February is Black History Month, which is a time for both celebration and reflection. It is a time to amplify the voices of those who might not have always been heard, and recognize the many systematic barriers embedded in society that need to be acknowledged and eliminated. This month, the library is highlighting both books that celebrate Black Joy and those that place these struggles at the forefront. The book reviewed here has been selected with this in mind. Though some readers may find it heavy due to the content, it is a compelling read that highlights some of the many injustices that need to be recognized this month, and always.
The story of the one-armed sister is a cautionary tale, drilled into Lala by her grandmother, Wilma, from a young age. It tells of two sisters: one good, one disobedient – and when the second is tempted by the darkness of the forbidden Baxter’s Tunnels, the consequences are severe. This, Wilma emphasizes, is what happens to girls who do not listen to those who know better than they do. Lala’s story, however, reveals generational trauma that goes far beyond the consequences of entering a forbidden tunnel.
Cherie Jones’s How the One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her House is Lala’s story, along with the story of three others whose lives are intertwined with hers. Lala and her husband, Adan, live in a ramshackle house in Baxter’s Beach, Barbados. Nearby resides Mira Whalen and her family, visiting from the UK. We also meet Tone, a friend of Adan’s whose past with Lala extends beyond what even her husband knows. A single gunshot triggers an undoing revealing the evils that people can do to one another, the ease with which some can fall to darkness, and the struggle, within this, to find something to hold onto.
This was a book that I could not put down. This book is swathed in suspense, and while Jones’s prose reads like poetry, her writing holds nothing back; it details racism, domestic abuse, generational trauma and the loss of a child in a raw and intimate way. However, this only emphasizes the importance of listening, of giving the voices who share these stories the space to do so, even when the stories are tough.
Ginny Dunnill is a community services librarian at Richmond Public Library.
