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Ibis
"This brilliant, shape-shifting novel teems with charms and curses, stunning disasters and startling moments of grace." —Jenny Offill, author of Dept. of Speculation and Weather
A bold, witty, magical new voice in fiction, Justin Haynes weaves a cross-generational Caribbean story of migration, superstition, and a search for family in the novel Ibis.
There is bad luck in New Felicity. The people of the small coastal village have taken in Milagros, an 11-year-old Venezuelan refugee, just as Trinidad’s government has begun cracking down on undocumented migrants—and now an American journalist has come to town asking questions.
New Felicity’s superstitious fishermen fear the worst, certain they’ve brought bad luck on the village by killing a local witch who had herself murdered two villagers the year before. The town has been plagued since her death by alarming visits from her supernatural mother, as well as by a mysterious profusion of scarlet ibis birds.
Skittish that the reporter’s story will bring down the wrath of the ministry of national security, the fishermen take things into their own hands. From there, we go backward and forward in time—from the town’s early days, when it was the site of a sugar plantation, to Milagros’s adulthood as she searches for her mother across the Americas. In between, through the voices of a chorus of narrators, we glimpse moments from various villagers’ lives, each one setting into motion events that will reverberate outwards across the novel and shape Milagros’s fate.
With kinetic, absorbing language and a powerful sense of voice, Ibis meditates on the bond between mothers and daughters, both highlighting the migrant crisis that troubles the contemporary world and offering a moving exploration of how to square where we come from with who we become.
A bold, witty, magical new voice in fiction, Justin Haynes weaves a cross-generational Caribbean story of migration, superstition, and a search for family in the novel Ibis.
There is bad luck in New Felicity. The people of the small coastal village have taken in Milagros, an 11-year-old Venezuelan refugee, just as Trinidad’s government has begun cracking down on undocumented migrants—and now an American journalist has come to town asking questions.
New Felicity’s superstitious fishermen fear the worst, certain they’ve brought bad luck on the village by killing a local witch who had herself murdered two villagers the year before. The town has been plagued since her death by alarming visits from her supernatural mother, as well as by a mysterious profusion of scarlet ibis birds.
Skittish that the reporter’s story will bring down the wrath of the ministry of national security, the fishermen take things into their own hands. From there, we go backward and forward in time—from the town’s early days, when it was the site of a sugar plantation, to Milagros’s adulthood as she searches for her mother across the Americas. In between, through the voices of a chorus of narrators, we glimpse moments from various villagers’ lives, each one setting into motion events that will reverberate outwards across the novel and shape Milagros’s fate.
With kinetic, absorbing language and a powerful sense of voice, Ibis meditates on the bond between mothers and daughters, both highlighting the migrant crisis that troubles the contemporary world and offering a moving exploration of how to square where we come from with who we become.
352 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 11, 2025
72 people are currently reading
3055 people want to read
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December 30, 2025
Sharp, engaging, brilliant, witty and unforgettable. Get ready for an incredibly unique read with characters you won’t soon forget.
Ibis opens in New Felicity Village, a costal town in Trinidad, there is an increase of Ibis landing in the village where is a bad omen that all the villagers can’t seem to shake. Told from the numerous perspective we meet the villagers who are seeing an increase in Venezuelans coming to the shores of Trinidad. They decided to take in an 11-year old Venezuelan refugee, Milagors, just as an American journalist visits the village to break the story and as the Trinidadian government decide to clamp down on the undocumented Venezuelans.
With the journalist asking too many questions, the villagers decide to take care of him. At which point, three fishermen from the village close by are held captive in Venezuela and each new day a body part is sent over to let them know a ransom must be paid. New Felicity is under siege, it could be the remnant of the village being on an old plantation or them getting rid of a witch was wreaking havoc on the village- no one knows for sure, but these Ibis are bad news.
We go backward and forward in time, from the village time when it was a plantation and how that affects them to present day. There are numerous voices from the villagers to the eleven year old Milagros and her mother. All coming together in the most explosive and unforgettable way. Justin Haynes did a spectacular job writing this book. The voices of the villages are haunting and they bring to life a real life crisis being faced in Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela. Addressed are:
The migrant crisis
how Venezuelans are being treated unfairly and discriminated against
sex trafficking of women and girls to Trinidad and Tobago
lost of family, lives and loved ones
Finding new family, and how that impacts their identity.
So much is covered in this book but it is done in a way that does not feel heavy and exhausting. I enjoyed how Haynes added the history of the village, we read of an overseer coming to Trinidad to run the plantation on which the village now stands. We get a very clear look into what it is like for Venezuelans to leave their homes to come to Trinidad and how their families get ripped apart. I particularly loved how we followed Milargos story and her search to find her mother. Truly an unforgettable read. I do wish there was a family tree because sometimes it felt hard to follow along on who was related to who.
A brilliant debut, I can’t wait to see what Justin Haynes writes next!
Ibis opens in New Felicity Village, a costal town in Trinidad, there is an increase of Ibis landing in the village where is a bad omen that all the villagers can’t seem to shake. Told from the numerous perspective we meet the villagers who are seeing an increase in Venezuelans coming to the shores of Trinidad. They decided to take in an 11-year old Venezuelan refugee, Milagors, just as an American journalist visits the village to break the story and as the Trinidadian government decide to clamp down on the undocumented Venezuelans.
With the journalist asking too many questions, the villagers decide to take care of him. At which point, three fishermen from the village close by are held captive in Venezuela and each new day a body part is sent over to let them know a ransom must be paid. New Felicity is under siege, it could be the remnant of the village being on an old plantation or them getting rid of a witch was wreaking havoc on the village- no one knows for sure, but these Ibis are bad news.
We go backward and forward in time, from the village time when it was a plantation and how that affects them to present day. There are numerous voices from the villagers to the eleven year old Milagros and her mother. All coming together in the most explosive and unforgettable way. Justin Haynes did a spectacular job writing this book. The voices of the villages are haunting and they bring to life a real life crisis being faced in Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela. Addressed are:
The migrant crisis
how Venezuelans are being treated unfairly and discriminated against
sex trafficking of women and girls to Trinidad and Tobago
lost of family, lives and loved ones
Finding new family, and how that impacts their identity.
So much is covered in this book but it is done in a way that does not feel heavy and exhausting. I enjoyed how Haynes added the history of the village, we read of an overseer coming to Trinidad to run the plantation on which the village now stands. We get a very clear look into what it is like for Venezuelans to leave their homes to come to Trinidad and how their families get ripped apart. I particularly loved how we followed Milargos story and her search to find her mother. Truly an unforgettable read. I do wish there was a family tree because sometimes it felt hard to follow along on who was related to who.
A brilliant debut, I can’t wait to see what Justin Haynes writes next!
July 19, 2025
Harbingers of doom lurk in New Felicity.
“ When everyone saw the scarlet ibis perched atop the oncenotorious house of ill repute near the edge of the village, there was a collective shiver, although no one would admit it. At first, no one thought anything of the roosting bird. The village was a mile from the tributary….where fifty or sixty ibises nested and fed.This ibis had lost his way, we figured. But the Ibis stood on the top of the house where Catherine the Great Disembowler had once ruined the village’s reputation…tearing men asunder, and so this ibis unsettled us. It suggested a gravestone marking a glum future.
It tightened anuses.”
Birds hover, spirits float and voices are raised with a discordant, cacophonous lilt.The novel is populated with curses, charms, shape shifting and magic.We meet characters named Hospedales, Miki, You-We, Catherine the Great Disembowler, Hany and Mama Bint. They are part of a chorus that recalls and initiates events which set off ripples in time, creating currents and eddies.They tell a multigenerational story of history, family and migration in Trinidad and Tobago.
The aforementioned scarlet ibis has settled on a roof in New Felicity, a fishing village located about five miles from Venezuela.The village is percolating with tension and mystery.There has been an influx of Venezuelan refugees seeking asylum and the Trinidadian government is not pleased.The villagers are sheltering an eleven year old girl refugee. A foreign reporter has come looking for a sensational story before he suddenly disappears. Trinidadian fishermen have been captured in Venezuela and their body parts are showing up in the village when ransom demands are not met.The villagers cast a wary eye at the ibis on the roof and wonder if they are beset by a curse reaching back over a century when a slaveholding sugar cane plantation dominated the land.
These undercurrents of uncertainty and foreboding funnel into a series of interlocking whispers and stories.They are narrated in diverse tonalities that move backward and forward in time without regard to linear constraint. They create a musical cadence that gives voice to the ravages, depredations and triumphs of Caribbean history. Brutality and mangled bodies litter the landscape as the voices rise and recede. Their song explores the consequences of colonialism, sexual slavery and modern day human trafficking.
The novel is both aural and visual, employing lush, descriptive patois laced language that creates a picture of time and place.It transports the reader into realms of magic intermixed with narratives rooted in history that demand reckoning for racial and gender injustices.The strands of the voices ultimately connect into a single thread spanning more than a century. The novel has lingered in my consciousness, reminding me of a freeform jazz quartet sounding more like Ornette Coleman than John Coltrane. Imaginative and exquisite.
“ When everyone saw the scarlet ibis perched atop the oncenotorious house of ill repute near the edge of the village, there was a collective shiver, although no one would admit it. At first, no one thought anything of the roosting bird. The village was a mile from the tributary….where fifty or sixty ibises nested and fed.This ibis had lost his way, we figured. But the Ibis stood on the top of the house where Catherine the Great Disembowler had once ruined the village’s reputation…tearing men asunder, and so this ibis unsettled us. It suggested a gravestone marking a glum future.
It tightened anuses.”
Birds hover, spirits float and voices are raised with a discordant, cacophonous lilt.The novel is populated with curses, charms, shape shifting and magic.We meet characters named Hospedales, Miki, You-We, Catherine the Great Disembowler, Hany and Mama Bint. They are part of a chorus that recalls and initiates events which set off ripples in time, creating currents and eddies.They tell a multigenerational story of history, family and migration in Trinidad and Tobago.
