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A Cupboard Full of Coats
Crushed by an impossible shame, Jinx's life has been little more than a shell; estranged from her husband, she is even relieved when he takes her young son with him. When Lemon, an old friend of her mother's, turns up on her doorstep Jinx is forced to confront her past, and with the pain of remembrance comes the possibility of redemption. But Lemon has his own secrets to share, and together they unravel an unforgettable family drama, stoked with violence and passion. Rich with voices from East London and the West Indies, Edwards' narrative is delivered with a unique and uncompromising bite that announces a new talent in British fiction.Longlisted for the 2011 Man Booker Prize.
261 pages, Paperback
First published June 16, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 326 reviews
November 1, 2021
I highly recommend this book. It's so damn good. Jinx confronting her difficult, failed relationship with her mother was absolutely scarring and agonizing. Yvette Edwards really knows how to tell a story and she writes delectable food descriptions that will make your mouth water. Trigger warnings for this one so proceed cautiously.
January 11, 2012
Meet Jinx, a young woman unable to love. We find her 14 years after her mother was murdered in their London house, where she still lives an organised and restrained life. She would’ve probably lived there like that until her own guilt and repressed feelings consumed her completely, if it wasn’t for Lemon who appeared on her doorstop, uninvited, looking to exhume what was buried deep underground.
Despite her coldness and apparent cruelty, it is hard not to root for Jinx from the very first page. Rarely do I find myself caring so deeply for a fictional character.
Lemon and Jinx take us on an emotional journey spiced up with Caribbean flavour during which we slowly discover the story behind Jinx’s reserve. Over one weekend Lemon performs vivisection on Jinx’s feelings and brings to light the secrets, motives and careless actions that eventually led to the tragedy. The narration is raw and brutal but also very skilful when switching between past and present.
A Cupboard Full Of Coats asks how much responsibility we should take for our actions and when to accept that things were out of our hands. It tells us that sometimes, although we like believe we are the principal players in the story of our lives, certain events are doomed to happen. It has less to do with fate – the way the Greeks saw it – and more to do with specific flaws in our characters that make us repeat the same mistake over and over again.
The book’s biggest strength is the complexity of its characters. Edwards manoeuvres swiftly between stereotypes and clichés and delivers prose that is beautifully structured, emotionally urgent, quite gut-wrenching and finally cathartic. It is easy to get drawn in, involved with the characters and hope for their redemption. I found myself crying on the train over the last few pages; a very embarrassing experience for me, as I don’t normally allow myself to get emotional. Just like Jinx, I was caught off guard.
Yvvette Edwards has already been compared to Monica Ali, and even Zadie Smith. Whereas these comparisons are not entirely unfounded, Edwards focuses less on immigrant perspective and more on human experience. It’s a fresh voice on the scene and one to be reckoned with.
Ah, if only it didn't have a headless woman on the cover.
originally published on bookmunch.wordpress.com
Despite her coldness and apparent cruelty, it is hard not to root for Jinx from the very first page. Rarely do I find myself caring so deeply for a fictional character.
Lemon and Jinx take us on an emotional journey spiced up with Caribbean flavour during which we slowly discover the story behind Jinx’s reserve. Over one weekend Lemon performs vivisection on Jinx’s feelings and brings to light the secrets, motives and careless actions that eventually led to the tragedy. The narration is raw and brutal but also very skilful when switching between past and present.
A Cupboard Full Of Coats asks how much responsibility we should take for our actions and when to accept that things were out of our hands. It tells us that sometimes, although we like believe we are the principal players in the story of our lives, certain events are doomed to happen. It has less to do with fate – the way the Greeks saw it – and more to do with specific flaws in our characters that make us repeat the same mistake over and over again.
The book’s biggest strength is the complexity of its characters. Edwards manoeuvres swiftly between stereotypes and clichés and delivers prose that is beautifully structured, emotionally urgent, quite gut-wrenching and finally cathartic. It is easy to get drawn in, involved with the characters and hope for their redemption. I found myself crying on the train over the last few pages; a very embarrassing experience for me, as I don’t normally allow myself to get emotional. Just like Jinx, I was caught off guard.
Yvvette Edwards has already been compared to Monica Ali, and even Zadie Smith. Whereas these comparisons are not entirely unfounded, Edwards focuses less on immigrant perspective and more on human experience. It’s a fresh voice on the scene and one to be reckoned with.
Ah, if only it didn't have a headless woman on the cover.
originally published on bookmunch.wordpress.com
February 17, 2024
Layered, engaging and un-putdownable
Jinx is an only child who mostly grew up with her mom and lived a very sheltered life. She had only one friend and her friend left the country when her parents found out she was pregnant. During her teenage year, after the death of her father, her mother starts dating a man who throws the entire mother-daughter dynamic off. Jinx must now get used to having her mother’s attention split with a man who assaults her. One day the assault goes too far and Jinx is left alone to find we way in the world.
The book opens with Lemon, her mother’s friend visiting. His visit brings up a lot of unanswered questions and secrets she was not privy to about her mother and why she was abandoned. We also find out more about Jinx, her divorce and why she does not consider herself a good mother.
I LOVED this book. I wanted more actually. When it ended I felt sad. I felt I wanted to spend more time with Jinx and Lemon. I loved the very unflinching portrayal of motherhood and women who does not have a maternal sense. I feel like I don’t read a lot of that in literature. I enjoyed the Jamaican and Caribbean influence scattered throughout the book.
Honestly, this was truly an amazing read! Please, everyone, pick this up!
Jinx is an only child who mostly grew up with her mom and lived a very sheltered life. She had only one friend and her friend left the country when her parents found out she was pregnant. During her teenage year, after the death of her father, her mother starts dating a man who throws the entire mother-daughter dynamic off. Jinx must now get used to having her mother’s attention split with a man who assaults her. One day the assault goes too far and Jinx is left alone to find we way in the world.
