Frying Plantain by Zalika Reid-Benta is a short story collection that follows Kara, a Jamaican Canadian girl, through her childhood and teenage years. I enjoyed every story because they all included elements that felt familiar to me: the family dynamics, generational differences, feeling like an outsider, being scolded for being too soft, and getting blamed for things you never did or would ever do. It was all so real and grounded and I’ve never seen all of these elements in one book before. And I loved that it’s set in Toronto, reading about familiar locations is always fun. 

 

At its heart it’s a story of three people and their generational differences in life experiences, and I love that. I love how we get to know Kara’s mother and grandmother and gain glimpses of how they perceive situations or subtle hints to what they’ve been through. But what makes these stories so great is how emotions are portrayed, especially anger. Anger pops up frequently as we see how it shapes their lives and even gets passed down through each generation. 

 

I knew I’d enjoy this book, and I did. However, I was not expecting the final story, titled Frying Plantain, to leave me speechless. It perfectly captures the tension and complex emotions that come with strained familial relationships. I’ve been trying to write this review for a week and I’m still speechless. I’ve never read about it like this before and it resonated deeply. I’m glad I read this collection when I did and I know I will return to it.