The aforementioned scarlet ibis has settled on a roof in New Felicity, a fishing village located about five miles from Venezuela.The village is percolating with tension and mystery.There has been an influx of Venezuelan refugees seeking asylum and the Trinidadian government is not pleased.The villagers are sheltering an eleven year old girl refugee. A foreign reporter has come looking for a sensational story before he suddenly disappears. Trinidadian fishermen have been captured in Venezuela and their body parts are showing up in the village when ransom demands are not met.The villagers cast a wary eye at the ibis on the roof and wonder if they are beset by a curse reaching back over a century when a slaveholding sugar cane plantation dominated the land.
These undercurrents of uncertainty and foreboding funnel into a series of interlocking whispers and stories.They are narrated in diverse tonalities that move backward and forward in time without regard to linear constraint. They create a musical cadence that gives voice to the ravages, depredations and triumphs of Caribbean history. Brutality and mangled bodies litter the landscape as the voices rise and recede. Their song explores the consequences of colonialism, sexual slavery and modern day human trafficking.
The novel is both aural and visual, employing lush, descriptive patois laced language that creates a picture of time and place.It transports the reader into realms of magic intermixed with narratives rooted in history that demand reckoning for racial and gender injustices.The strands of the voices ultimately connect into a single thread spanning more than a century. The novel has lingered in my consciousness, reminding me of a freeform jazz quartet sounding more like Ornette Coleman than John Coltrane. Imaginative and exquisite.
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August 1, 2025On a technical level, there's a lot I admire about this book: strong voice, diverse viewpoints, and its multifaceted approach to exploring its themes. But as far as story, structure, and pacing are concerned, it left a lot to be desired.
Extended thoughts below 👇 along with a list of threads I would have liked to see reach a meaningful conclusion.
Ibis is my first read from this year's nominees for the 2025 Center for Fiction First Novel Prize longlist. It promises superstitious fishermen, a slain she-devil, and a "mysterious profusion" of scarlet ibis birds.
The story centers on an eleven-year-old refugee and explores the migrant crises, as well as the relationship between mothers and daughters. Sounds enticing, so let's see if it delivers...
CHP 01
Opening line:
Here's something you don't read every day:
Hmm… four pages in and I've already encountered a few words I don't know, so I'm going to start a vocab list, like I did with Elphie. (see below)
Highlights from Chp 01: missing fishermen, ominous ibises, a spectral woman, a severed finger (and leg), a hidden refugee, an international incident brewing, a man eaten by birds. 😮
First impression: I am INTO this. I love the narrative voice, the pervasive sense of deception and violence, and the way characters are described and named (e.g., Mark-2, Peter-Called-Peter, and the glasses and goateed UWI graduate).
CHP 02
In which we read a series of letters written by John Cruickshank (father of Peter-Called-Peter) to his cousin Bernard. We can surmise from these letters that John was a piece of 💩.
Hany makes a few small appearances (enslaved mother of Catherine the Great Disemboweler). I'd love to see more of her.
CHP 03
Odd... It's mentioned that Hany and her daughter, Catherine (called "Kate" in John Cruickshank's letters)... If that's true, then how does the town of New Felicity have stories about Catherine the Great Disemboweler? At present, this has me confused. 🤔
Bit of a slowdown this chapter with little happening beyond Royston having feelings for Bunny.
I'm not sure at this point whether this book does, in fact, center on the refugee girl Milagros. I'm 50 pages in, yet she's barely been in the book and has hardly said 10 words. 🤷♀️
CHP 04
Welp, I was wrong because this whole chapter is about Milagros. 🤣
We've jumped to the future. Milagros is now 30 yrs old. She's on her way back to Venezuela in search of her mother, Grecia, whom she hasn't seen in over 15 years. To achieve this, she seeks the help of a brujo named Ebrehim Fortunato, who says Milagros will see Grecia once she delivers "the package" (i.e., take a little girl to her mother).
CHP 05
I haven't mentioned it yet, but each chapter has a title, and so far they've all had something to do with birds. This one is a favorite: A Handwritten Journal, in Which Fireflies and Frigatebirds Portend Rough Seas
My word, this whole chapter is heartbreaking. 😢 Is it any wonder women choose the 🐻?
CHP 06
⁉️ I am incredibly confused. This chapter reveals something about Catherine the Great Disemboweler, specifically that... How can that be when it's mentioned in Chp 03 that she... Will this be clarified at some point? 🤔
I also really DON'T UNDERSTAND what's happening in this chapter. I get that... And in response, Peter-Called-Peter grabs his car keys and drives them all to some thug's house so Hospedales can get beat up (to recieve comeuppance for his "underhanded dealings and double crosses"), so they all dig up a bunch of sand? What? And a bunch of bones, but no explanation is given for who the bones belong to or why they're there. Huh?⁉️ 🤨
CHP 07
⁉️Now I'm even MORE CONFUSED... 😫 This chapter says Peter-Called-Peter's father is named Basil D'Souza Cruickshank, but earlier we were told that his father is John Cruickshank. Did I miss something? 🤔 ➡️ UPDATE: Not sure where I got the impression that John was Peter's father (can't find it now, sadly), but I can confirm that he was Peter's ancestor. John was alive in the early 1800s, so there's no way he could be Peter's father. 😣
One of the unnamed narrator's friends does something awful behind their back (again), and it's such a non-event. Mentioned on one page and then just sort of.... forgotten? (I'm talking about... )
⁉️ Another question: What are Gs + Hs? They've been mentioned several times throughout, but I still have no idea what that means. 😑
The gang is on their way to Grenada to leave a young Milagros with Nello's brother and sister-in-law, Caleb & Gloria, who have room for a child. This reminded me that Milagros is still barely in this book.
CHP 08
Dipping back in time again to explore Hany's POV. A well-crafted 1st person voice, though somewhat challenging to read. Here, we finally get some clarity on what happened to Hany & Catherine; namely, that they...
CHP 09
More talk of buying up land in this chapter (specifically to get access to oil). It must not be referring to same sale as earlier (Chp 07) because that sale mentioned buying homes for much more than they're worth, whereas this sale is all about undercutting the properties' value.
With the timeline oscillating so much, and certain aspects of the story being retold (out of chronological order) by different characters, it's really difficult to follow the timeline. This book would make a whole lot more sense if each chapter title included a year. 🫤
👉 Let's do a midpoint check in: The story has SLOWED CONSIDERABLY since the early chapters. The book is just over 300 pages long, but the font is incredibly (almost unbearably) small. If the font were a more reasonable size, I think this would be closer to a 450 or 500 page book, and I feel it could have been edited and trimmed down quite a bit to streamline the story and make it less convoluted. At this point, I'm hanging in there to see if Haynes will bring this story to some kind of explosive conclusion.
CHP 10
We follow Milagros again and get a brief glimpse of her delivering the little girl to her family. Tbh, I thought this would constitute a much bigger part of the story. Maybe be tense or thrilling or sad or something, but it just sort of happens.
Milagros also learns more about her mother. This, too, feels like a nonevent. 😑
CHP 11
In which it's revealed via a letter from Grecia to her daughter that Milagros' father is...
If I'm following all the details correctly (and at this point, I'm not entirely sure that I am), then a second reveal in this chapter is that Milagros' uncle, Manuel was...
CHP 12
Milagros hears her mother's voice fused with Mama Binti's, so I guess that means she's...
CHP 13
It's mentioned that Catherine the Great Disemboweler promised three visits, and narrator mentions they've already had two, but for the life of me, I can't recall a second visit from her. 🤷♀️
We also learn that the narrator and his (I'm assuming he's male) friends visited the club where Grecia was...
CHP 14
We follow Matilde in this chapter, and I honestly don't know who that is. I've jotted down a lot of character names while reading (almost 30), yet I have no notes on her. 🫤
Anyway, through Matilde we follow events after the slave rebellion at John Cruickshank's property in the 1800s. I suppose the most important revelation in this chapter is that...
CHP 16
I think we're given insights here on whose bodies were dug up in Chp 06 because it's mentioned that many dead Africans were buried near the "ever-eroding shoreline." Not sure if that's where they were digging in Chp 06 though... Too many thread to follow here, and too few of them clearly connected.
We also witness the killing of Catherine the Great Disemboweler. We were told early in the book that she was dead and why she was killed, so I'm not sure this chapter was necessary.
CHP 17
We've come full circle now with Milagros getting on a boat to go to New Felicity in search of her mother. She also submits an article she wrote that exposes the trafficking of women and children for sexual enslavement.
CHP 18
The unnamed narrator and his buddies are on a boat with Grecia, fleeing from New Felicity, which is threated by a giant tsunami.
In a heated moment, both...
CHP 18
Bunny now runs a halfway house for Venezuelan refugees, and she's doing it at Abercromby House, former home of Peter-Called-Peter's slave-owning ancestors, which later became a brothel where... . It survived the tsunami unscathed, so now it's been turned into something that offers hope.
All the way back on page 80, we were told that Maldonado had a brother named Pedro who was killed (I never even wrote this character's name down. Didn't seem of consequence at the time.). In the book's final pages...
LOOSE ENDS
- Do the ominous ibises from the opening chapter return to startling affect by the end? No
- Does James prove a significant character in some way by the end? No
- Does Mama Binti play a significant role by the end? No
- Do we see Milagros and Grecia reunite?
- Do we learn definitively whose bones were buried in the sand? No
- Does Catherine the Great Disemboweler make a third appearance, as promised? Yes
- Does it matter that she reappears? Not that I can tell
- Was the meaning of Gs + Hs explained? No
- Was Royston having feelings for Bunny significant by the end? No
- Did the letter from Grecia given to Milagros by Ebrehim Fortunado prove significant? Not really
- Would a family tree have been helpful? Enormously, but it would have also spoiled some things.
- Did the oscillating, disordered timeline strengthen the overall story? Sadly, no. But it did make for a lot of confusion. 🫤
✍️VOCAB LIST ✍️
- gimlet – piercing (as in, casting a gimlet eye on)
- soucouyant - shapeshifting creature from Caribbean folklore
- jumbie - ghost or spirit of the dead
- bolívars – Venezualan currency
- catspraddled – sprawled or splayed out (aka splooting!)