The book opens with Lemon, her mother’s friend visiting. His visit brings up a lot of unanswered questions and secrets she was not privy to about her mother and why she was abandoned. We also find out more about Jinx, her divorce and why she does not consider herself a good mother.
I LOVED this book. I wanted more actually. When it ended I felt sad. I felt I wanted to spend more time with Jinx and Lemon. I loved the very unflinching portrayal of motherhood and women who does not have a maternal sense. I feel like I don’t read a lot of that in literature. I enjoyed the Jamaican and Caribbean influence scattered throughout the book.
Honestly, this was truly an amazing read! Please, everyone, pick this up!
May 7, 2017
Read: November 2016
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
The plot: When an old family friend lands on Jinx's doorstep, she is forced to confront her feelings about her mother's death fourteen years ago.
The story is essentially about domestic violence, and the relationship between Jinx's mother Joy and her boyfriend Berris. The part Lemon plays in keeping the couple together makes him totally unlikeable and untrustworthy.
I struggled with how to rate this book because although the writing was good, and the story was interesting I disliked all four of the main characters; Jinx and Lemon, Joy and Berris.
The women in the plot are all weak and victims; Joy is beaten by her boyfriend, Jinx is used and manipulated by Lemon (both in the past and present), Jinx's old school-friend becomes pregnant at sixteen and is sent away by her parents.
The men are written just as harshly; Berris is a brutal beast while Lemon is a liar and a cheat. The exception here is Jinx's ex-husband who is the most normal character to appear on the page.
Despite this I did enjoy the story and I get the sense that I wasnt meant to like, or root for, any particular person. Overall it was a decent, fairly short read.
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
The plot: When an old family friend lands on Jinx's doorstep, she is forced to confront her feelings about her mother's death fourteen years ago.
The story is essentially about domestic violence, and the relationship between Jinx's mother Joy and her boyfriend Berris. The part Lemon plays in keeping the couple together makes him totally unlikeable and untrustworthy.
I struggled with how to rate this book because although the writing was good, and the story was interesting I disliked all four of the main characters; Jinx and Lemon, Joy and Berris.
The women in the plot are all weak and victims; Joy is beaten by her boyfriend, Jinx is used and manipulated by Lemon (both in the past and present), Jinx's old school-friend becomes pregnant at sixteen and is sent away by her parents.
The men are written just as harshly; Berris is a brutal beast while Lemon is a liar and a cheat. The exception here is Jinx's ex-husband who is the most normal character to appear on the page.
Despite this I did enjoy the story and I get the sense that I wasnt meant to like, or root for, any particular person. Overall it was a decent, fairly short read.
August 9, 2011
Jinx is a woman in crisis, though she doesn't know it.
A child of an older father, who died before his daughter really got to know him, and a loving (if needy) mother, Jinx had a child hood of loneliness and loss. Her single school friend is more of a 'frenemie'. Jinx is a young woman who is at loose ends and unsure of her place in her world. At sixteen, her loss becomes complete when her mother is murdered after a short, mostly unhappy relationship. Jinx decides from then on that she can depend on no one but herself, and her relationships with her estranged husband and four year old son are collateral damage. Fourteen years later, her mother's friend, Lemon, returns to Jinx' London home, determined to make things right with the young girl he felt he'd wronged. In the course of one weekend, Lemon and Jinx exchange stories of their pasts, trying to put to rest the ghost of Jinx's mother and to determine how much each is culpable in her death.
I had a hard time getting into this book, frankly. Jinx is initially a very unsympathetic character, self centered and bordering on cruel to her young son (Ben). I have a son of a similar age, and my heart just hurt for him when she cuts him off and ignores his young need for attention. However, things became clearer and clearer as the story went on. Seeing Jinx' relationships with her mother and her only friend torn apart, both by a spectacularly bad choices in boyfriends, it became easier to see how Jinx came to guard her heart so closely. Lemon, too, develops beautifully as a character as his story unfolds, from his childhood friendship with Jinx' mother's murderer, his own marriage and fatherhood, and his relationship with Jinx's mother, culminating with her final night alive.
Characterization, in fact, is a huge strength of Edwards' writing. All of the characters, even those that play smaller roles (such as Jinx's estranged husband, Red) are clearly drawn and full-fleshed. I found myself wanting to know about Red, about their brief marriage, and how he made the decision to leave. I had similar interest in her only briefly seen father, and her friend. Unfortunately, those stories are a outside the scope of this story, and I respect Edwards for keeping her eyes on the prize, never deviating in her slow peeling back of the layers of the fortress around Jinx' heart.
I truly liked this book, when all was said and done. The writing was sharp and clean, the characterizations on point, and the language spot on. I give this four cups out of five, and I'd dearly love to read whatever Edwards next writes.
January 17, 2013
When I got to the last few pages of A Cupboard Full of Coats, I put the book down for a few minutes because I didn't want the story to end. I didn't want Jinx and Lemon to stop telling the stories that had hunted them for years. Their shared guilt and heart wrenching confessions stopped my breath and keep the pages turning. Although Yvette Edwards gave the reader a good sense of the major events that had transpired in Jinx and Lemon's lives during the 15 years following the tragedy, I was greedy and wanted to know: What happened to Sam? Who did Jinx live with after that tragic night? How did Red ever break through her cold exterior? Would Lemon go and find his son?
The topic of domestic violence and child abuse was painted on a canvas that was detailed and seeped in realism. Edwards asked all the right questions and pointed the finger at an environment that shaped a monster like Berris.
Yvette Edwards' tale of redemption, revelations and forgiveness was beautifully crafted. I'm looking forward to her next novel.
The topic of domestic violence and child abuse was painted on a canvas that was detailed and seeped in realism. Edwards asked all the right questions and pointed the finger at an environment that shaped a monster like Berris.
Yvette Edwards' tale of redemption, revelations and forgiveness was beautifully crafted. I'm looking forward to her next novel.
