Grandma Bee has a cough that’s settled deep in her lungs. A long-time cigar smoker, she knows what it means; and after a lifetime of pain, loss and misunderstandings, she wants to settle some things before she goes.

Gradually, Astrid Roemer unfolds the story of Bee’s family—her own complicated past, the only daughter of a French settler who couldn’t raise her, and who married her off to a Black man, Anton Vanta. Vanta’s the descendant of enslaved people who took over the plantation they had worked on, but when he marries Bee, he becomes more or less estranged from his family and heritage. Bee focuses on raising her children, who are ‘off-white,’ the theme running through the book.

Like any family saga, this is full of lives, motivations, and secrets. It’s an epic about a multiracial family that’s complicated by the Dutch colonisation of Suriname, by racial barriers, and the legacy of slavery. *Off-White* is also about the struggles of the Vanta women—educated, but labouring under heavy emotional burdens passing down through generations. There is hope, though: the youngest generation, that of Grandma Bee’s grandchildren, is far less burdened, and the story ends on a sense of newness, and the righting of wrongs.

Thank you to Two Lines Press and NetGalley for access to a DRC.

Trigger Warning: Sexual Violence.

This breathtaking novel is an exploration of different family dynamics, colonialism, colourism and generational trauma. Set in 1966 Suriname Grandma Bee is nearing the end of her days which is prompting her to think about her intricately mixed family. With children and grandchildren spread around Suriname and the Netherlands, all of who look different and come from different heritages, what keeps them together once she dies?

In this story, Roemer does not shy away from scenes of sexual nature including ones of sexual violence. She also includes a strong sense of colourism and what that means in society. The story is told through different points of views of some of the family members which I found confusing at times because of the unclear distinction between a section and another especially with sections being particularly long. However, it is a good read. One that leaves you thinking and in awe especially after a very long and difficult ride.

Thanks to NetGalley And the publisher for this read. I quite enjoyed it. I think it helps to know the area or a place that functions similar to this or to just have a background that is similar to this to have a great feel for this book.

I enjoyed it.

Astrid Roemer emerges from a book hiatus with 'Off-White', her latest translated novel. As someone experiencing her second translated work personally, I appreciate the efforts of the translators, who have done an admirable job. However, despite their efforts, the book's flow leaves much to be desired. The frequent shifts in character point of view, occurring from paragraph to paragraph and even within sentences, make it challenging to follow the narrative cohesively. Despite being drawn in by the captivating cover, I found myself struggling to engage with the story and eventually had to set it aside at the 18% mark. While I may have misjudged the book based on its cover, I'm eager to hear what other reviewers have to say about this novel.

Off-White begins simply. Grandma Bee is praying and walking through town as she does, when her granddaughter Imker comes to visit and immediately slips into a caretaker role for her sick grandmother. But the story quickly progresses to include POVs from each of the Vanta women and the little brother Audi, going and back and forth between Suriname and Holland, and between past and present. But through it at all, it is still mostly a story about Bee, and how at the end of her life, she’s grappling with how her children have spread out and left her. Bee refuses to seek medical attention for her cough, and there were many moments where I wondered if Bee is justified or not in the expectations she has on her children, or if she loves them at all. Heavy, painful topics are explored, explaining why Bee is the way she is and why her children have left her. They are all trying to survive the best way they know, and the ending, although one of the bleaker ones I’ve ever read, has me feeling like the younger Vanta generation will break some of these cycles of pain and suffering.