- venial – a sin that doesn't deprive the soul of divine grace
- dotish - foolish, silly, stupid
- steupsed - (onomatopoeic) imitates sucking one's teeth to express annoyance
- puncheon – punch (as in, the drink)
- caplet - ???
- bumsee - buttocks
- intractable – hard to control or deal with
- pirogue - long, narrow canoe
- seine – a fishing net
- country bookie - a yokel
- peregrination - travel, esp. on foot
- prandle - ???
- supplications - earnest begging
- griot - a person who keeps an oral history of a town, village, etc.
- svengalis - person who exercises (sinister) control
- macjuels - boa constrictor
- manicou - Caribbean English for common possum
- sartorial - relating to tailors of their trade
- expectorate - eject/expel matter
- craw - stomach (of an animal)
- aridity - quality of lacking interest
- zaboca - Trinidadian Creole word for avocado
- mamaguy - deceive or tease, especially by flattery
- pouis - a tropical tree
- bazodie - crazy, head over heels in love
- obeah - system of belief characterized by the use of magic ritual to ward off misfortune or cause harm
- bohbol - scandal or scam (i.e., a messy situation)
- maljeau - ???
- agouti - a large, burrowing rodent
- crapaud - toad
- big jefe - colloquial Spanish phrase meaning "big boss" or "top dog"
- brujo - Spanish word that generally translates to wizard, sorcerer, or witch doctor
- viejo - old
- troupial -a gregarious songbird
- bligh - ???
- gordo - fat (here I think it's used to imply a fat man, or "fatso")
- trochas - ???
- patria - homeland
- lagniappe - a bonus or extra gift
- borracho - drunken
- laglee - a sticky substance, often paste or glue
- picong - lighthearted, playful banter
- tootoulbay - to be head over heels in love with someone or something
- panyol - people of Spanish or Spanish-speaking descent
- wajang - someone rowdy or uncouth
- colectivo - a type of public transportation
- louche - disreputable in an appealing way
- cocricos - a small game bird found in Trinidad
- calabash - a fruit-bearing tropical tree
Extended thoughts below 👇 along with a list of threads I would have liked to see reach a meaningful conclusion.
Ibis is my first read from this year's nominees for the 2025 Center for Fiction First Novel Prize longlist. It promises superstitious fishermen, a slain she-devil, and a "mysterious profusion" of scarlet ibis birds.
The story centers on an eleven-year-old refugee and explores the migrant crises, as well as the relationship between mothers and daughters. Sounds enticing, so let's see if it delivers...
CHP 01
Opening line:
When everyone saw the scarlet ibis perched atop the once-notorious house of ill repute near the edge of the village, there was a collective shiver, although no one would admit it.
Here's something you don't read every day:
But the ibis stood on top of the house where Catherine the Great Disemboweler had once ruined the village's reputation through wooing, bulling, then tearing men asunder, and so this ibis unsettled us. It suggested a gravestone marking a glum future.
It tightened anuses.
And so ibis rumors nestled.
Hmm… four pages in and I've already encountered a few words I don't know, so I'm going to start a vocab list, like I did with Elphie. (see below)
Highlights from Chp 01: missing fishermen, ominous ibises, a spectral woman, a severed finger (and leg), a hidden refugee, an international incident brewing, a man eaten by birds. 😮
First impression: I am INTO this. I love the narrative voice, the pervasive sense of deception and violence, and the way characters are described and named (e.g., Mark-2, Peter-Called-Peter, and the glasses and goateed UWI graduate).
CHP 02
In which we read a series of letters written by John Cruickshank (father of Peter-Called-Peter) to his cousin Bernard. We can surmise from these letters that John was a piece of 💩.
Hany makes a few small appearances (enslaved mother of Catherine the Great Disemboweler). I'd love to see more of her.
CHP 03
Odd... It's mentioned that Hany and her daughter, Catherine (called "Kate" in John Cruickshank's letters)... If that's true, then how does the town of New Felicity have stories about Catherine the Great Disemboweler? At present, this has me confused. 🤔
Bit of a slowdown this chapter with little happening beyond Royston having feelings for Bunny.
I'm not sure at this point whether this book does, in fact, center on the refugee girl Milagros. I'm 50 pages in, yet she's barely been in the book and has hardly said 10 words. 🤷♀️
CHP 04
Welp, I was wrong because this whole chapter is about Milagros. 🤣
We've jumped to the future. Milagros is now 30 yrs old. She's on her way back to Venezuela in search of her mother, Grecia, whom she hasn't seen in over 15 years. To achieve this, she seeks the help of a brujo named Ebrehim Fortunato, who says Milagros will see Grecia once she delivers "the package" (i.e., take a little girl to her mother).
CHP 05
I haven't mentioned it yet, but each chapter has a title, and so far they've all had something to do with birds. This one is a favorite: A Handwritten Journal, in Which Fireflies and Frigatebirds Portend Rough Seas
My word, this whole chapter is heartbreaking. 😢 Is it any wonder women choose the 🐻?
CHP 06
⁉️ I am incredibly confused. This chapter reveals something about Catherine the Great Disemboweler, specifically that... How can that be when it's mentioned in Chp 03 that she... Will this be clarified at some point? 🤔
I also really DON'T UNDERSTAND what's happening in this chapter. I get that... And in response, Peter-Called-Peter grabs his car keys and drives them all to some thug's house so Hospedales can get beat up (to recieve comeuppance for his "underhanded dealings and double crosses"), so they all dig up a bunch of sand? What? And a bunch of bones, but no explanation is given for who the bones belong to or why they're there. Huh?⁉️ 🤨
CHP 07
⁉️
One of the unnamed narrator's friends does something awful behind their back (again), and it's such a non-event. Mentioned on one page and then just sort of.... forgotten? (I'm talking about... )
⁉️ Another question: What are Gs + Hs? They've been mentioned several times throughout, but I still have no idea what that means. 😑
The gang is on their way to Grenada to leave a young Milagros with Nello's brother and sister-in-law, Caleb & Gloria, who have room for a child. This reminded me that Milagros is still barely in this book.
CHP 08
Dipping back in time again to explore Hany's POV. A well-crafted 1st person voice, though somewhat challenging to read. Here, we finally get some clarity on what happened to Hany & Catherine; namely, that they...
CHP 09
More talk of buying up land in this chapter (specifically to get access to oil). It must not be referring to same sale as earlier (Chp 07) because that sale mentioned buying homes for much more than they're worth, whereas this sale is all about undercutting the properties' value.
With the timeline oscillating so much, and certain aspects of the story being retold (out of chronological order) by different characters, it's really difficult to follow the timeline. This book would make a whole lot more sense if each chapter title included a year. 🫤
👉 Let's do a midpoint check in: The story has SLOWED CONSIDERABLY since the early chapters. The book is just over 300 pages long, but the font is incredibly (almost unbearably) small. If the font were a more reasonable size, I think this would be closer to a 450 or 500 page book, and I feel it could have been edited and trimmed down quite a bit to streamline the story and make it less convoluted. At this point, I'm hanging in there to see if Haynes will bring this story to some kind of explosive conclusion.
CHP 10
We follow Milagros again and get a brief glimpse of her delivering the little girl to her family. Tbh, I thought this would constitute a much bigger part of the story. Maybe be tense or thrilling or sad or something, but it just sort of happens.
Milagros also learns more about her mother. This, too, feels like a nonevent. 😑
CHP 11
In which it's revealed via a letter from Grecia to her daughter that Milagros' father is...
If I'm following all the details correctly (and at this point, I'm not entirely sure that I am), then a second reveal in this chapter is that Milagros' uncle, Manuel was...
CHP 12
Milagros hears her mother's voice fused with Mama Binti's, so I guess that means she's...
CHP 13
It's mentioned that Catherine the Great Disemboweler promised three visits, and narrator mentions they've already had two, but for the life of me, I can't recall a second visit from her. 🤷♀️
We also learn that the narrator and his (I'm assuming he's male) friends visited the club where Grecia was...
CHP 14
We follow Matilde in this chapter, and I honestly don't know who that is. I've jotted down a lot of character names while reading (almost 30), yet I have no notes on her. 🫤
Anyway, through Matilde we follow events after the slave rebellion at John Cruickshank's property in the 1800s. I suppose the most important revelation in this chapter is that...
CHP 16
I think we're given insights here on whose bodies were dug up in Chp 06 because it's mentioned that many dead Africans were buried near the "ever-eroding shoreline." Not sure if that's where they were digging in Chp 06 though... Too many thread to follow here, and too few of them clearly connected.
We also witness the killing of Catherine the Great Disemboweler. We were told early in the book that she was dead and why she was killed, so I'm not sure this chapter was necessary.
CHP 17
We've come full circle now with Milagros getting on a boat to go to New Felicity in search of her mother. She also submits an article she wrote that exposes the trafficking of women and children for sexual enslavement.
CHP 18
The unnamed narrator and his buddies are on a boat with Grecia, fleeing from New Felicity, which is threated by a giant tsunami.
In a heated moment, both...
CHP 18
Bunny now runs a halfway house for Venezuelan refugees, and she's doing it at Abercromby House, former home of Peter-Called-Peter's slave-owning ancestors, which later became a brothel where... . It survived the tsunami unscathed, so now it's been turned into something that offers hope.
All the way back on page 80, we were told that Maldonado had a brother named Pedro who was killed (I never even wrote this character's name down. Didn't seem of consequence at the time.). In the book's final pages...
LOOSE ENDS
- Do the ominous ibises from the opening chapter return to startling affect by the end? No
- Does James prove a significant character in some way by the end? No
- Does Mama Binti play a significant role by the end? No
- Do we see Milagros and Grecia reunite?
- Do we learn definitively whose bones were buried in the sand? No
- Does Catherine the Great Disemboweler make a third appearance, as promised? Yes
- Does it matter that she reappears? Not that I can tell
- Was the meaning of Gs + Hs explained? No
- Was Royston having feelings for Bunny significant by the end? No
- Did the letter from Grecia given to Milagros by Ebrehim Fortunado prove significant? Not really
- Would a family tree have been helpful? Enormously, but it would have also spoiled some things.
