DNF @20%
3.13.2020

This book is just not for me [even though I am seriously trying to read more "read around the world" books]. There is just too much jumping around, no linear story and to be honest, at times, seems to be going for sensationalism rather than just a well-written story. In my opinion, this had so much potential, with amazing characters and instead, just fell flat. I have absolutely no interest in continuing with this.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Publishing for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A big disappointment. I’m so tired of this trend of disjointed pieces of time and characters and storylines instead of a linear narrative with rounded, evolving characters with whom a reader can become truly invested. Even though its prose sentences are skillful, These Ghosts Are Family seems to rely, instead, on shock value and gimicky structure. It makes me sad.

I Just Want To Start Off By Asking Who Wants To Pull Up To Ms. Cards DMs & Asked Her Why She Played Us So Good With This Book ?

“Let’s say that you are a sixty-nine-year-old Jamaican man called Stanford, or Stan for short, who once faked your own death. Though you have never used those words to describe what you did. At the time you’d thought of it as seizing an opportunity placed before you by God.” These were the first few sentences that dragged me into this whirlwind of a book. I wanted to know what was going in this mans life that he would want to fake his death. It turns out Stan Isn’t his name, his name is Abel & Used his friends death as a means to take on a new identity to escape his life back in Jamaica. I thought wow typical West Indian men running to America and leaving their whole life in their homeland behind like it were nothing.

As I continued reading I really sympathized with Abel. Yes, what he did was wrong but I was beginning to understand why he desired to leave his old life behind to create a new start. I’m like yeah I have this book all figured out, well I was wrong. This isn’t just Abel’s story of how he stole his friends identity all these years ago, it developed into a thought provoking page turned that covered slavery , unrequited love, parenting, infidelity, I could go on but I think Maisy Card covered it all. There are many lessons to be learned from this book. My biggest takeaway is that any little decision you make can have large effects on your life and maybe for even generations to come.

My tip for reading this novel is that you try not to rush through, it maybe hard because you really want to know what happens next but if you blink to quick you may miss something. It’s a whole family reunion going on in this book 😂

This is going to be a tough summary to write, because there's a lot that went on in this novel, but I'll try. In a nutshell, Abel Paisley and Stanford Solomon were dockworkers but Stanford was killed in an accident, and the white workers mistook Abel for him, leading to Abel taking on Stanford's identity, leaving his family (his wife, 2 daughters), and built a new life in New York. Abel'ls new life turned out to be more complicated than he expected. Because of his decision, it brought two different families together and complicated their origins and roots, When Abel finally decides to reveal the truth, we meet families from both sides, each with their own story to tell, each questioning their roots and identities.

I've never read a book quite like this before, I was drawn to their stories right from the start until about the last quarter when Abe's story took place, and the ending with the story of the 3 mysterious missing girls. I couldn't see the point of their story and found myself skimming through. However, I'm going to re-read it to see if I can get more from it.

What earned great points for this book for me was definitely the first three quarter of the book, and when Debbie inherited her father's book about her family and her ancestors. I was drawn to the stories of slavery from the point of view of Peta-Gay and Louise, and was even more intrigued as their stories unfolded and how each and family member were connected to one another.

This novel is about many things - love and family, slavery and racism, family secrets, atonement, and about finding and understanding ourselves and who we are. Stunning for a debut. Would I recommend it? Yes. And I'm looking forward to reading more from this author.

Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are mine.

Okay - I am sorry, I am not a fan of this book. The beginning had me hooked, the first 20-30 pages, I was engaged. But then as I kept reading, I was getting so aggravated with the main characters Vera and Abel. I couldn't connect with the characters, The wording and the language also kept throwing me off - I really wanted to love this book because of all the reviews I have seen on it. Being connected to the character or at least having and understanding of the characters stories is very important to me and it was not happening for me with this book. I also think I couldn't connect because I had just read another emotionally heavy book that really drained me and I started this one right after that emotional book, so that may have had an impact on my engagement in this book. I would like to pick it up again to retry this book when I am in a different mindset.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and Netgalley for providing an advanced copy for me to read and review.

These Ghosts Are Family is Maisy Card’s debut novel, and after finishing this book, I can’t wait to read more from her. This novel follows a man named Stanford Solomon who has a shocking thirty year old secret: he is actually Abel Paisley, a man who faked his own death and stole the identity of his best friend. The book starts with Abel as an old man, reflecting on the choices he’s made as he’s about to meet his firstborn daughter, Irene. When we first meet Irene, she has shown up to work for Abel as a home health aide, not realizing he is her father.

From there, the book travels back and forth from Jamaica to Brooklyn, from the 1800s to the 1990s and finally to present day. We slowly learn about the makings of Abel/Solomon’s family, and the impact of his choice to leave his first wife and children behind. This is historical fiction, but also an interesting immigration narrative, as it looks at the attempts of certain characters to rewrite or redeem their family.

I loved how this book explored generational trauma, and how it can continue to follow family lines much like ghosts. Speaking of ghosts, there are both real and figurative ghosts throughout the novel, and I was not expecting the book’s ending! As much as I loved the writing of the last few chapters, I wished the novel was a bit longer so as to tie up the events mentioned in the beginning.

