About The Yard• Publisher: Speaking Tiger Books; 1 edition (April 5, 2016)
• Publication Date: April 5, 2016
A story of love and redemption, set in Trinidad, that exposes the fault lines in Indo-Muslim culture. Behrooz is brought to a familial complex, The Yard, to live with a devout and extended family, where he struggles to belong. He forms a childish alliance with Maya, a wilful and rebellious girl, and his guardian’s daughter. After they share a night of adolescent tenderness, Maya, fearing retribution, flees to London. Behrooz painstakingly rebuilds his life and marries another. When tragedy strikes, Maya returns to her childhood home. There, she and Behrooz must face up to old demons. Can their love endure? Even after Maya is dealt the most righteous” blow of all?
Praise
A haunting tale of family, commitment, love...and being true to yourself. --Roslyn Carrington, author of A Thirst for Rain
The author’s voice speaks in warm and sometimes cold filmic pictures of the universal language of love, honour, commitment, belief and family. When a remote outsider, a young boy, is drawn into and under the beguiling machinations of a devout extended family, there’s disruption in their cultural fabric and hierarchy, that challenges the decisions of a determined young girl’s head and heart. --Peter Jarrette - Author of Brighton Babylon
On a gem of an island, in a private family enclave, boy — orphaned, rough, longing for acceptance — meets girl — sophisticated, manipulative, afraid of tenderness. The Yard is a sensitive tale of romance, hurt and forgiveness skillfully spun by emergent author Aliyyah Eniath. --Barbara Bamberger Scott — Editor, A Woman’s Write
MY REVIEW:
4 stars. I found this to be a beautiful story of family, life, and love. It's a coming of age story. I really enjoyed the setting and the chance to learn more about the Indo-Muslim culture. The characters really come alive. I could clearly visualize the scenes. It pulled me in right from the beginning. The description of how Behrooz was living by sneaking food from the old lady, and the way he was found with the body and all the flies swarming around was heartbreaking, as was him trying to sneak a sheet to sleep on. That's just the first example of a scene that was vivid.
I couldn't like Maya at first. She was unnecessarily nasty and had a bad attitude. Bratty little girl. Of course, her attitude towards Behrooz changed as she grew older. She wasn't the only one that was mean, though. The whole family was. He was an outsider, and they were all so sheltered and clannish living behind those walls cut off from the outside world.
The writing style did throw me off just a bit. In places, there was too much description and back story, what we call "info dumps". I also felt the writer used too many commas and this made the reading not as smooth as I would have liked and distracted me a bit. I know a lot of people like this flowery and descriptive writing style, but I am one of those people who like clean sentences without all the pauses that a comma makes.
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review. I was not required to leave a positive review, and all thoughts and opinions are my own.
• Publication Date: April 5, 2016
A story of love and redemption, set in Trinidad, that exposes the fault lines in Indo-Muslim culture. Behrooz is brought to a familial complex, The Yard, to live with a devout and extended family, where he struggles to belong. He forms a childish alliance with Maya, a wilful and rebellious girl, and his guardian’s daughter. After they share a night of adolescent tenderness, Maya, fearing retribution, flees to London. Behrooz painstakingly rebuilds his life and marries another. When tragedy strikes, Maya returns to her childhood home. There, she and Behrooz must face up to old demons. Can their love endure? Even after Maya is dealt the most righteous” blow of all?
Praise
A haunting tale of family, commitment, love...and being true to yourself. --Roslyn Carrington, author of A Thirst for Rain
The author’s voice speaks in warm and sometimes cold filmic pictures of the universal language of love, honour, commitment, belief and family. When a remote outsider, a young boy, is drawn into and under the beguiling machinations of a devout extended family, there’s disruption in their cultural fabric and hierarchy, that challenges the decisions of a determined young girl’s head and heart. --Peter Jarrette - Author of Brighton Babylon
On a gem of an island, in a private family enclave, boy — orphaned, rough, longing for acceptance — meets girl — sophisticated, manipulative, afraid of tenderness. The Yard is a sensitive tale of romance, hurt and forgiveness skillfully spun by emergent author Aliyyah Eniath. --Barbara Bamberger Scott — Editor, A Woman’s Write
MY REVIEW:
4 stars. I found this to be a beautiful story of family, life, and love. It's a coming of age story. I really enjoyed the setting and the chance to learn more about the Indo-Muslim culture. The characters really come alive. I could clearly visualize the scenes. It pulled me in right from the beginning. The description of how Behrooz was living by sneaking food from the old lady, and the way he was found with the body and all the flies swarming around was heartbreaking, as was him trying to sneak a sheet to sleep on. That's just the first example of a scene that was vivid.
I couldn't like Maya at first. She was unnecessarily nasty and had a bad attitude. Bratty little girl. Of course, her attitude towards Behrooz changed as she grew older. She wasn't the only one that was mean, though. The whole family was. He was an outsider, and they were all so sheltered and clannish living behind those walls cut off from the outside world.
The writing style did throw me off just a bit. In places, there was too much description and back story, what we call "info dumps". I also felt the writer used too many commas and this made the reading not as smooth as I would have liked and distracted me a bit. I know a lot of people like this flowery and descriptive writing style, but I am one of those people who like clean sentences without all the pauses that a comma makes.
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review. I was not required to leave a positive review, and all thoughts and opinions are my own.
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