SECRETS WE KEPT: THREE WOMEN OF TRINIDAD BY KRYSTAL A. SITAL

 

SYNOPSIS:

There, in a lush landscape of fire-petaled immortelle trees and vast plantations of coffee and cocoa, where the three hills along the southern coast act as guardians against hurricanes, Krystal A. Sital grew up idolizing her grandfather, a wealthy Hindu landowner. Years later, to escape crime and economic stagnation on the island, the family resettled in New Jersey, where Krystal’s mother works as a nanny, and the warmth of Trinidad seems a pretty yet distant memory. But when her grandfather lapses into a coma after a fall at home, the women he has terrorized for decades begin to speak, and a brutal past comes to light.

In the lyrical patois of her mother and grandmother, Krystal learns the long-held secrets of their family’s past, and what it took for her foremothers to survive and find strength in themselves. The relief of sharing their stories draws the three women closer, the music of their voices and care for one another easing the pain of memory.

Violence, a rigid ethnic and racial caste system, and a tolerance of domestic abuse—the harsh legacies of plantation slavery—permeate the history of Trinidad. On the island’s plantations, in its growing cities, and in the family’s new home in America, Secrets We Kept tells a story of ambition and cruelty, endurance and love, and most of all, the bonds among women and between generations that help them find peace with the past.

MY THOUGHTS

My favourite quote from the novel:

" The mantra of house, lan and motohcah that echoed from one generation to the next was achieved, but at what cost?"

This book was a heavy story, but spoke to a topics that families in Trinidad even now in the 21st century sweep under the carpet in the name of keeping up appearances and holding the family together in spite of the violence, betrayal and confusion.

This story begins with the patriarch of the family Shiva Singh at death's door. As his wife and daughter Arya deal with everything that comes with sickness, they both at different intervals recount their lives to Shiva's granddaughter Krys. As the story of Shiva is revealed to his favourite granddaughter, she is shocked to know that her beloved grandfather meant something different to both her grandmother Rebecca and her mother Arya.

I felt  every emotion while reading about both Rebecca and Arya's struggles. I felt sad, angry and hopeful that things would get better for them and that they would find the peace that they were both seeking to get out of life.

What I liked especially about this story is the representation of the culture of the island of Trinidad. The language, the food, the culture was really depicted in a skillful way so while the topics were serious it also gave the reader a view of the way of life on the island and this I appreciated the most.

I do not want to give the story away but I would highly recommend this book.

**Trigger Warning*** Domestic Abuse