Siblings can have no more in common than their parents, sometimes – even twins. I know growing up, my brothers and I couldn’t have been more different from one another. Claire Adam’s Golden Child explores this theme. Peter and Paul, twins, are nothing alike. Peter is the “golden child” while Paul has always been a bit different. When Paul disappears, his parents learn a lot more than they ever bargained for – and they are faced with a choice no parent should have to make – a decision between children.
While Golden Child fits nicely into the genre of pop culture media concerning “good” twin vs.”bad” twin (The Good Son, for example), Adam does a masterful job of painting a picture of parenthood. She does so while painting broad beautiful brushstrokes illustrating the setting – Trinidad and its culture. While a lot of the plotting is what you’d expect in this trope, the way the story unfolds, the tale that is told, makes for a good – yet very emotionally wrenching – read.
About Golden Child
Hardcover: 288 Pages
Publisher: SJP for Hogarth (January 29, 2019)
A new novel from Sarah Jessica Parker’s imprint, SJP for Hogarth: a deeply affecting debut novel set in Trinidad, following the lives of a family as they navigate impossible choices about scarcity, loyalty, and love
“Golden Child is a stunning novel written with force and beauty. Though true to herself, Adam’s work stands tall beside icons of her tradition like V.S. Naipaul.”—Jennifer Clement, author of Gun Love
Rural Trinidad: a brick house on stilts surrounded by bush; a family, quietly surviving, just trying to live a decent life. Clyde, the father, works long, exhausting shifts at the petroleum plant in southern Trinidad; Joy, his wife, looks after the home. Their two sons, thirteen years old, wake early every morning to travel to the capital, Port of Spain, for school. They are twins but nothing alike: Paul has always been considered odd, while Peter is widely believed to be a genius, destined for greatness.
When Paul goes walking in the bush one afternoon and doesn’t come home, Clyde is forced to go looking for him, this child who has caused him endless trouble already, and who he has never really understood. And as the hours turn to days, and Clyde begins to understand Paul’s fate, his world shatters—leaving him faced with a decision no parent should ever have to make.
Like the Trinidadian landscape itself, GOLDEN CHILD is both beautiful and unsettling; a resoundingly human story of aspiration, betrayal, and love.
Purchase Links
Amazon | Books-A-Million | Barnes & Noble
About Claire Adam
Claire Adam was born and raised in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. She lives with her husband and two children in London, England. GOLDEN CHILD is her first novel.
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What an original (and unique) setting for a book! I also think this would make for a fascinating book club read especially with participants who were parents. Thanks for being on this tour!