Overall, I really enjoyed this novel. As a first generation Filipina, I related to the characters’ desires to trace their family lines and know where they come from, despite the ugly that might be unearthed.

The history of a Jamaican family is brought to life in a non-linear format in this debut novel. Beginning with the story of a man who left Jamaica and took on the name of a dead co-worker, he moves to England and then Harlem. His family believe him dead. Its near his death that he reveals who he really is. Jumping between different periods of time, the reader is introduced to a well-off woman who discovers her family owned slaves in Jamaica. Her ancestors were owners of the Jamaican family traced in the book. Ghosts haunt many of the family members. They aren’t a close family. They’ve splintered off and many of the women find themselves raising children alone. There are so many family secrets and so many different ghosts who haunt the various family members through the ages.

The Paisley family has problems with its fathers. And its mothers. The children have a few problems, too. Freud might argue with me, but I trace the problems of the Paisleys of Maisy Card’s These Ghosts are Family to the fathers. The first family story contains the revelation that Abel Paisley stole a friend’s identity and ran away from his first family. In his dotage, Abel has gathered his three daughters to tell them the truth. From there, we’re off and running through two hundred years of the family’s history, from colonial Jamaica to contemporary New York.

These Ghosts are Family is a novel formatted in link short stories that travel back and forth in time. Thankfully, there’s a family tree at the beginning of the book. I bookmarked it so that I could flip back to it when a new relative was introduced. The various family members wrestle with feelings of resentment against missing relatives; the missing relatives feel a lot of guilt for having absconded. This book doesn’t argue that parents are always necessary. The parents who stay put are often awful, from the rapacious plantation owner to the drug addicted mother. Instead, I feel that These Ghosts are Family is telling one long story (in parts) of the ways that we influence each other—mostly for the worse.

What interested me most about These Ghosts are Family—apart from the dysfunctional family dynamics—was how it revealed the history of Jamaica. It makes sense. The Jamaica we know is, at least in part, the product of dysfunctional relationship with a paternal colonizer (England). The early stories about Abel and his wife show how colorism creates artificial social boundaries and expectations. Several of the stories reflect how Jamaicans and other people from the Caribbean leave the islands, seeking good pay, only to find that they are expected to do hard, degrading jobs for little money. The stories set furthest back in time are particularly hard to read because they deal with the horrors of chattel slavery. It was fascinating to see how the Paisleys were affected by history and family.

These Ghosts are Family is brilliantly written. I really liked that each story felt distinct and necessary to the overall narrative at the same time. There are no wasted words in These Ghosts are Family. I also liked that the characters are completely believable—tricky considering how much psychology there is in this book. This book will definitely be a hit with readers who like stories about dysfunctional families.

This is a multi-generational novel in a similar vain to Yaa Gyasi’s Homegoing. This book opens when Stanford Solomon hires a home health aide who just happens to be his daughter, Irene. Irene is unaware of the possibility that her father is even alive. Solomon tells an unbelievable story and then sets the tone of what is to come.

We learn of his wife Vera, who became a widow, his daughters and grandchild. Along with this you get some additional stories of others that surround this family. But even more so, you will learn the deep history of this family history. Slavery is really just the start.

This book was just so engrossing, and the writing was just beautiful. From the first words I knew I was in for something really good. You might ask why 3 1/2 stars. I did find some of the stories, caused the book to lull, as I find with most short story collection or books with interconnected stories. You are just not that vested in everyone.

This book coming from a debut author is really something special. I can’t wait to see what else Maisy Card writes.

Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for an Advanced Reader’s Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

"The story is short: It begins with a woman getting fed up; it ends with her dying." ~ 90%

But first, there is a 69-year-old Jamaican man named Stan who once faked his own death. And so These Ghosts are Family begins. He meets his firstborn daughter, a home health aide, as she shows up to work to care for the father she thought was dead all this time.

We see the consequences of Stan's decision throughout the family tree from Jamaica to present-day Harlem. Their lives could have been completely different had Stan taken a different path. Through alternating time periods, readers witness a family forming and fracturing over generations. Themes include loss, growth, infidelity, migration and the common struggle.

These Ghosts are Family is a family saga that is interesting yet hard to follow at times. I was all in for some of the characters' individual stories whereas I was lost on a couple others and had to slow down to digest exactly what the author intended. It turned out to be a well thought-out tale. I can best describe this debut novel as a challenging read worth your time.

Happy Pub Day, Maisy Card! These Ghosts are Family is now available.

LiteraryMarie

This book was interesting. Still gathering my thoughts even after a re-read. This is multi-layered novel that started off fantastic but I lost my way several times during the multitude of characters. This felt more like a collection of short stories rather than one fictional novel. I enjoyed the writing & historical fiction aspects of the novel but at times I wanted more closure from some of the stories. The last chapter still seems off to me. I feel like I'm missing something.