- Did the oscillating, disordered timeline strengthen the overall story? Sadly, no. But it did make for a lot of confusion. 🫤
✍️VOCAB LIST ✍️
- gimlet – piercing (as in, casting a gimlet eye on)
- soucouyant - shapeshifting creature from Caribbean folklore
- jumbie - ghost or spirit of the dead
- bolívars – Venezualan currency
- catspraddled – sprawled or splayed out (aka splooting!)
- venial – a sin that doesn't deprive the soul of divine grace
- dotish - foolish, silly, stupid
- steupsed - (onomatopoeic) imitates sucking one's teeth to express annoyance
- puncheon – punch (as in, the drink)
- caplet - ???
- bumsee - buttocks
- intractable – hard to control or deal with
- pirogue - long, narrow canoe
- seine – a fishing net
- country bookie - a yokel
- peregrination - travel, esp. on foot
- prandle - ???
- supplications - earnest begging
- griot - a person who keeps an oral history of a town, village, etc.
- svengalis - person who exercises (sinister) control
- macjuels - boa constrictor
- manicou - Caribbean English for common possum
- sartorial - relating to tailors of their trade
- expectorate - eject/expel matter
- craw - stomach (of an animal)
- aridity - quality of lacking interest
- zaboca - Trinidadian Creole word for avocado
- mamaguy - deceive or tease, especially by flattery
- pouis - a tropical tree
- bazodie - crazy, head over heels in love
- obeah - system of belief characterized by the use of magic ritual to ward off misfortune or cause harm
- bohbol - scandal or scam (i.e., a messy situation)
- maljeau - ???
- agouti - a large, burrowing rodent
- crapaud - toad
- big jefe - colloquial Spanish phrase meaning "big boss" or "top dog"
- brujo - Spanish word that generally translates to wizard, sorcerer, or witch doctor
- viejo - old
- troupial -a gregarious songbird
- bligh - ???
- gordo - fat (here I think it's used to imply a fat man, or "fatso")
- trochas - ???
- patria - homeland
- lagniappe - a bonus or extra gift
- borracho - drunken
- laglee - a sticky substance, often paste or glue
- picong - lighthearted, playful banter
- tootoulbay - to be head over heels in love with someone or something
- panyol - people of Spanish or Spanish-speaking descent
- wajang - someone rowdy or uncouth
- colectivo - a type of public transportation
- louche - disreputable in an appealing way
- cocricos - a small game bird found in Trinidad
- calabash - a fruit-bearing tropical tree
February 6, 2025
I really wanted to give this novel a chance, but unfortunately, I couldn't really mesh with it.
I definitely appreciate what the author was going for, especially with the novel's themes on migration (whether forced or voluntary), the plight of refugees, and how the specter of European colonialism lingers on long after a nation gains its independence.
I loved the Caribbean island setting too, especially with the focus on Trinidad's British colonial history. But while the writing read very poetic, it was too allegorical for me to really grasp the author's intent.
There were a lot of characters that spanned the centuries, all connected to the FMC, Milagros. I didn't mind the back and forth jumping through time periods and POV changes, but I think it minimized the impact of the story.
I liked Milagros's story, including her ancestors' stories, but the secondary characters didn't make any impression on me. (They're varying levels of important to the main narrative.) And unfortunately, the ibis and bird theme didn't really hit me as hard as it should have.
I don't think the author's style is a match for me, but others who prefer allegorical novels might like this.
Thank you to The Overlook Press and NetGalley for this arc.
I definitely appreciate what the author was going for, especially with the novel's themes on migration (whether forced or voluntary), the plight of refugees, and how the specter of European colonialism lingers on long after a nation gains its independence.
I loved the Caribbean island setting too, especially with the focus on Trinidad's British colonial history. But while the writing read very poetic, it was too allegorical for me to really grasp the author's intent.
There were a lot of characters that spanned the centuries, all connected to the FMC, Milagros. I didn't mind the back and forth jumping through time periods and POV changes, but I think it minimized the impact of the story.
I liked Milagros's story, including her ancestors' stories, but the secondary characters didn't make any impression on me. (They're varying levels of important to the main narrative.) And unfortunately, the ibis and bird theme didn't really hit me as hard as it should have.
I don't think the author's style is a match for me, but others who prefer allegorical novels might like this.
Thank you to The Overlook Press and NetGalley for this arc.
July 12, 2025
In the Author’s Note, Haynes indicated that “writing from my various characters’ points of view proved challenging”, and I must say that reading it also proved challenging for me.
The premise of this novel naturally drew me to it. I wanted to see the author’s treatment of the Venezuelan migrant crisis, it’s impact on Trinidad and Tobago and how the social challenges associated with it are connected to our countries’ colonial legacies. The author did that, but as feared, it occurred in a manner where everything was thrown at the reader, in too fast and indecipherable manner for me to enjoy the novel. I also think the changing of timelines across the chapters was not smooth enough for me as a reader, and I was often left confused as to what exactly was happening. I
had a difficult time keeping up with the many characters.
Then, the audiobook narration by M.L. Sanchez was just horrible!! She didn’t even make any effort to find out the pronunciation of certain words, then even basic words she butchered. Bazodee. Babash. Chataigne. Even Piggies. I think the audiobook should be withdrawn and redone. Perhaps reading another version would increase my review to 3-4 stars but I have to judge the novel based on the method I chose.
Update: after interviewing the author, I’m convinced that the audiobook spoiled the book for me. Will give it another try once I receive my physical copy.
Good premise. Not so good execution.
The premise of this novel naturally drew me to it. I wanted to see the author’s treatment of the Venezuelan migrant crisis, it’s impact on Trinidad and Tobago and how the social challenges associated with it are connected to our countries’ colonial legacies. The author did that, but as feared, it occurred in a manner where everything was thrown at the reader, in too fast and indecipherable manner for me to enjoy the novel. I also think the changing of timelines across the chapters was not smooth enough for me as a reader, and I was often left confused as to what exactly was happening. I
had a difficult time keeping up with the many characters.
Then, the audiobook narration by M.L. Sanchez was just horrible!! She didn’t even make any effort to find out the pronunciation of certain words, then even basic words she butchered. Bazodee. Babash. Chataigne. Even Piggies. I think the audiobook should be withdrawn and redone. Perhaps reading another version would increase my review to 3-4 stars but I have to judge the novel based on the method I chose.
Update: after interviewing the author, I’m convinced that the audiobook spoiled the book for me. Will give it another try once I receive my physical copy.
Good premise. Not so good execution.
June 16, 2025
This was one of the most difficult reads of my life. I honestly fought to finish it and am very confused by positive reviews.
Firstly, avoid the audiobook at all costs - the American accent of the narrator immediately grates and clumsily rushes through Trinidadian dialect in a way that makes the words lose all meaning. I refunded it after 9 mins in and ordered a physical copy but now, I wish to throw the book across the room!
I really wanted to love it, the subject matter is rich, important and timely, yet...the writing style frustrates, the use of Trini dialect still grates at times (in a way that is often the case when 'foreign' Trinis who have long left physically and culturally try to write what they remember and allow foreign editors to twist and turn it until it is awkward and jarring).
The heart of the story, that of an immigrant, corruption, love, loss, generational trauma, the thin veil between the physical and the spiritual, even the extreme detail of the birds, all fantastic...but it is clear that the editing of this novel was either done carelessly or completely overdone to the point that this is heartbreakingly a joyless read overall for a bookish Trinidadian with Venezuelan roots.
Firstly, avoid the audiobook at all costs - the American accent of the narrator immediately grates and clumsily rushes through Trinidadian dialect in a way that makes the words lose all meaning. I refunded it after 9 mins in and ordered a physical copy but now, I wish to throw the book across the room!
I really wanted to love it, the subject matter is rich, important and timely, yet...the writing style frustrates, the use of Trini dialect still grates at times (in a way that is often the case when 'foreign' Trinis who have long left physically and culturally try to write what they remember and allow foreign editors to twist and turn it until it is awkward and jarring).
The heart of the story, that of an immigrant, corruption, love, loss, generational trauma, the thin veil between the physical and the spiritual, even the extreme detail of the birds, all fantastic...but it is clear that the editing of this novel was either done carelessly or completely overdone to the point that this is heartbreakingly a joyless read overall for a bookish Trinidadian with Venezuelan roots.
July 9, 2024
We are made by history. A pivotal statement within #Ibis, a powerful puzzle piece of a novel which insidiously weaves back and forth through time and place, past and present, following the lives of a group of characters as well as their histories and fates.
This is a DEBUT novel from Justin Haynes - Associate Professor of English at Oglethorpe University - and it's powerful, magical, and heartbreaking. The novel is rife with the supernatural and also the real ghosts of human history -- our dark and diabolical misuse of power, sexuality, greed, and oppression.
And then there's the birds -- as harbingers, mystic presences, and fortune tellers.. The author's colorful use of biodiversity -- mangroves and clearings, water and sand, wildlife -- and the unique language of the characters who "lime" around and find ways to get by from day to day. The violent history of the sugarcane fields, rape, slavery, and dark secrets. The writing is vivid, sometimes funny, often heartbreaking, always engaging.
The Ibis. "That the species was the national bird sickened us a little. What good was it when the source and symbol of island pride stood there and encouraged bad luck from a great height?"
Thank you #netgalley and #theoverlookpress for an advance read of Ibis. I glanced through the limited number of reviews on this platform and felt baffled by what I read. I enjoyed this novel very much - its many messages are important and painfully applicable to today's world.
In comparison to what I read, I feel fortunate for this opportunity to recommend this book highly and confidently. It's not an "easy" read - the book is layered and requires concentration as it does move through time. The "puzzle piece" description in my review refers to the slow reveal of backgrounds - of the primary characters (the group of young men who dominate the island clearing and the main character of Milagros - a young Venezuelan immigrant who has spent much of her childhood under their care and all of her life searching for her estranged mother, Grecia).