October 31, 2021
Literary fiction that manages to be utterly compelling, thought provoking, intense and revelatory.
It is 14 years since Jinx's mother died and the knock on her door by a friend of her mother's she hasn't seen since then, initiates this weekend like no other, which will bring back all the emotion, rage, resentment, passion and sorrow that has been pushed down so deep for years.
Told in recurrent chapters of the past (when she was 16) that slowly recall the events that lead up to that life changing moment, and the present (the weekend of the visit), A Cupboard Full of Coats explores relationships, jealousy, independence, codependence and those transitions that happen as a girl becomes a woman and a mother becomes a lover. It explores friendship and the damage it can wreak.
The atmosphere she creates, the intensity, the characterisation, the confessions and revelations, though I read it over a week because I was busy, each time I picked it up, it gripped me and I highlighted thought provoking passages all the way through.
Highly Recommended.
This novel was longlisted for the Booker Prize in 2011 and nominated for The Hurston-Wright Legacy Award in 2013.
It will be discussed on Didi's Brown Girl Reading YouTube channel this evening Oct 31, 2021 at 9PM (Paris time) 4PM EST
It is 14 years since Jinx's mother died and the knock on her door by a friend of her mother's she hasn't seen since then, initiates this weekend like no other, which will bring back all the emotion, rage, resentment, passion and sorrow that has been pushed down so deep for years.
Told in recurrent chapters of the past (when she was 16) that slowly recall the events that lead up to that life changing moment, and the present (the weekend of the visit), A Cupboard Full of Coats explores relationships, jealousy, independence, codependence and those transitions that happen as a girl becomes a woman and a mother becomes a lover. It explores friendship and the damage it can wreak.
The atmosphere she creates, the intensity, the characterisation, the confessions and revelations, though I read it over a week because I was busy, each time I picked it up, it gripped me and I highlighted thought provoking passages all the way through.
Highly Recommended.
This novel was longlisted for the Booker Prize in 2011 and nominated for The Hurston-Wright Legacy Award in 2013.
It will be discussed on Didi's Brown Girl Reading YouTube channel this evening Oct 31, 2021 at 9PM (Paris time) 4PM EST
August 6, 2011
Definitely a shocking, gripping page turner -- well written, mostly, and chilling. Few first-person narrators depict themselves as such brutally bad parents, and that is only the first surprise of many as the plot -- while conventional in some ways-- defies moral truisms. Lemon is too all knowing and all wise, however -- old Lemon seems almost saintly, which young Lemon certainly wasn't -- and this too good to be true-ness mars the book. So does the transformative ending.
but a good first effort.
but a good first effort.
March 3, 2012
“A Cupboard Full of Coats” is a book about domestic violence that focuses more on thoughts and actions than plot. What do you do and think and say when your best friend is an abuser? What do you do and think and say when your mother is the abused? And what do you do with all the secrets and the pain that still linger many years later?
Domestic violence is not an original topic; it has been covered in many books and movies. But Edwards has taken the ordinary and made it extraordinary. There is much about the book that is wonderful. The characters are complex and utterly believable. It is richly atmospheric with the culture and dialect of both the West Indies and East London. And perhaps what is most remarkable is the structure the author uses.
The story slips back and forth in time, with nothing in the past or in the present quite making sense, but slowly unraveling, slowly revealing, until it is fully told. It is mysterious and tense and laden with emotion. And when the author explains the cupboard full of coats of the title, it is rich with symbolism and heartbreakingly perfect.
Amazingly, “A Cupboard Full of Coats” is the author’s debut novel. She is a remarkable talent and wholly deserving of the Booker nomination.
Domestic violence is not an original topic; it has been covered in many books and movies. But Edwards has taken the ordinary and made it extraordinary. There is much about the book that is wonderful. The characters are complex and utterly believable. It is richly atmospheric with the culture and dialect of both the West Indies and East London. And perhaps what is most remarkable is the structure the author uses.
The story slips back and forth in time, with nothing in the past or in the present quite making sense, but slowly unraveling, slowly revealing, until it is fully told. It is mysterious and tense and laden with emotion. And when the author explains the cupboard full of coats of the title, it is rich with symbolism and heartbreakingly perfect.
Amazingly, “A Cupboard Full of Coats” is the author’s debut novel. She is a remarkable talent and wholly deserving of the Booker nomination.
July 7, 2014
What a powerful book this is. The narrator is a 30-year-old woman who, over the course of three days, comes to face the whole unvarnished truth about her mother's murder 14 years ago. It's no murder mystery, but a horrible tragedy that colours her life forever. Since the murder, she has trained as a free-lance mortician, more comfortable with the dead than with any living person in her life. She has married, had a son and become estranged from both husband and child, unable to connect with either one as she flounders under the burden she assumed about the murder.
When an old family friend arrives to tell her that the murderer is getting out of prison, she spends the next three days with him reliving her life up till the night her mother died. The family friend has secrets and burdens too, and they all spill out on the table.
With such pain so deeply embedded in her, it is hard to foresee redemption at the end of the book, but somehow that is exactly what I felt for her. I really came to care about the characters. Ironically, it was hardest for me to understand the mother who was killed. There is no backstory to explain why she endured so much grievous violence from her lover in only 4 months of being together, why she forgave him over and over. Sadly, this is not so rare as to be unrealistic, just very sad.
I loved this book. When I finished, I sat there and thought about it for a long time. I wonder what the author's next effort will achieve. She's a very powerful voice.
When an old family friend arrives to tell her that the murderer is getting out of prison, she spends the next three days with him reliving her life up till the night her mother died. The family friend has secrets and burdens too, and they all spill out on the table.
With such pain so deeply embedded in her, it is hard to foresee redemption at the end of the book, but somehow that is exactly what I felt for her. I really came to care about the characters. Ironically, it was hardest for me to understand the mother who was killed. There is no backstory to explain why she endured so much grievous violence from her lover in only 4 months of being together, why she forgave him over and over. Sadly, this is not so rare as to be unrealistic, just very sad.
