The Makings of a Fatherless Child is brutal book. So, if you are looking for: people that behave nicely, loving families, story in which underprivileged child wins at the end, rainbows and happy endings this is not a book for you.
This is a story of Amel River. He is a boy/ young man who lives in Bear Ridge, Mississippi. That is definitely not a nice place to be born. Also his family is dysfunctional; his mother is mentally ill, his father is not present, his sister who is in her teens is also a mother of a small chils.
The story follows Amel’s life from age 13 to age 18, but focuses the most on his 15th year of life. Amal is complex character. On one hand he is full of rage, without any direction in life and through the story he does some really unthinkable things. On the other he is poet/ writer and he cares deeply for his little nephew. Some of his writings are scattered through the story.
The storyteller is Amal himself, and he is telling his story with brutal honesty. That honesty brings, angry words, swearing, dysfunctional relationship, rape, and murders. This story is full of hopelessness, not just Amal’s but other characters also. They are all stuck in the Mississippi mud, and they cannot get out of it.
Although this is not a perfect story; one of its shortages is uneven pace, but then again what make is really good and strong is authenticity. Due to that reason it is worth reading.
(reviewed 8 days after purchase)