This book starts off with a bang, when you realize that Abel isn't who he says he is. From there the story takes you through twists and turns as you learn the many connected ways that the characters are connected. The ending was very confusing and is the reason I dropped a star rating.

This debut novel is an original and very readable (except, for me, some of the dialect) inter-generational family saga. The characters are vivid and the historical and cultural details fascinating (though often horrifying); the supernatural (for lack of a better word) elements add a uniqueness to a book that I would not simply categorize as "historical fiction."

I look forward to reading future books by Maisy Card, and thank NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book is wild!!!! So many twists and turns!!!! I need to discuss somewhere ASAP with others!! I am in love with books that share a family's history and how they evolved (or not). I enjoyed how everyone's actions affected each other and how the character's connections was laid out. I look forward to more books from this author....someone give her a TV deal too.

My feelings about this novel are definitely mixed. I loved the premise so I was really excited to start this book. This unusual multi-generational saga moves through different time periods and involves a multitude of family relationships. Each chapter is like a novella of a different family member – all interesting characters that keep you engaged. Maisy Card’s ability to give depth and unique personalities to so many characters is impressive. Overall, this book is beautifully written.

However, I just struggled to keep up with how the various story lines related to the overall story. Simply put, there is a lot going on in this book and I found myself getting lost at times. It may have been just my issue, but it definitely impacted my appreciation of the book.

Fans of historical fiction mixed with modern day drama will definitely enjoy this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher Simon & Schuster for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Simon & Schuster for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. I thought that this was an okay story, I enjoyed it but it just didn't blow me away. I enjoyed the concept and found the cast of characters to be interesting and off beat but I was just never fully committed to what was happening. There wasn't really a point when I felt captivated by what was going on. I appreciated the storytelling and as someone who is Afro-Caribbean, I am interested in reading more stories about Caribbeans. I look forward to Maisy Card's future as a novelist but These Ghosts Are Family was just kind of safe for me.

Stick with this one past the first chapter- where it seems there are just too many characters- and through the sections written in Jamaican patois- and you will be richly rewarded. It's the non-linear history of the Paisley family of Jamaica. Each chapter is the story of one member of the family and it moves through the generations. Abel Paisley faked his own death and became Stanford; you will understand why by the end of this well thought out, difficult to explain novel. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. Fans of literary fiction should put this one on their lists.

It’s hard for me to rate this book fairly, because there were a lot of things about it I enjoyed and there were some subplots if you can call it that they I just didn’t understand in the context of the whole story. First the good. The writing itself was beautiful and flowing, the sentences made sense in the overall structure and worked well together, the voices of the characters came through very clearly and that doesn’t always happen. The quasi multi timeline worked for me as well, and some authors just can’t make the voices in different times blend well. But Maisy Card succeeds. The characters really seemed well developed and real. I loved the historical aspect of the story especially with the inclusion of journals, etc from the past to give it extra authenticity. I also really enjoyed simply learning about tour history of black Jamaica, its many horrors and beliefs. Now, what I did not enjoy was the ending of the story and without giving away any spoilers, all I can say is that I just don’t get how the three little girls tie into the story as whole. Are they meant to represent the past? No. Are they meant to represent the cultural and spiritual beliefs? I guess so but how does that fit into the story of Abel Paisley and his “death?” Maybe I missed the connection in my reading and if so, I apologize to the author but frankly I think a better tie in would raise the book in my mind, Or is it not meant to have a neat and tight end and I missed that idea?

Wow. Maisy Card's debut novel does not disappoint. These Ghosts Are Family is a multi-generational story following the lives of a family with roots in Jamaica. We see how the family began and evolved in Jamaica, those consequences, and how the later generations family members deal with that. This novel tackles a lot of heavy topics: slavery, migration, and family history. A must read for 2020.

I have such mixed feeling about this book. I had high hopes going into it- the premise sucked me in and the first chapter had me excited to read on!

Then, the book switched to the past, which I knew was coming, but the dialect and all new characters with no introduction and no information of how they were connected left me completely confused. I will confess there were several times I had to make myself go on and continue reading. Many times I wanted to abandon this book.

I am glad that I carried on. There are a lot of characters in this book, and it was very hard to keep them all straight. I kept referring to the family tree printed at the beginning of the book while also making my own tree to add characters that aren't listed in the printed family tree.

This book is more like a series of mini stories of the past, then we get mini stories of the present and how they relate. The characters are interesting and the events surrounding them intriguing. I will confess that slavery in Jamaica is not something I have researched and read about before so it was interesting for the historical content.

The last chapter had me confused and internally yelling "WTF!" over and over again. I feel the novel could have simply been complete and ended without that weird final chapter. I felt like I went from reading a historical fiction novel to a paranormal fiction novel and the two genres were thrown together in a way that just didn't vibe.

Thanks to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for allowing me the eARC to read and give my honest opinion.

These Ghosts Are Family has a May 1, 2020 release date fro US readers. I know this book is getting a lot of buzz, both negative and positive reviews. I urge you to preorder and read it. I am so glad I pressed on and finished this debut novel as this was a 4 star read for me!

Happy Reading!