I loved this book. When I finished, I sat there and thought about it for a long time. I wonder what the author's next effort will achieve. She's a very powerful voice.
September 12, 2012
This was a very dark book and Jinx was a very damaged main character and narrator. Jinx and Lemon spend the weekend sharing their perspectives on Jinx's mother's murder with each other. Through flashbacks, it becomes apparent how Jinx grew into such a cold, almost robotic adult. She is not a good mother and the part when her four-year old son comes over for a visit was hard to read. I was left wondering how someone like Jinx came to get married and have a son in the first place. However, the focus of this novel is the immediate time period around Jinx's mother's death and the weekend that Lemon comes to visit fourteen years later. I think not including much information on Jinx's life in the time between her mother's death and Lemon's visit makes the weekend seem that much more intense.
Even though I didn't really like Jinx, I thought her character was well-developed and the reasons she turned out to be such a dysfunctional adult were definitely authentic. The domestic abuse storyline was tough to read but realistic. Jinx and Lemon put each other through the wringer - their weekend together is like an intensive therapy session. I enjoyed the way the author revealed the events of the past slowly and thoroughly as Jinx and Lemon open up to each other.
The writing was beautiful yet melancholy. I can see why A Cupboard Full of Coats was longlisted for the 2011 Man Booker Prize.
Even though I didn't really like Jinx, I thought her character was well-developed and the reasons she turned out to be such a dysfunctional adult were definitely authentic. The domestic abuse storyline was tough to read but realistic. Jinx and Lemon put each other through the wringer - their weekend together is like an intensive therapy session. I enjoyed the way the author revealed the events of the past slowly and thoroughly as Jinx and Lemon open up to each other.
The writing was beautiful yet melancholy. I can see why A Cupboard Full of Coats was longlisted for the 2011 Man Booker Prize.
March 22, 2017
Complex multi-layered drama about mothers and daughters, women and men, and the children of those women when the men in their lives are not their children's father. About adolescence, coming-of-age, lies, betrayal, loneliness, and the sad co-existence of love and violence in some relationships. This is an incredible novel for a debut, like a story that had to be told. Highly recommended if you like character-driven fiction.
June 6, 2016
My life was my own and I could do anything I wanted, yet I felt nothing. As I stood staring at the walls, searching inside myself for some kind of emotional response, the nothingness suddenly welled up inside me, like a physical mass, so vast and empty and infinite I was terrified. The very first time I went running, it was from that terror, from the possibility of being sucked down into emptiness for ever, and as I ran I discovered I was able to feel; pressure in my lungs, pain in my legs, my skin perspiring, the pounding of my heart.
My routine was erratic, I ran when I felt like it, usually five or six times a month. So was my style. It was nothing like that of the runners I grew accustomed to seeing, the ones who regulated themselves, jogged two or three times a week, who did a warm-up first and stretching exercises afterwards, the people for whom the activity was a hobby. I ran like my life depended on it, as fast and as hard as I could. Sometimes, passers-by would look beyond me as I ran towards them, with fear in their eyes, trying to see who or what was pursuing me, trying to work out whether they should be running too. As long as I was feeling, I didn’t care.
My routine was erratic, I ran when I felt like it, usually five or six times a month. So was my style. It was nothing like that of the runners I grew accustomed to seeing, the ones who regulated themselves, jogged two or three times a week, who did a warm-up first and stretching exercises afterwards, the people for whom the activity was a hobby. I ran like my life depended on it, as fast and as hard as I could. Sometimes, passers-by would look beyond me as I ran towards them, with fear in their eyes, trying to see who or what was pursuing me, trying to work out whether they should be running too. As long as I was feeling, I didn’t care.
April 22, 2013
A Cupboard Full of Coats is Edward’s debut novel which is written with surprising skill given it is her first publication. I was impressed with the way the story was woven to keep the reader interested and turning the page for more.
The novel setting is East London and all the characters are black; however this is not a story about race rather it centres on a mother-daughter relationship and it explores the emotions of jealousy, blame, guilt, and forgiveness.
Jinx was a mere teenager when her mom was brutally murdered. Jinx considers her name to be a harbinger of the way her life is unfolding. She is separated from her husband and her son lives with his Dad, who he appears to favour despite Jinx’ best efforts to be a great mom and win the affections of her son.
Jinx, however, is carrying a huge burden of guilt and anger. She feels responsible for her mother’s death and continues to live in the same house where her mother was killed. It is only when Lemon, an old family friend, showed up at her doorstep and began to delve into the past that Jinx was truly able to unravel the details and understand this painful past.
Despite the violence and the tragedy, the novel reads lyrically alongside mouth-watering Caribbean dishes. Saffron coloured pumpkin soup with sweet potato, green banana, tania seed, carrots, pearl barley, dasheen, christophine & lima beans, chewy torpedo dumplings and tender lamb chunks is but one example of the many delicious Caribbean faves. Since Jinx’s family was originally from Montserrat, the characters and language portray the culture of that region. Jinx’ mother had “coolie hair” while Jinx must endure the hot ironing and combing which are necessary to straighten and style her hair.
A closet full of coats seems to be a major part of Jinx’ inheritance and is a significant component of this tale. Most importantly, this is a novel about blame and the freedom to be gained through forgiveness of oneself. It is a quick easy and delightful read at approximately 175 pages.
I admire the writing style of Edwards; the way she puts out small bits of information at a time keeping the reader attuned and interested. I realize that it was several chapters into the book that the name (Jinx) of the main character was revealed. Likewise, the name of her mother was not disclosed until the end of the book. The book opens with the following one sentence paragraph written with superb skill.
"It was early spring when Lemon arrived, while the crocuses in the front garden were flowering and before the daffodil buds had opened, the Friday evening of a long, slow February, and I had expected when I opened the front door to find an energy salesperson standing there, or a charity worker selling badges, or any one of a thousand random insignificant people whose existence meant nothing to me or my world.
