Cereus Blooms at Night

My neighbor has a cereus growing in his yard. One night a year it blooms. My son in law is from Cova Trinidad. So I ordered it. WOW! Author is a genius. She had to have pulled this book from her soul. Her characters are people you will love. Story line is addictive. Read it. You won't forget it.

I think I must have read this book about 3 times and each time it weaves a magical web in my mind that takes days to clear. Ms Mootoo manages to take the minutae of life in a time gone by and make them real. Perhaps the book resonates with my own past a bit or perhaps it is just one hell of a well written book. I suspect it both. Books are, obviously, a matter of personal taste and I know people ( who I bought copies for) who hate this book. I take issue with the reviewer who compares it to The Color Purple though. As far as I know the human condition is sadly limited to a few experiences. One might as well say that any book that writes about falling in and out of love is plagiarizing another. I suspect the only problem with Cereus is that it is such an intimate book..written from such a particular perspective about a particular place that it may not resound with all readers. One of my friends in Trinidad who grew up in great poverty says that the book takes him back to his childhood and the little comfort corner in his mother's shed - I couldn;t put it better. I woul also suggest getting her book of poetry..well worth it. As an Irish born, half-Trinidadian Canadian I love this book....I hope that one day I will have the pleasure of meeting the author.

This book was one of the few out of the many that I've read that is truly charming and exquisite. Mootoo's bravery and unabashed honesty were among just a few of the admirable qualities of this book. I had trouble putting it down at night, even when I had to be up in a few short hours. The characters are crystal-clear and the environment she paints is inspiring to anyone who wishes to write a novel someday. While the book had its heart wrenching moments, it was also full of triumph. Mala Ramchandin (the main character)has a story so rich in detail that you will feel the struggle every step of the way. This novel shines light on every facet of human emotion and it comes highly recommended!

Shani Mootoo's first novel,CEREUS BLOOMS AT NIGHT, is a very discriptive story about people and life; although, it takes place in an imaginary island in the West Indies the story is very real. The life of mala Ramchandin begins with her mental state completely out of wack and her being arrested for a murder that apparently didn't happen. throughout the novel we realize that we are being told her life story up to the very point of the incident. Her sexually abusive father, her lesbian mom and aunt, missing sister as well as numorous hermaphrodites including the narrator. The story starts in the first person and quickly switches between first and third until the two meet at the present time indicated in the novel. A very interesting novel for and about some twisted lifstyles of some strange people who obviously didn't get to grow up the way they wanted to or the way any one would want to. This book, also, is filled with symbolism that will cloud your minds with all sorts of myterious happenings throughout your reading. while the setting is very vague, you will get a vivid mental picture of the story surroundings as well as the characters lifestyles and habits. It's all good, I might reccomend it to someone who has problems realizing what their problems are in their own life.

I recommend this book to everyone I meet, even total strangers. Shani Mootoo has, intentionally or not, created a mythic journey from separatist, through eco-feminism, into transformative feminism. At the center of the story is Mala, a woman insane from incest with her father. We learn of her life and generations of people surrounding it through the narrative of nurse Tyler, the first male nurse in all Lantanacamara, a rural district of India. From the father who's corpse lives still in a locked room deep in the clutter of Mala's house to Mala's sister Pohpoh escaped to America, to nurse Tyler who's astonishing transformation and new found love bracket the entire story, each life story is worthy of meditation long after reading the book. Shani Mootoo's earlier book, Out on Main street, was rather monotonic in tone, though skilled. Cereus Blooms at Night, however, is a multifaceted gem.