The themes of corruption, slavery, immigration, and human trafficking are maddening and integral to the stories of every character. Shifting locations between the fictional island of New Felicity and Venezuela (and even New York), it's a hero's journey on many levels. I loved this novel and CONGRATS to Professor Haynes on his remarkable DEBUT!!!
Ibis is slated for publication❤️2.11.2025
Shout of on the EXCELLENT COVER ART by @_elimock 🖋
This is a DEBUT novel from Justin Haynes - Associate Professor of English at Oglethorpe University - and it's powerful, magical, and heartbreaking. The novel is rife with the supernatural and also the real ghosts of human history -- our dark and diabolical misuse of power, sexuality, greed, and oppression.
And then there's the birds -- as harbingers, mystic presences, and fortune tellers.. The author's colorful use of biodiversity -- mangroves and clearings, water and sand, wildlife -- and the unique language of the characters who "lime" around and find ways to get by from day to day. The violent history of the sugarcane fields, rape, slavery, and dark secrets. The writing is vivid, sometimes funny, often heartbreaking, always engaging.
The Ibis. "That the species was the national bird sickened us a little. What good was it when the source and symbol of island pride stood there and encouraged bad luck from a great height?"
Thank you #netgalley and #theoverlookpress for an advance read of Ibis. I glanced through the limited number of reviews on this platform and felt baffled by what I read. I enjoyed this novel very much - its many messages are important and painfully applicable to today's world.
In comparison to what I read, I feel fortunate for this opportunity to recommend this book highly and confidently. It's not an "easy" read - the book is layered and requires concentration as it does move through time. The "puzzle piece" description in my review refers to the slow reveal of backgrounds - of the primary characters (the group of young men who dominate the island clearing and the main character of Milagros - a young Venezuelan immigrant who has spent much of her childhood under their care and all of her life searching for her estranged mother, Grecia).
The themes of corruption, slavery, immigration, and human trafficking are maddening and integral to the stories of every character. Shifting locations between the fictional island of New Felicity and Venezuela (and even New York), it's a hero's journey on many levels. I loved this novel and CONGRATS to Professor Haynes on his remarkable DEBUT!!!
Ibis is slated for publication❤️2.11.2025
Shout of on the EXCELLENT COVER ART by @_elimock 🖋
Read
October 12, 2025I wanted to love this one so bad. I’m not giving it a rating because I genuinely think it’s probably a good book, but just didn’t flow nicely for me. It’s the type of book I usually gravitate to, just didn’t quite hit for me right now. I will revisit this one for sure! I can tell the author put a lot of thought into this and the high praise I have read about it should be taken into consideration. Excited to give it another chance!
August 6, 2025
So let's start positive:
The author read aloud from this book at an event I attended recently, and I enjoyed his storytelling voice. I won the book in the raffle, and the chance to read some magical realism excited me.
I think the contemporary and historical tie-ins of the story are well selected, and the novel certainly takes on a distinct tone that is particularly laden with hyphenated adjectives, illusions of time, and specific bird species. While this gives the novel a fascinating character, it also makes it a bit clunky to read. Nonetheless, the story picks up with some fast action, flavorful personas, and interconnected narratives that unfold bit by bit.
There are indeed many loose ends, and the writing style never feels quite right for me, so it's hard to give it a more favorable rating. I am aware that much of the vague endings and descriptive language are tied to the magical realism genre, but I believe it can be done better.
An interesting read, but not a great one.
(I do like the choice of the author to weave together a history of forced migration in the various forms it takes)
The author read aloud from this book at an event I attended recently, and I enjoyed his storytelling voice. I won the book in the raffle, and the chance to read some magical realism excited me.
I think the contemporary and historical tie-ins of the story are well selected, and the novel certainly takes on a distinct tone that is particularly laden with hyphenated adjectives, illusions of time, and specific bird species. While this gives the novel a fascinating character, it also makes it a bit clunky to read. Nonetheless, the story picks up with some fast action, flavorful personas, and interconnected narratives that unfold bit by bit.
There are indeed many loose ends, and the writing style never feels quite right for me, so it's hard to give it a more favorable rating. I am aware that much of the vague endings and descriptive language are tied to the magical realism genre, but I believe it can be done better.
An interesting read, but not a great one.
(I do like the choice of the author to weave together a history of forced migration in the various forms it takes)
November 8, 2025
Ibis is a story of migration and family that spans a few timelines. It starts in a coastal town called New Felicity where Milagros, an 11 year old refugee from Venezuela, ends up. She has been separated from her mother and the town’s people take her in. It then goes backwards in time to tell the story of a sugar plantation in the town and then forward with a n adult Mercedes, who is now a journalist, setting out to try to find her mother.
Ibis tells the story of their migration and of the diverse group of characters that they encountered then and those Mercedes encounters now.
Sometimes you come across writers that are also storytellers. I don’t know how to explain how I find that distinction in my mind other than, you forget that there’s an author behind the words and it just feels like someone is telling you their story and that’s how I felt about Ibis. I particularly felt that while reading Grecia’s account of her and Mercedes’ journey on the boat - her experience of it, the way it felt… it truly felt like I was listening to someone telling their story. I found the writing really beautiful and because of elements of magical realism it at times feels fairy tale like.
I will say that if you can physically read it, I think that would work better. I enjoyed the audiobook but I think with the timeline changes and the many characters it made it harder for me personally to keep everything straight so I would like to read this again.
I’m so impressed with this debut and can’t wait to see what Justin Haynes writes next!
Ibis tells the story of their migration and of the diverse group of characters that they encountered then and those Mercedes encounters now.
Sometimes you come across writers that are also storytellers. I don’t know how to explain how I find that distinction in my mind other than, you forget that there’s an author behind the words and it just feels like someone is telling you their story and that’s how I felt about Ibis. I particularly felt that while reading Grecia’s account of her and Mercedes’ journey on the boat - her experience of it, the way it felt… it truly felt like I was listening to someone telling their story. I found the writing really beautiful and because of elements of magical realism it at times feels fairy tale like.
I will say that if you can physically read it, I think that would work better. I enjoyed the audiobook but I think with the timeline changes and the many characters it made it harder for me personally to keep everything straight so I would like to read this again.
I’m so impressed with this debut and can’t wait to see what Justin Haynes writes next!
June 21, 2025
distressing stories for everyone but very strong character voices for complicated people. the back and forth timeline takes some getting used to but works very well with the spiritual elements of the story
October 22, 2025
Justin Haynes’ debut novel is a winner. From the opening line, it is not at all what I expected and even better than I had hoped. “Ibis” is a much-needed story in the moment that sheds light on numerous crises across the Caribbean region. Haynes employs clever techniques with language, prose, and perspective to give us a story that weaves stories of hardship and self-discovery from across the region.
Haynes’ descriptive visuals place us right into the heat, chaos, and beauty of places like Venezuela, Grenada, and Trinidad & Tobago. You get the sense over time that these are one people with a shared and disparate past. In so many ways, Caribbean people are strangers yet familiar to each other at the same time.
That said, this book is heavy with topics that warrant a trigger warning for the sensitive reader. Haynes does not shy away from showing the brutal dehumanization, sexual assault, disappearance, and family separation that is part of human trafficking. By leveraging multiple voices and perspectives, Haynes gives real gravity to the situation.
There are also some moments of reprieve in the book. Magical Realism is used to wonderful effect without being too overbearing. There is a playful fascination with ornithology that will have you searching the web for images of these majestic birds. There is also the fumbling qualities of the motley crew of island men trying to scratch out some sort of life. This is a novel a must-read, and I plan to return to it again and again.
Haynes’ descriptive visuals place us right into the heat, chaos, and beauty of places like Venezuela, Grenada, and Trinidad & Tobago. You get the sense over time that these are one people with a shared and disparate past. In so many ways, Caribbean people are strangers yet familiar to each other at the same time.
That said, this book is heavy with topics that warrant a trigger warning for the sensitive reader. Haynes does not shy away from showing the brutal dehumanization, sexual assault, disappearance, and family separation that is part of human trafficking. By leveraging multiple voices and perspectives, Haynes gives real gravity to the situation.
There are also some moments of reprieve in the book. Magical Realism is used to wonderful effect without being too overbearing. There is a playful fascination with ornithology that will have you searching the web for images of these majestic birds. There is also the fumbling qualities of the motley crew of island men trying to scratch out some sort of life. This is a novel a must-read, and I plan to return to it again and again.
January 30, 2025
Ibis is a poetic and devastating book. This species of bird are mystic presences. The novel interweaves the story of Milagros and the appearances of the ibis, blending supernatural elements and real history chock full of abuse of power, oppression and greed. The violent history in these sugar cane fields contain dark secrets.
Milagros, our MC, was only 11 when she and her mother boarded a boat full of other mothers desperate to get their children out of Venezuela. Once they disembark in Trinidad and Tobago, they are separated. Milagros is saved and taken to the US. She never sees her mother again. Twenty years later, Milagros returns to Venezuela to find answers about her mother. This book has moments of levity, but I would definitely say it's on the darker side. Grief is a tough thing to navigate.
This is a debut novel from Justin Haynes. Thank you so much to NetGalley & Overlook Press for the ARC. This book publishes February 11, 2025.
Milagros, our MC, was only 11 when she and her mother boarded a boat full of other mothers desperate to get their children out of Venezuela. Once they disembark in Trinidad and Tobago, they are separated. Milagros is saved and taken to the US. She never sees her mother again. Twenty years later, Milagros returns to Venezuela to find answers about her mother. This book has moments of levity, but I would definitely say it's on the darker side. Grief is a tough thing to navigate.
This is a debut novel from Justin Haynes. Thank you so much to NetGalley & Overlook Press for the ARC. This book publishes February 11, 2025.
July 28, 2025
Love the cover. I *wanted* to love the book.
It explored themes I care about, slavery/colonialism, Venezuelan migration, Trini folklore…and I’m always here for magical realism. But… the prose didn’t work for me. Some sentences looped endlessly before landing a point, which I found tiring.