Edwards continues her grip on the reader right from the start.
He just knocked, that was all, knocked the front door and waited, like he’d just come back with the paper from the corner shop, and the fourteen years since he last stood there, the fourteen years since the night I’d killed my mother, hadn’t really happened at all."
Here is my rating - four out of five – enjoy the book.
The novel setting is East London and all the characters are black; however this is not a story about race rather it centres on a mother-daughter relationship and it explores the emotions of jealousy, blame, guilt, and forgiveness.
Jinx was a mere teenager when her mom was brutally murdered. Jinx considers her name to be a harbinger of the way her life is unfolding. She is separated from her husband and her son lives with his Dad, who he appears to favour despite Jinx’ best efforts to be a great mom and win the affections of her son.
Jinx, however, is carrying a huge burden of guilt and anger. She feels responsible for her mother’s death and continues to live in the same house where her mother was killed. It is only when Lemon, an old family friend, showed up at her doorstep and began to delve into the past that Jinx was truly able to unravel the details and understand this painful past.
Despite the violence and the tragedy, the novel reads lyrically alongside mouth-watering Caribbean dishes. Saffron coloured pumpkin soup with sweet potato, green banana, tania seed, carrots, pearl barley, dasheen, christophine & lima beans, chewy torpedo dumplings and tender lamb chunks is but one example of the many delicious Caribbean faves. Since Jinx’s family was originally from Montserrat, the characters and language portray the culture of that region. Jinx’ mother had “coolie hair” while Jinx must endure the hot ironing and combing which are necessary to straighten and style her hair.
A closet full of coats seems to be a major part of Jinx’ inheritance and is a significant component of this tale. Most importantly, this is a novel about blame and the freedom to be gained through forgiveness of oneself. It is a quick easy and delightful read at approximately 175 pages.
I admire the writing style of Edwards; the way she puts out small bits of information at a time keeping the reader attuned and interested. I realize that it was several chapters into the book that the name (Jinx) of the main character was revealed. Likewise, the name of her mother was not disclosed until the end of the book. The book opens with the following one sentence paragraph written with superb skill.
"It was early spring when Lemon arrived, while the crocuses in the front garden were flowering and before the daffodil buds had opened, the Friday evening of a long, slow February, and I had expected when I opened the front door to find an energy salesperson standing there, or a charity worker selling badges, or any one of a thousand random insignificant people whose existence meant nothing to me or my world.
Edwards continues her grip on the reader right from the start.
He just knocked, that was all, knocked the front door and waited, like he’d just come back with the paper from the corner shop, and the fourteen years since he last stood there, the fourteen years since the night I’d killed my mother, hadn’t really happened at all."
Here is my rating - four out of five – enjoy the book.
September 3, 2012
This was a book that was outside my comfort zone. Its characters belong to places and cultures that I’ve never been or never encountered, so I was looking forward to learning something about a different way of life. I didn’t know what to expect from the narrative, since its synopsis implies an emotional drama but its cover art is utterly banal. I kept an open mind when it came to plot and style — but I was still disappointed by A Cupboard Full of Coats.
That violent murder mentioned in the synopsis? You’d never know that was a plot point without first reading the back of the book. In the very first paragraph the narrator, Jinx, mentions that she killed her mother fourteen years ago. But given the tone of the story and the way it reads, I thought her death was an instance of euthanasia, possibly after a long illness, and not a violent murder.
The style of narration constantly and casually alienates the reader from the key issues of the narrative. Written in first person from Jinx’s perspective, the book is limited to what Jinx knows, feels, and deigns to tell the reader. She doesn’t tell outsiders much. There are endless paragraphs about how she wears her makeup, how the walls in her house are papered, how to make soup, etc., but basic questions aren’t answered in a timely fashion — like who the heck is Lemon? He shows up in the first page of the book after a long absence. Clearly he and Jinx have some sort of complicated history, but none of that is explained to the reader. While Jinx waxes poetic about home decor and the basics of showering, her audience is left to wonder what is going on between her and Lemon and why anyone should care. Who is this Berris that they keep mentioning so cryptically? How are any of these people connected? The book conceals its raison d’être, and therefore bores its reader.
As a narrator and protagonist, it was hard to like Jinx. She has a pessimistic outlook and isn’t a very good person. Her relationship with her four year old son, for example, is strained because Jinx just isn’t good at being a mother. She just can’t relate to her kid and is easily frustrated or baffled by his behaviour. He, in turn, rejects his mother and feeds her resentment by attaching himself to every adult except her. It’s easy to sympathize with how difficult it is to be a parent, but Jinx’s habit of easily giving up on anything that is difficult, including her son, makes her a bit repulsive as a person.
The one truly good thing about this book is Edwards’ knack for infusing her scenes with the flavours of the Caribbean. It permeates dialogue, food, mannerisms, etc., and makes the text richer. Unfortunately these things seemed to be more of a distraction than anything else at times, what with all the unanswered questions and unexplained circumstances vying for the reader’s attention.
Overall A Cupboard Full of Coats was a frustrating book, and not one that I would recommend to fans of contemporary, emotionally charged fiction.
I was given a copy of this book by the publisher via TLC Book Tours: The Sky’s the Limit, in exchange for an honest review.
That violent murder mentioned in the synopsis? You’d never know that was a plot point without first reading the back of the book. In the very first paragraph the narrator, Jinx, mentions that she killed her mother fourteen years ago. But given the tone of the story and the way it reads, I thought her death was an instance of euthanasia, possibly after a long illness, and not a violent murder.
