionne Brand
By Beverly Jackson • Jul 23rd, 2009 • Category: Book Review 2009 •
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In Dionne Brand’s ambitious novel, What We All Long For, the reader is introduced to four Toronto 20-something characters as they explore issues of race and identity and provide friendship to each other. All of the main characters are children of immigrant parents who migrated to Toronto for a “better” life. And while they have agreed to never talk about family, it is their family histories that have shaped who they are and contribute to their identity issues.
Tuyen, a lesbian artist of Vietnamese parents, struggles to be a loyal daughter and sister but wants to be accepted for who she is. Oku struggles with showing his poetic side and walking on the darker side of the law, anything to be out from under the thumb of his Jamaican father. Jackie, a biracial woman, cannot move forward as she feels committed to saving her brother when he does not want to be saved. And Carla is weighed down by her parents not being able to follow through on the dreams that they brought with them from Halifax.
Brand does an excellent job of developing the characters and evoking the essence of Toronto. The reader will see Toronto through the eyes of these young, urban people but the storyline felt stifled as action is slowed to wait on the characters being developed. At times, the reader is left hanging when the storyline of one character quickly changes to another character.
The ending was an unexpected twist as the reader did not see it coming. But it is this unforeseen ending that causes the families to meet. But, alas, the moment comes and goes too quickly for the reader and the story is over.
I recommend this book to fans of Dionne Brand and readers who like the themes of race, identity, and immigration.
Reviewed by Beverly
APOOO BookClub
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Beverly Jackson is is a recent transplant to the Charlotte, North Carolina area. She is an avid reader, and there are very few times you will catch her without a book. Several years ago, she changed her dining room into a library with wall to ceiling bookshelves. She loves sharing her enthusiasm for reading with others and writing book reviews is a way she shares her thoughts. For the last twenty years, she has worked in the technology field for an international consulting firm, but is easing her way into retirement. Her biggest accomplishment is raising two daughters to be productive citizens of society, and they have blessed her with five wonderful grandchildren. Some of her other interest are traveling, watching sports and practicing yoga. And her latest toy is her Kindle which allows her to carry around her library in her purse.
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