Trésor

by Alecia McKenzie

Téméraire, butée, rebelle. Dulcinea Evers, jeune peintre coqueluche de New York, vient de s'éteindre. Mais qui était-elle vraiment ? Au lendemain de ses funérailles jamaïcaines, c'est sa meilleure amie Cheryl qui est chargée de rapporter la moité de ses cendres aux Etats-Unis. Détient-elle la clef de son histoire ? Tour à tour, ceux qui ont traversé la vie de Dulci s'adressent à elle pour dessiner en creux le portrait d'une femme flamboyante... et résolument libre.

182 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2011

Reviews

[Abbie Hawkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating 3.5

A story about a Caribbean artist called Dulcinea Evers, whose life ended too soon - told in the second person by her friends, family and acquaintances. It's emotional and thematically rich - describing Kingston and the nearby places where the characters grew up in vivid colour. Enjoyed and would recommend.

Would like to read more books published by Peepal Tree Press, who specialise in writing from the Caribbean, its diasporas and the UK.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a good book. I enjoyed how the author presented the action major persons in Dulcie's life giving their perspective on significant incidents. It was a slow revealing of events and the author's writing style made it an entertaining experience. At about 140 pages this is a short book that packs a big punch, I recommend it.

[Elsa Bordier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un très beau roman choral qui raconte à la fois Dulcinea, une artiste hypnotisante, et la Jamaïque où elle a grandi.
L'écriture est superbe et le récit se compose à la fois de confidences et de non-dits qui rendent l'ensemble très touchant.

[Joe Shaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really beautiful, captivating and emotional book. The story has many layers that intertwine into a deep-rooted plot, wrapped in the imagery of Jamaica. I couldn’t put this one down!

[Peta · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of memorable Caribbean stories. Loved it! Review here ->https://youtu.be/q_dw6yV3jVY

[Garry · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sweetheart is a small novel, both in terms of size and content. A two-star rating on Goodreads is meant to signify that a book is 'OK'. Sweetheart is pleasant to read, but it doesn't really light any fires. It's 'OK'.

Dulci Evers AKA 'Sweetheart' AKA Cinea Verse was a Jamaican painter living in New York. She died as a young woman, and an assortment of the key people in her life tell her story in the days and weeks after she's gone.

Dulci is a lovely character, and she's not alone - there are a lot of good characters in the book. I enjoyed the time I spent with them in the way that I used to enjoy spending time with my Grandmother. It was nice.

I was expecting something earth-shattering to happen at some point. It did, kind of. But it wasn't big enough, or central enough to the storyline to lift the novel above being 'nice'.

I won't have bad memories of this - the problem is, I probably won't have too many memories of it at all.

[Laroussebouquine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un roman vraiment surprenant qui dresse le portrait d'une artiste lumineuse, par le biais de toutes les personnes qui l'ont connue, en Jamaïque ou à New-York. J'ai beaucoup aimé l'alternance des points de vue et l'écriture. Une jolie surprise !

[Toni · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn't put this book down. Short and sweet.

[Rosa · Rating 2 out of 5]

The timeline was confusing, wasn’t sure if we were given flashbacks or if it was presently told. But interesting themes surrounding death and trauma.