The style of narration constantly and casually alienates the reader from the key issues of the narrative. Written in first person from Jinx’s perspective, the book is limited to what Jinx knows, feels, and deigns to tell the reader. She doesn’t tell outsiders much. There are endless paragraphs about how she wears her makeup, how the walls in her house are papered, how to make soup, etc., but basic questions aren’t answered in a timely fashion — like who the heck is Lemon? He shows up in the first page of the book after a long absence. Clearly he and Jinx have some sort of complicated history, but none of that is explained to the reader. While Jinx waxes poetic about home decor and the basics of showering, her audience is left to wonder what is going on between her and Lemon and why anyone should care. Who is this Berris that they keep mentioning so cryptically? How are any of these people connected? The book conceals its raison d’être, and therefore bores its reader.
As a narrator and protagonist, it was hard to like Jinx. She has a pessimistic outlook and isn’t a very good person. Her relationship with her four year old son, for example, is strained because Jinx just isn’t good at being a mother. She just can’t relate to her kid and is easily frustrated or baffled by his behaviour. He, in turn, rejects his mother and feeds her resentment by attaching himself to every adult except her. It’s easy to sympathize with how difficult it is to be a parent, but Jinx’s habit of easily giving up on anything that is difficult, including her son, makes her a bit repulsive as a person.
The one truly good thing about this book is Edwards’ knack for infusing her scenes with the flavours of the Caribbean. It permeates dialogue, food, mannerisms, etc., and makes the text richer. Unfortunately these things seemed to be more of a distraction than anything else at times, what with all the unanswered questions and unexplained circumstances vying for the reader’s attention.
Overall A Cupboard Full of Coats was a frustrating book, and not one that I would recommend to fans of contemporary, emotionally charged fiction.
I was given a copy of this book by the publisher via TLC Book Tours: The Sky’s the Limit, in exchange for an honest review.
November 28, 2012
Jinx is not an immediately likeable protagonist, infact the opposite is true. Her past, however sad, does not excuse her hard hearted approach to those around her. The scenes with her young son Ben border on cruel as she refuses him the love and comfort he craves. Occasionally though, the facade slips and she wonders why she can't tell him she loves him. Moments like this encourage us to delve deeper into jinx's tragic past and discover more about the reasons behind her refusal to engage with others. As her weekend with Lemon unfolds, the true magnitude of her past is revealed. We know the outcome, that her mother will be murdered, but we are so powerless to act, just as jinx herself was. The writing has the effect of moving like a slow freight train towards horror and death yet there is nothing powerful enough to prevent it. As a reader we suffer the paralysing feelings jinx suffered and start to understand her.
That the novel's final chapters give us too 'neat' a conclusion is a criticism I refuse to accept. Yes, jinx's attitude faces a subtle shift and her acceptance of her part in her mothers death allows her to move forward, and yes her visit to her son and ex husband Red shows that there is a future for this damaged woman and that the wrongs will not be perpetuated, but her sudden rush of love toward her son which culminates in her holding him is not the end for this tortured soul! Jinx faces a battle in continuing the path she has taken one small step towards.
The only difficulty I have with this book centres around the character of Lemon. His role in jinx's mothers death and his feelings for her feel callous at times yet understandable and I was sympathetic to him to a point. But when he sleeps with Jinx, in a scene with difficult connotations considering her age, and then continues to toy with her as an adult - I could not understand his motivations. He treats his wife appallingly and yet judges Berris and has the same screwed up relationship with his son that he tried to encourage jinx to avoid. To some degree she is learning from his mistakes but there is also a feeling for me that his character doesn't have the closure i would like. Nor the repentance his actions would call for.
Overall, a gripping read.
That the novel's final chapters give us too 'neat' a conclusion is a criticism I refuse to accept. Yes, jinx's attitude faces a subtle shift and her acceptance of her part in her mothers death allows her to move forward, and yes her visit to her son and ex husband Red shows that there is a future for this damaged woman and that the wrongs will not be perpetuated, but her sudden rush of love toward her son which culminates in her holding him is not the end for this tortured soul! Jinx faces a battle in continuing the path she has taken one small step towards.
The only difficulty I have with this book centres around the character of Lemon. His role in jinx's mothers death and his feelings for her feel callous at times yet understandable and I was sympathetic to him to a point. But when he sleeps with Jinx, in a scene with difficult connotations considering her age, and then continues to toy with her as an adult - I could not understand his motivations. He treats his wife appallingly and yet judges Berris and has the same screwed up relationship with his son that he tried to encourage jinx to avoid. To some degree she is learning from his mistakes but there is also a feeling for me that his character doesn't have the closure i would like. Nor the repentance his actions would call for.
Overall, a gripping read.
December 30, 2021
This was very good. I recommend it.
August 19, 2011
Jinx is a beautiful but deeply troubled east Londoner born to Caribbean immigrants, whose life was shattered 14 years ago when her mother Joy was brutally murdered by Berris, her second husband and Jinx's stepfather. Jinx blames her own jealousy and spite for her mother's murder, and has shut herself off from everyone, including her ex-husband and their young son, until the day that Lemon, Berris' best friend and a man she has admired since she first met him as a teenager, knocks on her front door. Lemon seeks to makes amends for his role in her mother's murder, now that Berris has just completed his prison sentence. During an intense weekend, filled with deep emotions and tempered by Lemon's irresistible cooked meals, the two relive their own separate and interlinked past histories, the passionate but troubled relationship between Berris and Joy, and the seemingly benign but malicious acts that led to Joy's murder.
A Cupboard Full of Coats is an intense and gripping debut novel which was an interesting selection for the Booker Prize longlist, and is highly recommended.
A Cupboard Full of Coats is an intense and gripping debut novel which was an interesting selection for the Booker Prize longlist, and is highly recommended.
May 19, 2014
Yvvette Edwards expertly explores what happens when we act based on our emotions. The protagonist Jinx is a thirty year old mother who has a difficult relationship with her son Ben. She is living in a house in Hackney where her mother was murdered 14 years ago. One day she opens her door to Lemon, the best friend of the man who has served time for her mother's murder.
