Golden Child

Adam’s excellent debut explores a dark and haunting Sophie’s Choice–like dilemma set in the lush and dangerous bush of Trinidad. At the center are 13-year-old twin brothers—Peter, the brilliant son with a golden future, and Paul, the family’s sorrow—who are simultaneously lifted and doomed by the aspirations of their parents, relatives, and teachers. The first of three parts begins with the disappearance of Paul after a harsh tongue-lashing by his father, Clyde. The second part reveals Paul’s troubled childhood, in which he’s cast as mentally slow and Peter as a genius by their doting mother, Joy, Paul’s lifelong protector. It’s also when the concern of an Irish priest at the boys’ school in Port of Spain opens Paul to his first-ever glimmer of hope and confidence—before a break-in at the family’s rural home triggers the tragic chain of events leading to Paul’s disappearance. In the third part, Clyde makes the heartbreaking choice—forced by a jealous family member—that seals the fate of the boys and family. Throughout this stunning portrait of Trinidad’s multicultural diversity, and one family’s sacrifices, soaring hopes and ultimate despair, Adam weaves a poetic lightness and beauty that will transfix readers. (Jan.)