How the One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her House

By: Cherie Jones

Narrated by: Danielle Vitalis

Shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction 2021

Audiofile Earphones Award Winner 2021

In Baxter's Beach, Barbados, Lala's grandmother, Wilma, tells the story of the one-armed sister, a cautionary tale about what happens to girls who disobey their mothers.

For Wilma, it's the story of a wilful adventurer, who ignores the warnings of those around her, and suffers as a result.

When Lala grows up, she sees it offers hope - of life after losing a baby in the most terrible of circumstances and marrying the wrong man.

And Mira Whalen? It's about keeping alive, trying to make sense of the fact that her husband has been murdered and she didn't get the chance to tell him that she loved him after all.

How the One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her House is the powerful, intense story of three marriages and of a beautiful island paradise where, beyond the white sand beaches and the wealthy tourists, lies poverty, menacing violence and the story of the sacrifices some women make to survive.

©2021 Cherie Jones (P)2021 Headline Publishing Group Ltd

Critic reviews

"Rare is the first book that reveals the writer fully formed, the muscles and sinews of her sentences firm and taut, the voice distinctly her own." (Washington Post)

"A bright new star. Cherie Jones draws us with skill, delicacy and glorious style into a vortex of Bajan lives on the edge." (Diana Evans)

"A hard-hitting and unflinching novel from a bold new writer." (Bernardine Evaristo)

Amazing!

Thanks for this well read and good book. Full of details made me remember my island, I heard with pleasure.

An Interesting Twist of Poetic Justice

I liked the narrator most of the times. I did feel though that there were some.points where her intonation did not assume the correct cadence. I enjoyed the story....very graphic with powerful imagery.I particularly loved the use of onomatopeia. The story brings to life a lot of practical island life realities....revealing that alongside the idyllic lifestyle, the beautiful beaches and the warmth of the Caribbean sun, lies danger, domestic abuse, misogyny, poverty, rape etc...All the similar occurrences that make up life in the places that tourists escape from to relax and clear their minds. I loved that just like in real life everyone in the story is connected in some way and I appreciated the twisted way in which poetic justice is served up to various persons throughout the story.