The story is told in the form of a conversation spanning a few days between Jinx and Lemon where they both discuss what happened in the build-up to the murder. During this conversation both throw in facts previously unknown to the other. In between this is Jinx's memories of that time in flashback to her school days, her friendships and how she felt when her mother found a boyfriend.
I really enjoyed the fact that this book had depth, the emotions both Jinx and Lemon experienced were real, they felt love and hatred at the same time, they were jealous, they wanted to be loved, they were selfish and selfless all at once. This gives the reader a true insight into the complex situation they all found themselves in.
The story is told in the form of a conversation spanning a few days between Jinx and Lemon where they both discuss what happened in the build-up to the murder. During this conversation both throw in facts previously unknown to the other. In between this is Jinx's memories of that time in flashback to her school days, her friendships and how she felt when her mother found a boyfriend.
I really enjoyed the fact that this book had depth, the emotions both Jinx and Lemon experienced were real, they felt love and hatred at the same time, they were jealous, they wanted to be loved, they were selfish and selfless all at once. This gives the reader a true insight into the complex situation they all found themselves in.
August 31, 2012
** I received this book as a giveaway **
This is one of those books that begins with a lingering question, a half-presented hook that keeps you reading to put the pieces together. Edwards has not only created compelling characters, but made an interesting story out of their pasts and present. I'm not one for first-person narratives, as sometimes first-time writers tend to get stuck in the "I...I...I..." format, but Edwards handles it nicely, peppering the prose with lovely descriptions while also masterfully handling the shifts from memory (fourteen years prior) to the present. The stakes are raised through to the end, however along the way, the characters grow soft, teary, and seemingly overfed; definitely a solid debut, but would like to see future works that weren't so reliant on the initial hook.
This is one of those books that begins with a lingering question, a half-presented hook that keeps you reading to put the pieces together. Edwards has not only created compelling characters, but made an interesting story out of their pasts and present. I'm not one for first-person narratives, as sometimes first-time writers tend to get stuck in the "I...I...I..." format, but Edwards handles it nicely, peppering the prose with lovely descriptions while also masterfully handling the shifts from memory (fourteen years prior) to the present. The stakes are raised through to the end, however along the way, the characters grow soft, teary, and seemingly overfed; definitely a solid debut, but would like to see future works that weren't so reliant on the initial hook.
November 2, 2011
when i started this book,i didnt expect it to be this good. it started out a little boring but oh men when you get through the first pages you will never want to go back.
its a very emotional book. one a lot of people will relate to and for some strange reason turned out to be the perfect book for me. i totally recognized the feelings that where felt.
its a beautiful book also full of romance . intimmacy and dark aura. i wouldnt read it twice as it is somehow a thriller but i will definetly recommend it to all my friends if this was their genre of books.
its a very emotional book. one a lot of people will relate to and for some strange reason turned out to be the perfect book for me. i totally recognized the feelings that where felt.
its a beautiful book also full of romance . intimmacy and dark aura. i wouldnt read it twice as it is somehow a thriller but i will definetly recommend it to all my friends if this was their genre of books.
August 1, 2011
This book gives an insight into the feelings and motivations of
Shakespeare's Iago. Lemon pulls the strings and moves the characters
in ways that would leave a chess master in check before he makes his second move.
Shakespeare's Iago. Lemon pulls the strings and moves the characters
in ways that would leave a chess master in check before he makes his second move.
November 15, 2021
Harrowing and engrossing
October 26, 2011
Heading: Hidden Guilt
Every now and then I read a book that reminds me to be thankful for a loving and nurturing childhood, because a lack of one can often lead to a disturbing adult life. Yvvette Edwards’ impressive debut novel, A Cupboard Full of Coats is such a book for me. The book is a tale of family dynamics, jealousy, tragic betrayals, and guilt that mesmerizes the reader through its searing language and characters drawn so well they fill spaces in the readers mind. Jinx, a 28 year-old woman who is haunted by her childhood, and the brutal murder of her mother 14 years ago, is the book’s main narrator. While these events are always present in Jinx’s mind, she has not spoken about them to anyone so lives her life in a fog, until a person from the past, Lemon, shows up at her door. With teasing language, Ms. Edwards hooks the reader from the beginning. “He just knocked, that was all, knocked the front door and waited, like he’d just come back with the paper from the corner store, and the fourteen years since he’d last stood there, the fourteen years since the night I’d killed my mother, hadn’t really happened at all.” Lemon is back because Berris, the mother’s boyfriend, who was convicted of killing Jinx’s mother, has just been released from prison and has asked Lemon to forgive him. Lemon has his own demons and needs for Jinx to forgive him for past transgressions. Jinx does let Lemon in, and over the course of three days, as the stories goes back forth between the present and the past we are told a tale that will test the limits of forgiveness.
As the truth reluctantly unfurls, and the interactions of Jinx, Berris, Lemon, and the mother are exposed, the reader is treated to lush descriptions of Caribbean food and the lifestyle of the Caribbean immigrants living in the East End of London. The use of food to nourish both the body and the spirit is a strong technique of this book. But, under this facade of gaiety and community, is the darker subject of domestic violence. This is never an acceptable behavior, and while Ms. Edwards does not shy away from the nasty consequences, she does an excellent job of stripping the characters to the core to reveal their warts.
Compelling narrative combined with strong storytelling and vividly flawed yet interesting characters will captivate the reader until the last page. I look forward to reading future works by the author. I recommend this book to readers of literary fiction who enjoy stories of the immigrant experience and family dynamics.
