Frying Plantain

As an Indian, the image of plantain cooking in grease is not alien to me. An incredible debut collection Frying Plantain is as flavourful as its name suggests; a flavour that's easy to take in and yet stays long after you've taken it all in.

Almost novelistic in effect, this beautiful collection of 12 interlinked stories follows Kara Davis — a second-generation Canadian of Jamaican descent — from elementary school to high school graduation, negotiating family, control, friendship, and her own Canadian and Caribbean identity growing up in suburban Toronto.

Indeed, growing up takes up so much of this book, especially between immigrant households that do not allow (and cannot afford) children to learn by making their own mistakes. Kara is brought up with strict discipline and control exerted by her single mother and reinforced by unyielding grandparents, her upbringing assessed continually in her appearance, her obedience, her interactions (or lack thereof) with boys. She grows up understanding layers of racial experience: the different textures of prejudice, from white men or cosmetic companies; the dynamics of birth, skin colours and accents within the Island community; the pressures and fears of failure and loss of tradition; of class and the disparate selves she dons between her home, school, and neighbourhood. It's little things — like Kara and her friends choosing whether to listen to Ja Rule or Eminem — that make these stories so relevant, so relatable, so evocative. Growing up also means growing out of things — the author explores the intricacies of female friendships throughout Kara's journey — their cruelty and jealousy, but also their caring — as they wane and transform over the years; Kara slowly sheds the protective mould cast around her by her mother as she gets ready to depart for college, to a world of her own.

On a much deeper level, however, Frying Plantain draws an intimate portrait of mother-daughter relationships and their struggles over generations, be it Kara's own relationship with her mother to that shared by her mother and Nana. These are relationships of protectiveness, frustration, anger, control, and of love, talked about in a way that they rarely are. These are relationships strengthened by their exclusion of men — the absentee father, the womanising grandpa, the boyfriend kept a secret. I found the author's exploration of the turbulent relationship between Kara's grandfather and her Nana to be one of the strongest aspects of this book, her ability to show their pettiness, their respective loneliness, the fact that they're bound together, in spite of everything, by having come this far both literally and otherwise. Similarly, the way Kara's mother, who gave birth at 17, celebrates the latter's 18th birthday may be a simple story, but one that grants so much insight into her relief and her pride.

The strength and realness of Kara's voice resounds; the approachability and evocativeness of her stories is such that it brought me to tears by the last one. I finished this book in complete awe (and in record time), contemplating Kara's onward journey as well as the brilliance and artistry with which Reid-Benta has brought it to life.

Frying Plantain is a book of twelve interconnected stories about a girl growing up in Toronto, balancing her Canadian nationality and her Jamaican heritage and dealing with the expectations of her mother and grandmother. The stories, told both as present narrative and flashback, follow Kara, the protagonist, from childhood to graduating and starting university, as she navigates identity, family, friendships, and dealing with different worlds and rules.

Though the book is a series of interconnected stories, it felt almost like an episodic novel, as you delved deep into Kara's life and saw her relationships develop and change over time. The book looks particularly in the tensions in Kara's life between different elements of her self, not Jamaican enough but also not like the white Canadians her mother warns her she can't act the same as. There's also a lot of focus on familial expectations, and how Kara seems at times to fight a losing battle to be what her family wants her to be. Overall, the depiction is sharp and memorable, with a lot of detail that draws you in to Kara's world, and the book is a gripping look at growing up caught between expectations, rules, and identities.

This was a really beautiful and intense set of short stories that all focus on a ten year period in the life of Kara Davis, a young girl born in Canada with Jamaican heritage. In many ways it's a series of coming of age stories, that all run on from each other, but before when you would typically think of 'coming of age' taking place. Alongside the experience of belonging to two cultures, of particular importance is the spoken and unspoken relationship between generations of women in this novel.

Kara Davis a child of two cultures. She is a Canadian national, and of Black Jamaican heritage. In the first story, we hear of one of her visits to Jamaica. It sets the scene for her feeling out of place - but rather than feeling out of place in Toronto, she's out of place in Hanover. She's seen as soft, un-Jamaican. Her friends have to explain words to her and speak in a Patois that is different to how Kara speaks. But when she's back at school, Kara uses and exaggerates the stories of her time there to shock and awe the white kids at school, but it doesn't impress her Black friends, who still think she thinks she's too good for them. In fact, they later show a cruel and nasty rejection of Kara.

But at no point does Kara clearly think that she doesn't fit in, or fear that she doesn't. A lot of that feeling is implied by her experiences but not explicitly stated, which is quite powerful in itself. It's quite clear that her experience of being a Black teenager in Toronto is different to that of her mother and her Nana. Her mother is writing a doctoral thesis, and working, and trying to keep a roof over their heads. She reacts aggressively and with rage to micro (and macro) racism, whilst Kara would rather keep her head down and quietly get on with things.

The relationship between Kara and her mother (Eloise), and between Eloise and her own mother is also really interesting. Eloise had Kara had a very young age, so puts a huge amount of discipline and pressure on Kara not to make the same mistakes. She has tight control over everything Kara does and Kara almost seems to fear her and her mother's rages. She rarely disobeys and only as she gets older learns how to keep secrets for herself. 

But Kara also sees the relationship between her mum and her Nana. They argue and shout and scream at each other. And she is desperate to shrink away from that and avoid confrontation. Both her mum and her Nana are proud women, who are afraid to ask for what they need from each other. But they also depend on each other and are, perhaps, ultimately lonely without the other. So much of these stories is about going too far - from protection to pranks - and how much harm too much of one thing can do.

This set of short stories is a really beautiful blend of culture and family, neither of which should be separated from the other. So much of it is just there - it's treated as is, rather than explicitly - and that's really powerful writing to get across so much meaning and understanding.

At the end of this novel, the author says that she is currently working on a Jamaican-inspired fantasy and I really hope that this comes together soon! If it's as well-written - and considerately and reflectively written - I would love to read it!

I've rated this as 4.5 stars, but I'm rounding it up to 5, rather than down.

I don’t really know how to review this one. All I can really say is that I loved it.

I couldn’t put it down from beginning to end and flew through it.

It was written in a way that completely sucked me in. It was such a simple topic but something about it was addictive!

Loved it!

This is a strong collection of linked short stories that builds into a nuanced look at the life of a young girl growing up in Canada with Jamaican heritage.

Kara feels caught between the two cultures at times and caught between her grandparents and her mother at others.

Each story works on its own but as a collection we get a fuller appreciation of Kara herself, and we grow to understand a lot about her Nana and her mum. They are definitely complex characters.

I would love to know what Kara ends up doing after we leave her.

I'm very interested to read more from Reid-Benta.

Many thanks to Dialogue books and netgalley for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book a lot. The characters were clever and engaging, and getting to spend time with them was a treat. I liked the writing too - it was descriptive without ever veering into flowery territory, and I would certainly be interested in reading more work by this author. The cover is great too!