While the story told in this novel appeals to so many of the kind of stories I love to read, I have to imagine Palmer's lush writing will transfix many readers. This is a tale of sisterhood, Caribbean diaspora, mythic history, and the dual visible and hidden natures of our identities.

Whew! Stories within stories is one way to describe this story. Rooted in Caribbean (Trinidian and Jamaican) folklore, myth, legend, and balanced with life’s challenges - two sisters grapple with their parents’ marital issues, their mother’s (Beatrice Porter) failing health, and their own coming of age issues as they enter womanhood.

There is a symmetrical pattern in a spider’s web. Anansi, the wise trickster, other notable gods/Orishas and infamous ghosts appear sporadically and strategically to dabble and influence in strange ways with varying results. The family secrets emerge in each generation and sadly are met with nearly identical outcomes. The sisters leverage the stories told to them by their parents (often a clandestine way to describe their childhood secrets, adult fears, inner turmoil, or convey their intentions). Their stories (and their lives) are heavy, dark, and tragic – there are disturbing scenes of physical abuse, rape, and brutal acts of violence. So it is no wonder why the girls’ use their gifts to reimagine the stories to draw their own conclusions and or use them as fodder to create variations with happier imagined endings.

While I enjoyed this book - it took a while for me to gain traction as the narrator randomly pops in/out of the story, the chapters jump back and forth through time, and I was slowed by the written patois that took me a while to comprehend what the characters were saying – no fault of the author; but I found it exhausting at times and skimmed over those excessive passages of patois-laden dialogue. But it kept me turning pages to understand the characters as I was invested in their stories and their trajectory.

I loved the author’s lessons regarding the value, retention, and the importance of remembering and retaining stories; the lessons in the stories, and how empowering and liberating they can be.
I will keep this author on my radar and will pick up her next offering.

Thanks to the publisher, Catapult, and NetGalley for an opportunity to review.

My first favorite book of 2023! Gorgeous storytelling and I loved the way the Caribbean folktales were woven into the contemporary family storyline in New York. Great characters as well. Highly recommend!

An excellent debut novel.

There are so many good things to say about this novel, all the typical things you would normally say about character development, and voice, and writing style etc. For me, one of the most standout aspects, is how the story reads like the art of Caribbean storytelling. It is beautiful.

I was completely blown away by this book. It has colorful storytelling, heritage and examines the relationship of two sisters.

I want to just force all of my book besties to read this book. Soraya really knocked it out of the park with this one.

This book was everything! It captured me from beginning to end.

The story follows a Jamaican Trinidadian family through different generations and looks at sisterhood, marriage, family, and of course secrets. Embed within the narrative is spiritual folklore and tons of magical realism. A great read.

The Human Origins of Beatrice Porter and Other Essential Ghosts is an all-consuming and fast-paced fiction story about the sisterhood, motherhood, marriage and family secrets. Our narrator is pretty straight up in the beginning of the story about her intentions. She wants us as readers to believe her and to save her but she is also not necessarily the most reliable.

As the story unfolds the narrative centers two sisters, Zora and Sasha, who enjoy escaping into made up stories in order to cope with the domestic violence their mother endures at the hands of their father. When their father disappears and reappears at whim the sisters are left to care for their mother and prepare for the birth of their baby sister, Kayla. The sisters end up taking very different paths in life as Zora goes off to college and Sasha figures out her own sexuality and gender identity. As they each come of age as young women they are forced to reconcile some hard facts of life following the death of their mother after her condition worsens.

There are many elements of folklore and magical realism in the narrative that make this a spiritual read with many layers of deeper meaning. I know I will be analyzing this book and thinking about it for quite some time. A brilliant debut!

Thank you to the author and publisher for the e-arc copy!