When I walked into the library to pick up books I had requested, this book was front and center on a table display as I walked in. The title caught my attention, so I walked over and picked it up to see what it was about. I skimmed quickly and learned enough that I wanted to read the book.
The story takes place in Brooklyn, New York, a borough of the City. My family lived about an hour’s drive east of Brooklyn, on Long Island. I remembered being to Coney Island and we always drove through Brooklyn when we had come up from Maryland to visit our relatives. I started reading with a nostalgic feeling.
I loved the book.
There was a surprise twist in the beginning that threw me a little, but I was engaged. I found myself liking Carlotta very much. In one of those wrong place-wrong time situations, she was at the scene of an armed robbery and assault. She was not involved with the assailant and happened to be at that store to purchase something for her best friend’s birthday. Still, she was hauled away with the assailant and charged as an accomplice.
Why didn’t the police listen to her pleas of innocence? Could it have been the color of her skin or the fact that she was also armed to protect herself against street violence? Whatever the reason, she was tried, found guilty and sent upstate to serve her time in prison. Over twenty-four years, Carlotta suffered all forms of brutal abuse and bullying. On her fifth attempt at parole, she learned that she would be released conditionally.
Joyfully, she took a bus back to Brooklyn. She looked forward to reuniting with her son, whom she had not seen since he was 5 years old. She also looked forward to seeing her parents, brothers, and sister again. She especially looked forward to reuniting with her grandmother.
There were two voices in the story. One was the narrator, who remained unnamed. The narrator spoke in grammatically correct English. That was okay, but I preferred Carlotta’s voice. She spoke in the dialect of her neighborhood. I could hear her speaking in my head.
I felt for Carlotta too. Despite her rough language, she was a sensitive soul. She experienced rejection and misunderstanding most of her life. Instead of being greeted warmly, everyone ignored or slighted her. Only her grandmother welcomed her with open arms. The very next day, a well-meaning parole officer began harassing her about avoiding alcohol and other ex-convicts.
On July 4th weekend, she found she had to escape her house because of the wild drinking and partying by visitors and family. She met up with her best friend, Doodle, and they had some funny adventures together. These were the places I laughed aloud but this was not what I would consider a funny book.
It was sad much of the time. Carlotta suffered a lot. Her own son could not accept who she really was and sought to convert her through religion. Other family members just refused to deal with her at all. I do not want to give anything away and would rather whoever reads this review learn on their own about the social injustices covered in this book.
It is not for everyone. It does have a lot of rough language and when Carlotta tells Doodle about her prison experience, it can be exceedingly difficult to read, very upsetting. But if you are up for it, this is a great read. I had not heard of the author before, but I will look for his other books.
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