And don’t get me started on the names 🤨“the glasses-and-goateed-UWI-graduate,” I’m looking at you-wee (see what I did there? 😏). That, plus the time jumps…
The narrative felt scattered. There were important topics that deserved more time and depth before the story moved on. With more focus, this could’ve been a truly rich read.
And I’m still wondering what happened to the men of New Felicity.
All that said, I give it 3 stars for the potential. I stayed with the story—and the characters might stay with me a little longer, too.
Give it a try…you might like it.
It explored themes I care about, slavery/colonialism, Venezuelan migration, Trini folklore…and I’m always here for magical realism. But… the prose didn’t work for me. Some sentences looped endlessly before landing a point, which I found tiring.
And don’t get me started on the names 🤨“the glasses-and-goateed-UWI-graduate,” I’m looking at you-wee (see what I did there? 😏). That, plus the time jumps…
The narrative felt scattered. There were important topics that deserved more time and depth before the story moved on. With more focus, this could’ve been a truly rich read.
And I’m still wondering what happened to the men of New Felicity.
All that said, I give it 3 stars for the potential. I stayed with the story—and the characters might stay with me a little longer, too.
Give it a try…you might like it.
December 10, 2025
Main themes: the relationship between Venezuela and Trinidad, migration both forced and voluntary, and the treatment of women and children across the ages. The author had so much to work with here, so it’s unfortunate that it didn’t fully come together for me.
The story centers around Milagros, a Venezuelan child with Trinidadian heritage, who is brought to Trinidad by her mother in search of a better life. The village they flee to is filled with colorful characters, and the land itself is home to Milagros’ ancestors. Milagros and her mother are separated early on, and once she grows older, Milagros sets out on a journey across lands, time, and spiritual realms to find her. Along the way, we shift back and forth through various orbiting characters and different time periods, all while Milagros continues her search.
There were wispy threads of plot that didn’t always find resolve. We had so many characters, which is not always a bad thing, but not all of them captivating and that feels borderline unforgivable when we don't even have a family tree to keep track of everyone. The constant weaving and leaping through time made it hard to keep track of where we were and what was happening. Funnily enough, I did think the magical realism was a nice touch.
Maybe I would have fared better if I read this in longer chunks of time, but I'm also starting to wonder if the book simply wasn’t compelling enough to keep me rooted. That could be why it dragged for me and why I couldn't stay connected to the story. Beautiful cover though!
The story centers around Milagros, a Venezuelan child with Trinidadian heritage, who is brought to Trinidad by her mother in search of a better life. The village they flee to is filled with colorful characters, and the land itself is home to Milagros’ ancestors. Milagros and her mother are separated early on, and once she grows older, Milagros sets out on a journey across lands, time, and spiritual realms to find her. Along the way, we shift back and forth through various orbiting characters and different time periods, all while Milagros continues her search.
There were wispy threads of plot that didn’t always find resolve. We had so many characters, which is not always a bad thing, but not all of them captivating and that feels borderline unforgivable when we don't even have a family tree to keep track of everyone. The constant weaving and leaping through time made it hard to keep track of where we were and what was happening. Funnily enough, I did think the magical realism was a nice touch.
Maybe I would have fared better if I read this in longer chunks of time, but I'm also starting to wonder if the book simply wasn’t compelling enough to keep me rooted. That could be why it dragged for me and why I couldn't stay connected to the story. Beautiful cover though!
November 14, 2025
Every part of this book is deeply original, from the way each character/set of characters has their own distinct voice to the interconnectedness of everyone's individual stories. Reading the story's events out of order was a very chaotic and disorienting experience, much like the characters' own lives. I was on the edge of my seat throughout the book, as I worked to piece together parts of a whole.
This novel is very timely, but the themes within the pages are timeless: our pasts will forever shape us, we will always seek better lives, and we want to be with the ones we love. I know this is a book I can read over and over again and see something new each time.
I am looking forward to more works by Haynes in the future. For now, I will continue to enjoy this one. I'm already planning to read it again soon.
This novel is very timely, but the themes within the pages are timeless: our pasts will forever shape us, we will always seek better lives, and we want to be with the ones we love. I know this is a book I can read over and over again and see something new each time.
I am looking forward to more works by Haynes in the future. For now, I will continue to enjoy this one. I'm already planning to read it again soon.
November 25, 2025
This novel beautifully combines cultural insight and magical realism, exploring the rich depth of Venezuelan histories. Haynes leads a raw, challenging and equally mystical expedition into uncharted territories, and I thank him for it.
October 7, 2025
I loved the first two chapters and was hooked. Then it quickly fell apart and I almost DNF.
January 15, 2025
“Someone needs to magnify the ugly truth
of this village’s past.” She added, “We are made by history.”
This novel is an undulating ocean of time, bouying readers between past and present into the lives of a scattering of New Felicity residents.
When Milagros was 11, she and her mother boarded a boat full of other mothers desperate to get their children out of Venezuela. But upon landing in Trinidad and Tobago, they were separated. Milagros is rescued by a New Felicity man and is spirited away to the US, to safety, but she never sees her mother again. 20 years later, she returns to Venezuela and T&T in search of their story and her mother’s fate.
Although occasionally overwhelming in language and concept for mine smooth brain, Haynes deftly employes elements of magical realism, cultural mythology and local lore to sketch a dimensional map of New Felicity and her inhabitants. As we glide through chapters, years, locations and narrative voices, the disparate threads of this story gradually weave together towards haunting understanding.
Reminiscent of Toni Morrison’s Beloved, at its most rudimentary level Ibis explores the dramatic, desperate lengths mothers will go to to protect their children. With its examination of the karmic resonance of Obeah spirits tied to a site of historic brutality on a former plantation, Ibis offers a compelling comparative denouncement of the horrific human trafficking operations which have emerged from the ongoing Venezuelan migrant crisis. I’m simply astounded by the scope of this complex, reflective debut.
Don’t be fooled by the softness of the cover. Yes, Ibis is beautiful and poetic and surreal, but the truth of its central human tragedies is devastating. There are precious few happy endings to be found on the island, but perhaps there is healing.
'It felt like taking care of her was the penance that the village could serve to redeem themselves, that caring for her meant that there was a possibility for them to be good once more [...] Milagros pointed toward a new direction for the village, not a fearful past, but a compassionate future.'
of this village’s past.” She added, “We are made by history.”
This novel is an undulating ocean of time, bouying readers between past and present into the lives of a scattering of New Felicity residents.
When Milagros was 11, she and her mother boarded a boat full of other mothers desperate to get their children out of Venezuela. But upon landing in Trinidad and Tobago, they were separated. Milagros is rescued by a New Felicity man and is spirited away to the US, to safety, but she never sees her mother again. 20 years later, she returns to Venezuela and T&T in search of their story and her mother’s fate.
Although occasionally overwhelming in language and concept for mine smooth brain, Haynes deftly employes elements of magical realism, cultural mythology and local lore to sketch a dimensional map of New Felicity and her inhabitants. As we glide through chapters, years, locations and narrative voices, the disparate threads of this story gradually weave together towards haunting understanding.
Reminiscent of Toni Morrison’s Beloved, at its most rudimentary level Ibis explores the dramatic, desperate lengths mothers will go to to protect their children. With its examination of the karmic resonance of Obeah spirits tied to a site of historic brutality on a former plantation, Ibis offers a compelling comparative denouncement of the horrific human trafficking operations which have emerged from the ongoing Venezuelan migrant crisis. I’m simply astounded by the scope of this complex, reflective debut.
Don’t be fooled by the softness of the cover. Yes, Ibis is beautiful and poetic and surreal, but the truth of its central human tragedies is devastating. There are precious few happy endings to be found on the island, but perhaps there is healing.
'It felt like taking care of her was the penance that the village could serve to redeem themselves, that caring for her meant that there was a possibility for them to be good once more [...] Milagros pointed toward a new direction for the village, not a fearful past, but a compassionate future.'
June 19, 2025
The world described by Dr. Justin Haynes in “Ibis” leaves the reader wanting more. It is one where I would love to visit and learn more about the people he creates and how the physical landscape has molded and affected them. Written with a poet’s eye, “Ibis” transcends genre. It moves seamlessly between mystery, thriller, magical realism, tragedy, history. A story much deeper than a tale of colonization and gentrification, it allows us to glimpse into the complicated world of the Caribbean through the eyes and experiences of regular people just trying to get by.
October 26, 2025
So difficult to follow. Would not recommend the audiobook at all. The premise of Ibis sounded right up my street so maybe I would have got on with this better if I’d read a physical copy instead.
July 17, 2025
2.75/5
Important historical context of Trinidad-Venezualan migration and trafficking, but sometimes confusing execution of dual timelines and multilateral relationships.
Some aspects remind me of both The Lost Love Songs of Boysie Singh (for Trinidad historical fiction and fishermen-turned-smugglers) and The Book of Night Women (for Caribbean plantation historical fiction and mysticism), but compared to those, this novel is not nearly as poetic or prolific. Still, educational and a unique read.
Important historical context of Trinidad-Venezualan migration and trafficking, but sometimes confusing execution of dual timelines and multilateral relationships.
Some aspects remind me of both The Lost Love Songs of Boysie Singh (for Trinidad historical fiction and fishermen-turned-smugglers) and The Book of Night Women (for Caribbean plantation historical fiction and mysticism), but compared to those, this novel is not nearly as poetic or prolific. Still, educational and a unique read.
May 13, 2025
I felt like I was too uneducated to enjoy this book. I’m fairly educated, but still I think someone who is on the level of reading mostly nonfiction with fiction sprinkled in every now and then would enjoy this far more. I am more of a fiction reader with a few nonfiction sprinkled in throughout the year.
Ibis borders historical fiction but leans more into nonfiction styling in my opinion.
I really appreciated the lore that built up over time, but at times it felt like too much to digest as we bounced back and forth across the years and characters.
Ibis borders historical fiction but leans more into nonfiction styling in my opinion.