Reviewed by Beverly
APOOO Literary Book Reviews
Every now and then I read a book that reminds me to be thankful for a loving and nurturing childhood, because a lack of one can often lead to a disturbing adult life. Yvvette Edwards’ impressive debut novel, A Cupboard Full of Coats is such a book for me. The book is a tale of family dynamics, jealousy, tragic betrayals, and guilt that mesmerizes the reader through its searing language and characters drawn so well they fill spaces in the readers mind. Jinx, a 28 year-old woman who is haunted by her childhood, and the brutal murder of her mother 14 years ago, is the book’s main narrator. While these events are always present in Jinx’s mind, she has not spoken about them to anyone so lives her life in a fog, until a person from the past, Lemon, shows up at her door. With teasing language, Ms. Edwards hooks the reader from the beginning. “He just knocked, that was all, knocked the front door and waited, like he’d just come back with the paper from the corner store, and the fourteen years since he’d last stood there, the fourteen years since the night I’d killed my mother, hadn’t really happened at all.” Lemon is back because Berris, the mother’s boyfriend, who was convicted of killing Jinx’s mother, has just been released from prison and has asked Lemon to forgive him. Lemon has his own demons and needs for Jinx to forgive him for past transgressions. Jinx does let Lemon in, and over the course of three days, as the stories goes back forth between the present and the past we are told a tale that will test the limits of forgiveness.
As the truth reluctantly unfurls, and the interactions of Jinx, Berris, Lemon, and the mother are exposed, the reader is treated to lush descriptions of Caribbean food and the lifestyle of the Caribbean immigrants living in the East End of London. The use of food to nourish both the body and the spirit is a strong technique of this book. But, under this facade of gaiety and community, is the darker subject of domestic violence. This is never an acceptable behavior, and while Ms. Edwards does not shy away from the nasty consequences, she does an excellent job of stripping the characters to the core to reveal their warts.
Compelling narrative combined with strong storytelling and vividly flawed yet interesting characters will captivate the reader until the last page. I look forward to reading future works by the author. I recommend this book to readers of literary fiction who enjoy stories of the immigrant experience and family dynamics.
Reviewed by Beverly
APOOO Literary Book Reviews
September 8, 2013
A Cupboard Full of Coats was longlisted for the Booker Prize in 2011 (in fact it’s the fourth from that year’s list I have read- a rare thing for me), and I can see why critics might like it. It has a rather distinctive voice, a bit British, a bit Caribbean, a bit lost.
It is interesting how Jinx’s life seems to parallel her situation. Even before the murder of her mother Jinx was finding it hard to find her place in the world. Her friend was growing up, but leaving Jinx behind. Then her mother meets a new man, her first relationship since Jinx’s father died when Jinx was a young child. Jinx doesn’t want everything to change- she doesn’t try to know or like her mother’s new partner, she doesn’t try to meet her friend halfway.
In a lot of ways the older Jinx is still a child. She still has a rather childish reaction to what happened. Her relationship with Lemon, and even to an extent with her son, are rather selfish and nieve.
At first I did find A Cupboard Full of Coats a little difficult to get into. I wanted to know what happened to Jinx’s Mum, but it took a long time for that story to get started, and once it did it was slow to really get going.
I liked it, in the end (except maybe the very end) but it was a bit of a struggle to get there at times.
It is interesting how Jinx’s life seems to parallel her situation. Even before the murder of her mother Jinx was finding it hard to find her place in the world. Her friend was growing up, but leaving Jinx behind. Then her mother meets a new man, her first relationship since Jinx’s father died when Jinx was a young child. Jinx doesn’t want everything to change- she doesn’t try to know or like her mother’s new partner, she doesn’t try to meet her friend halfway.
In a lot of ways the older Jinx is still a child. She still has a rather childish reaction to what happened. Her relationship with Lemon, and even to an extent with her son, are rather selfish and nieve.
At first I did find A Cupboard Full of Coats a little difficult to get into. I wanted to know what happened to Jinx’s Mum, but it took a long time for that story to get started, and once it did it was slow to really get going.
I liked it, in the end (except maybe the very end) but it was a bit of a struggle to get there at times.
September 25, 2012
It took me a few pages to get into the main character, Jinx, as she doesn't appear to have too many redeeming features to start with. However, her visitor is intriguing (which kept me going) and the writing is just beautifully atmospheric - and thus I was compelled to read on. I'm glad I continued. This is a sad tale of a little girl struggling without support and somebody to talk to and its awful ramifications for her future. Only her visitor can really help her come to terms with her past and it isn't until the final pages that we find out how, and whether he's successful. Although dark, this book has its moments of levity and colour. I came to love Jinx and was desperate for her to find a way to move on from her past. It's a slow burn but definitely hard to put down once past the first couple of chapters.
January 29, 2016
This is a story of domestic violence that escalates to murder but more than this, the author explores how a child can be psychologically scarred by being exposed to this unhappy situation. The story unfolds gradually through conversations and thoughts about the past, and although I knew that there was a murder, I found myself riveted wanting to know exactly what happened. Interesting truths from the past are revealed which bring about changes in the lives of the characters. For me, the story and circumstances seemed very true to life but the characters were somewhat less believable. Overall I really enjoyed this book and give it 3.5 Stars.
June 22, 2012
I enjoyed this more than I expected. At the start Jinx is a fairly unsympathetic character - selfish and self-indulgent. However, as the book progresses and her history unfolds I found myself warming to her. The story is one of love, loss, lust, betrayal and the dark spectre of domestic violence. I found it to be well written and evocative, with convincing characterisation. Not an easy read at times but one I enjoyed.
November 26, 2012
4.5 stars for this debut novel.
this is very melancholy and the characters are very dark especially jinx. a slow read like chewing food thoroughly to digest each character and comprehend how they become important to the story.
the good thing in the end was jinx able to realize that presently there are important persons who needs her love and attention more than swimming in the pool of hatred.
this is very melancholy and the characters are very dark especially jinx. a slow read like chewing food thoroughly to digest each character and comprehend how they become important to the story.
the good thing in the end was jinx able to realize that presently there are important persons who needs her love and attention more than swimming in the pool of hatred.
October 10, 2011
Excellent writing!! Intense emotions, cultural issues- Great book for discussion- very deep!! We need to read this for LFPC group!!- wow- heart pounding- coming of age- story!
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