Queenie, a dark comical novel with bursts of laughter and life throughout. This book will teach you about sex, love, race, life and family, it is a brilliant journey from start to finish. A beautiful novel, which is ferociously funny, clever, honest, heart-breaking and topical for our times.
The mid-twenties seem to be an era of age for the complete unknown, and Queenie is no stranger to this. Her life takes a 180 turn, to which we must follow her throughout getting back to her best. As a frequent reader, I found myself rooting for Queenie like I had never rooted for any other character before. Queenie holds a place in my heart, and she has taught me so much. That’s special for a fictional character to do, and all thanks to the Sunday’s time best-selling author Candice Carty-Williams.
Carty-Williams was an absolute joy to read, loud fits of laughter erupted from myself whilst reading this page turner, but that’s not all she made me feel. Moments for tears were shared with Queenie and moments of anger for her in this deeply honest novel. You really do feel like you have stepped into Queenie’s world once you open the pages.
Carty-Williams educated me on race, specifically being a black woman in modern day society and she educated me so beautifully through her writing. A book we all need to read, an insight we all need.
Yet again I found myself another novel that I was unable to put down and finished within hours. A stunning bit of art produced by an exquisite author, Candice Carty-Williams, and a true artist she is, keeping your nose buried deep into the book following Queenie's story at all available waking moments.
A well-deserved win for Candice came with Queenie, as in June 2020 Carty-Williams picked up the award for Book of the year. This made history as she was the first black author to receive this award. A truly outstanding author and a well-deserved winner, whose books I will always pick up from the shelves from now on and make time for, and so should you.
Finally, Queenie is a character who shows you life is not always fair or easy and we will have periods where we think life can't get better, or we stay in our dark place and are unable to move on.
She lets us know it’s okay if this feeling lasts for a moment or for a year, because she promises to herself that she will always come back and so will you. You may feel lost in life at times, but what Queenie teaches us is that with a loving family and beautiful honest friends, you’ll always be guided back to who you truly are.