I really appreciated the lore that built up over time, but at times it felt like too much to digest as we bounced back and forth across the years and characters.
did-not-finish
June 17, 2025I think I’m confused. I will try again. I think all the back and forth and characters are a bit confusing to me at the moment
December 16, 2025
It’s almost impossible to believe Ibis is Justin Haynes’s debut novel. It is spectacular in all the best ways, definitely one of the best books I’ve ever read. It’s a stunning story told in shimmering, blended layers of magical realism (in a new and better way), the tragic history of Trinidad, and contemporary themes that must be addressed, all woven together to make a beautiful tapestry of a novel. It all revolves around the Trinidadian village of New Felicity, a beach town, in non-linear timelines and multiple perspectives that, in truth, some readers will find difficult to follow or not like at all, and others will absolutely love.
I know a lot of people who don’t like magical realism, and I can usually be counted among them. I like the novels I read to be grounded in reality, but, in the Caribbean in general, and in Trinidad in particular, magical realism is reality. In Ibis, vengeful ghosts and transformed birds are as real as the rum the next character you meet is drinking. And, in alternating chapters, Haynes seamlessly weaves a centuries-spanning story of Trinidad that he expertly ties to contemporary issues. In short, the brutality of 18th century slavery is linked to the contemporaty human trafficking of Venezuelan refugees. The book is driven by the story of Milagros, a Venezuelan refugee seeking asylum in the US, though New Felicity has taken her in and protected her as a sort of lucky charm, highlighting themes of migration and family.
In present day New Felicity, where the book opens, the villagers, who are extremely supersticious, grow more and more concerned about the multiplying number of ibisis on the roof of a nearby building, a house of ill repute that once belonged to Catherine the Great Disemboweler. The ibis is the national bird of Trinidad, but it is seen by most as the harbinger of doom. And, sure enough, soon after the first bird appears, several Trinidadian fishermen are taken hostage in Venezuela, and New Felicity receives a ransom demand which it can’t possibly meet.
Although the book opens in the present, the story begins in the eighteenth-century on the Cruickshank (a Scottish name denoting someone with a crooked leg) sugar plantation as slaves are attempting to escape. To say that the plantation’s owner does not take this mutiny lightly is an understatement. Not only are the slaves who tried to escape killed, innocent men, women, and children are slaughtered as families are torn apart. The slaves retaliate by burning acres of cane. One woman, though, disappears, as if by magic, leaving behind only the scarlet feathers of a tropical ibis.
As the story progresses, Milagros, the character who holds everything together, grows and becomes a US journalist. When she returns to the Caribbean, attempting to learn what happened to her mother, she uncovers a human trafficking ring between Venezuela and Trinidad and learns that her mother was sold into sex slavery in Trinidad. One thing most readers will find curious is the fact that while Milagros has grown from a child to an adult, the residents of New Felicity never age, and among those who do not, are survivors of the eighteenth-century revolt on the Cruickshank plantation, who only now seek vengeance on the perpetrators and their descendants, currently running the local brothel. Others are saved by transforming them into birds.
Although some readers might be frustrated with the book’s dual timelines and its intricate plotting, it is nothing less that brilliant, spectacular, and any other glittering adjective one can think of. Other readers might struggle with the figurative and symbolic language, which, by the way, is brilliant as well. As I said at the beginning of my review, it’s almost impossible to think of this as a debut novel, yet a debut novel it is.
Haynes’s prose is just gorgeous. He really captures the lilting beauty of Trinidadian English without making the book hard to read. Quite the opposite. Ibis is a joy to read despite the heartbreaking, though important, subject matter it details. As someone who loves beautiful prose, I fell in love with this book very, very quickly. The language and imagery were just stunning, and I really felt that I had been transported to Trinidad. Ibis is a gorgeous book, one of the best I’ve ever read. I expect we’ll see great things from Justin Haynes. There’s only one problem: I don’t think he can top this book. It really is that good.
5/5 (10* really)
Recommended: To readers of literary novels, to lovers of Caribbean novels, and to any reader who who enjoys complex, ambitious narratives that tackle difficult social issues with a light touch while bringing a rich and distinctive world to life.
I know a lot of people who don’t like magical realism, and I can usually be counted among them. I like the novels I read to be grounded in reality, but, in the Caribbean in general, and in Trinidad in particular, magical realism is reality. In Ibis, vengeful ghosts and transformed birds are as real as the rum the next character you meet is drinking. And, in alternating chapters, Haynes seamlessly weaves a centuries-spanning story of Trinidad that he expertly ties to contemporary issues. In short, the brutality of 18th century slavery is linked to the contemporaty human trafficking of Venezuelan refugees. The book is driven by the story of Milagros, a Venezuelan refugee seeking asylum in the US, though New Felicity has taken her in and protected her as a sort of lucky charm, highlighting themes of migration and family.
In present day New Felicity, where the book opens, the villagers, who are extremely supersticious, grow more and more concerned about the multiplying number of ibisis on the roof of a nearby building, a house of ill repute that once belonged to Catherine the Great Disemboweler. The ibis is the national bird of Trinidad, but it is seen by most as the harbinger of doom. And, sure enough, soon after the first bird appears, several Trinidadian fishermen are taken hostage in Venezuela, and New Felicity receives a ransom demand which it can’t possibly meet.
Although the book opens in the present, the story begins in the eighteenth-century on the Cruickshank (a Scottish name denoting someone with a crooked leg) sugar plantation as slaves are attempting to escape. To say that the plantation’s owner does not take this mutiny lightly is an understatement. Not only are the slaves who tried to escape killed, innocent men, women, and children are slaughtered as families are torn apart. The slaves retaliate by burning acres of cane. One woman, though, disappears, as if by magic, leaving behind only the scarlet feathers of a tropical ibis.
As the story progresses, Milagros, the character who holds everything together, grows and becomes a US journalist. When she returns to the Caribbean, attempting to learn what happened to her mother, she uncovers a human trafficking ring between Venezuela and Trinidad and learns that her mother was sold into sex slavery in Trinidad. One thing most readers will find curious is the fact that while Milagros has grown from a child to an adult, the residents of New Felicity never age, and among those who do not, are survivors of the eighteenth-century revolt on the Cruickshank plantation, who only now seek vengeance on the perpetrators and their descendants, currently running the local brothel. Others are saved by transforming them into birds.
Although some readers might be frustrated with the book’s dual timelines and its intricate plotting, it is nothing less that brilliant, spectacular, and any other glittering adjective one can think of. Other readers might struggle with the figurative and symbolic language, which, by the way, is brilliant as well. As I said at the beginning of my review, it’s almost impossible to think of this as a debut novel, yet a debut novel it is.
Haynes’s prose is just gorgeous. He really captures the lilting beauty of Trinidadian English without making the book hard to read. Quite the opposite. Ibis is a joy to read despite the heartbreaking, though important, subject matter it details. As someone who loves beautiful prose, I fell in love with this book very, very quickly. The language and imagery were just stunning, and I really felt that I had been transported to Trinidad. Ibis is a gorgeous book, one of the best I’ve ever read. I expect we’ll see great things from Justin Haynes. There’s only one problem: I don’t think he can top this book. It really is that good.
5/5 (10* really)
Recommended: To readers of literary novels, to lovers of Caribbean novels, and to any reader who who enjoys complex, ambitious narratives that tackle difficult social issues with a light touch while bringing a rich and distinctive world to life.
March 10, 2025
Read for a stunning, meandering and magical Caribbean tale of migration, mother-daughter bonds which defy death and the physical world. A tale of reckoning too, but ultimately a story of survival and what we might be willing to do to save the people we love. And how these decisions will not only shape us, but also the generations to come.
The story is mainly set between New Felicity, a coastal village of Trinidad, and Venezuela, with pit stops in Grenada the US and Colombia. It is the story of 11yo Milagros and her mother Grecia who, trying to escape the political and economical woes of Venezuela, end up on a boat of refugees sailing towards Trinidad and the hope of a fresh start. But their trust has been betrayed and they are quickly separated. Milagros rescued by the villagers of New Felicity. What follows is a lifetime of searching for answers, for roots and a sense of belonging.
When I first heard of this book I knew I needed to read it.
I always feel a connection to stories like this, stories of islands with a tumultuous colonised past, where people are attached to the land, by choice yes, but often by force.
Even with my ancestors are from a different side of the world, a different island, there are always similarities, patterns to our stories and suffering, which you can feel in your bones.
Expertly crafted, Ibis is made of short vignettes following various characters, all tied to the island, each bringing a distinctive voice. Moving from past to present, from one country to another, we watch as all these events are slowly woven together, bringing the complex history of Milagros and of the island to light.
The villagers, represented as one collective character with the use of the narrative “we”, were quite endearing. They envelop us in their patois and inside jokes, their island culture, folklore and superstition. They made me feel part of the tribe, almost feeling the warm air on my skin, sand between my toes. They also provided comedic relief, after gut wrenching scenes of humans being used as commodity and entertainment.
You cannot help but notice the parallel between a time on the island when slavery was fresh, and slaveholders used to go through humans like produce, and these patterns repeated in modern day, traffickers bringing people on boats under false pretense, then sold into modern slavery. History repeating itself, like muscle memory.
Told with an eloquent, mesmerising prose and full of imagery, Ibis is about a lot of things, an intergenerational story of family and loss, human trafficking, migration and belonging. It mixes the mystical with the historical and political.
Sometimes overwhelming, it will make your head spin, and your heart break, while still bringing some laughs too.
You will not regret reading it.
The story is mainly set between New Felicity, a coastal village of Trinidad, and Venezuela, with pit stops in Grenada the US and Colombia. It is the story of 11yo Milagros and her mother Grecia who, trying to escape the political and economical woes of Venezuela, end up on a boat of refugees sailing towards Trinidad and the hope of a fresh start. But their trust has been betrayed and they are quickly separated. Milagros rescued by the villagers of New Felicity. What follows is a lifetime of searching for answers, for roots and a sense of belonging.
When I first heard of this book I knew I needed to read it.
I always feel a connection to stories like this, stories of islands with a tumultuous colonised past, where people are attached to the land, by choice yes, but often by force.
Even with my ancestors are from a different side of the world, a different island, there are always similarities, patterns to our stories and suffering, which you can feel in your bones.
