Black shack alley was definitely a longer read than my previous book Agostino, however, even in its sadness, I felt like the pages took me on a long immersive journey. There was no dramatic twists or anything shocking that would make my eyes pop out or do a double take while reading the text. The […]
Posted in Blogs, Zobel | Tagged with black shack alley, Colonialism, RMST 202
This reading overall made me feel sad and exhausted. Not in a dramatic way, but because Jose’s life was just… reality. It was precisely the coming of youth, and the cards were never in his favour. Knowing that this novel was in part autobiographical makes sense to me. I think the most saddening character to […]
Posted in Blogs, Zobel | Tagged with black shack alley, Uncategorized
I have to say, I really did like the writing style, it was the only thing that got me through most of it because the length (Last minute reading) was kind of intimidating. While there were a lot of things I loved about this story, I also realized that books ragebait me way too easily […]
Posted in Blogs, Zobel | Tagged with black shack alley, classism, education, poverty, race, slavery
I enjoyed reading Black Shack Alley as I did not know much about the circumstances in the Caribbean islands during this period so it was a refreshing read. The grim living conditions of the Black Shack Alley are totally contrasted with Jose’s naivety in the beginning to what is going on around him and in […]
Posted in Blogs, Zobel | Tagged with black shack alley, Uncategorized
This book left me feeling quite despairing. I knew we were going to lose M’man Tine as soon as things started looking up for José but it still devastated me. She fought so hard for that boy, and he in turn was kept going with the hope of making her life better when he finished […]
Posted in Blogs | Tagged with black shack alley, family, oppression, poverty, sacrifice
There were many aspects of this book that made me extremely sad. The discussion regarding colonialism and segregation was important, it was used to paint a picture to show what growing up under a setting like that was rather than to make a point (?). I…
Posted in Blogs, Zobel | Tagged with black shack alley
There were many aspects of this book that made me extremely sad. The discussion regarding colonialism and segregation was important, it was used to paint a picture to show what growing up under a setting like that was rather than to make a point (?). I…
Posted in Blogs, Zobel | Tagged with black shack alley
In my opinion, Black Shack Alley was a great choice to read after Agostino. Both follow the story of a young boy, but the characters are opposites in many regards. Agostino came from a privileged upper-class community and never worked, whereas José was born into a marginalized, working class group. Agostino’s troubles were much more […]
Posted in Blogs, Zobel | Tagged with black shack alley, race
While I was reading Black Shack Alley, I honestly thought this was going to be another cliche novel where a poor kid goes to school, works hard, and has a good life. END OF STORY. But as I kept reading and after I watched the lecture, I realized the author wasn’t really focusing on the […]
Posted in Blogs | Tagged with black shack alley, Joseph Zobel