Expertly crafted, Ibis is made of short vignettes following various characters, all tied to the island, each bringing a distinctive voice. Moving from past to present, from one country to another, we watch as all these events are slowly woven together, bringing the complex history of Milagros and of the island to light.
The villagers, represented as one collective character with the use of the narrative “we”, were quite endearing. They envelop us in their patois and inside jokes, their island culture, folklore and superstition. They made me feel part of the tribe, almost feeling the warm air on my skin, sand between my toes. They also provided comedic relief, after gut wrenching scenes of humans being used as commodity and entertainment.
You cannot help but notice the parallel between a time on the island when slavery was fresh, and slaveholders used to go through humans like produce, and these patterns repeated in modern day, traffickers bringing people on boats under false pretense, then sold into modern slavery. History repeating itself, like muscle memory.
Told with an eloquent, mesmerising prose and full of imagery, Ibis is about a lot of things, an intergenerational story of family and loss, human trafficking, migration and belonging. It mixes the mystical with the historical and political.
Sometimes overwhelming, it will make your head spin, and your heart break, while still bringing some laughs too.
You will not regret reading it.
February 10, 2025
The story opens with us learning about the village of New Felicity, in what is presumably Trinidad (always referred to in the novel as "the island"), and its inhabitants, who are genuinely worried about the ibises that have appeared ominously in the village and seem to be multiplying by the day. This may have something to do with the three local fishermen who have been captured in Venezuelan waters and are now being held hostage; or with the witch who until recently lived in one of the village's houses; or with the Venezuelan girl, Milagros, who has been rescued by one of the locals; or with a foreign journalist who has come to the village to research his article on the refugee flow and who may learn about Milagros?
From there, we venture into the past and future to explore the intertwined histories of Trinidad and Venezuela and their diasporas. Back to the 18th century, when the British used enslaved Africans to grow sugar cane on their plantations, and into the future, when the adult Milagros, a U.S.-based journalist, tries to find her mother, from whom she has been separated since the initial events.
This is a complicated, meandering story that touches on human trafficking, organized crime, and government corruption, but also offers truly magical realist visions of Caribbean cultures. It is also stylistically quite elaborate, with sections of different focalization told in distinctly recognizable voices: the collective "we" of the village, for example, is stylistically very fancy and whimsical, while Milagros in the future is deliberately plain. From a narrative point of view, I most appreciated the section told in the letters of the 18th-century estate manager, stylized into what we can recognize as familiar from the time of Jane Austin. But this familiarity, with its reproduced clichés and racist hierarchies, is definitely not what I liked about this section - instead, what really stands out is how the author managed to make the agency and dissent of the enslaved people shine through even this stylized and clichéd discourse of the slave owner.
What this novel is probably not ideal for: a first introduction to Trinidad and its cultural and historical relations with Venezuela. Because I personally came to this text as such a clueless reader, I realized that I missed much of what Haynes' text has to offer. (Yes, I only learned while reading this novel that Trinidad is so close to the South American mainland and specifically to the shores of Venezuela.)
Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a free eARC through NetGalley. The review above is my own unaffected opinion.
From there, we venture into the past and future to explore the intertwined histories of Trinidad and Venezuela and their diasporas. Back to the 18th century, when the British used enslaved Africans to grow sugar cane on their plantations, and into the future, when the adult Milagros, a U.S.-based journalist, tries to find her mother, from whom she has been separated since the initial events.
This is a complicated, meandering story that touches on human trafficking, organized crime, and government corruption, but also offers truly magical realist visions of Caribbean cultures. It is also stylistically quite elaborate, with sections of different focalization told in distinctly recognizable voices: the collective "we" of the village, for example, is stylistically very fancy and whimsical, while Milagros in the future is deliberately plain. From a narrative point of view, I most appreciated the section told in the letters of the 18th-century estate manager, stylized into what we can recognize as familiar from the time of Jane Austin. But this familiarity, with its reproduced clichés and racist hierarchies, is definitely not what I liked about this section - instead, what really stands out is how the author managed to make the agency and dissent of the enslaved people shine through even this stylized and clichéd discourse of the slave owner.
What this novel is probably not ideal for: a first introduction to Trinidad and its cultural and historical relations with Venezuela. Because I personally came to this text as such a clueless reader, I realized that I missed much of what Haynes' text has to offer. (Yes, I only learned while reading this novel that Trinidad is so close to the South American mainland and specifically to the shores of Venezuela.)
Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a free eARC through NetGalley. The review above is my own unaffected opinion.
April 25, 2025
Ibis feels like a sensory rich kaleidoscope and reads like a cultural palimpsest. With vivid, descriptive language and quick emotional engagement, Haynes balances many characters over a long period.
I felt reading Ibis the way people talk about reading One Hundred Years of Solitude: inventive, emotional, descriptive, vibrant, tracking complicated family relationships over generations grounded with an absolute sense of Place. Ibis is so smart, the characters so vivid, the situations so compelling, the history so brutally and tenderly rendered. Lacking detailed regional knowledge, I wanted to be lured by the sun, the characters’ humor, and those mesmerizing birds. But, throughout Ibis digs into history and contemporary problems . What begins with encapsulated events that read occasionally like interlocking short stories, spins tighter to connect a single story spanning more than a century. Rich in detail, Ibis read propulsively for me. Drawn in by both the evocative sense of place and engrossing characters I found just enough surrealism to carry connections between time, geography, and family rendings. Ibis delves into the regional history and politics connecting colonial slavery, human smuggling, and trafficking to the realities of people living in Venezuela, Trinidad and Grenada now, buoyed throughout by moments of grace, humor and sparkling beauty.
A book that I enjoyed on the first read, and also believe a more in depth analysis (or a conversation with my favorite English teachers) would broaden my appreciation with deeper understanding. A great piece of literary fiction I hope gets lots of attention.
p.s. If you love chapter titles, Haynes has some terrific ones.
I felt reading Ibis the way people talk about reading One Hundred Years of Solitude: inventive, emotional, descriptive, vibrant, tracking complicated family relationships over generations grounded with an absolute sense of Place. Ibis is so smart, the characters so vivid, the situations so compelling, the history so brutally and tenderly rendered. Lacking detailed regional knowledge, I wanted to be lured by the sun, the characters’ humor, and those mesmerizing birds. But, throughout Ibis digs into history and contemporary problems . What begins with encapsulated events that read occasionally like interlocking short stories, spins tighter to connect a single story spanning more than a century. Rich in detail, Ibis read propulsively for me. Drawn in by both the evocative sense of place and engrossing characters I found just enough surrealism to carry connections between time, geography, and family rendings. Ibis delves into the regional history and politics connecting colonial slavery, human smuggling, and trafficking to the realities of people living in Venezuela, Trinidad and Grenada now, buoyed throughout by moments of grace, humor and sparkling beauty.
A book that I enjoyed on the first read, and also believe a more in depth analysis (or a conversation with my favorite English teachers) would broaden my appreciation with deeper understanding. A great piece of literary fiction I hope gets lots of attention.
p.s. If you love chapter titles, Haynes has some terrific ones.
April 18, 2025
When I began this audiobook, I was excited because I “internet-met” the author via social media some months ago. I didn’t know what to expect other than the brief summary that I read prior to beginning the novel. I am excited to say that I just finished the book today and… I have sooo many feelings.
Right off the bat I was swept away by the use of lush, descriptive language, which seemed in contrast with the voice actor’s initial restrained delivery. A dissonance that caught me off guard at first. But once I settled in, I was hooked.
The message that stuck out to me was the that of the bond of family - those close ties we hold dear and do our best to navigate. Through a series of events, the main character lost the connection to her mother but refused to give up until she reclaimed it - though it took time and many sacrifices.
In the process of reading this story, I learned a little bit about: Trinidad and Tobago, the Venezuelan people who sought asylum there, the history of African enslaved people on the island, as well as the human trafficking of Venezuelan women and girls on the same island. There were quite a few passages that were very hard to read, but I very much appreciated their inclusion.
The author also included the topic of spiritual practices that were utilized to gain a kind of freedom from enslavement, albeit at a cost. These types of spiritual practices actually predate slavery, but we’re introduced to them in this story when enslavement is discussed.
There’s so much more that I could say, but just go get the book and read it, or get the audiobook version or both.
I highly recommend.
April 16, 2025
I greatly enjoyed reading the debut novel Ibis by Justin Haynes. Most of all, I loved learning about the history and culture of Trinidad and Venezuela. Before reading Ibis, I hadn't realized that the island of Trinidad is only 7 miles off the coast of Venezuela. Therefore there is a lot of interaction between the two very different countries (one an English speaking former British colony in the Caribbean and the other a Spanish speaking country in South America). These fascinating histories and cultures were conveyed via a compelling cross-generational story of migration, superstition and a search for family, featuring dynamic and memorable characters.
While Ibis highlights some dark themes (human trafficking, gang violence, and slave history) lightness is created through some charming local characters, fascinating island folklore and delightful local patois. Ibis was completely refreshing, fascinating and unique.
My only issue was with the flow of the book, which jumped forward and backward in time and featured multiple (abruptly changing) narrators, making the book difficult to follow at times. Otherwise, I really enjoyed the unique blending of historical fiction and magical realism, the charming bits of local folklore and superstition, the Caribbean setting, history and dialect and the powerful history lesson. I love a good cross-generational story and blending of genres, and this was a very unique and memorable reading experience. Almost perfect, 4.5 stars, loved it.
While Ibis highlights some dark themes (human trafficking, gang violence, and slave history) lightness is created through some charming local characters, fascinating island folklore and delightful local patois. Ibis was completely refreshing, fascinating and unique.
My only issue was with the flow of the book, which jumped forward and backward in time and featured multiple (abruptly changing) narrators, making the book difficult to follow at times. Otherwise, I really enjoyed the unique blending of historical fiction and magical realism, the charming bits of local folklore and superstition, the Caribbean setting, history and dialect and the powerful history lesson. I love a good cross-generational story and blending of genres, and this was a very unique and memorable reading experience. Almost perfect, 4.5 stars, loved it.
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