Land of Love and Drowning

by Tiphanie Yanique
Land of Love and Drowning cover
Good Books rating 4.5
Magical Realism
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  • ID: 1305
  • Added: 2025-10-04
  • Updated: 2025-10-16
  • ISBN: 9780698168800
  • Publisher: Penguin
  • Published: 2014-07-10
  • Reviews: 4

In the early 1900s, the Virgin Islands transition from Danish to American rule, setting the stage for a sweeping tale of three generations. Orphaned sisters and their half brother, each blessed with unique magical gifts, must navigate the complexities of love, identity, and survival. The novel's rich, lyrical prose and vibrant setting evoke the spirit of the Caribbean, blending the ordinary with the extraordinary. Through love affairs, curses, and triumphs, the Bradshaw family's story unfolds against the backdrop of a changing world, offering a glimpse into a culture steeped in tradition and transformation.

Reviews
app.thestorygraph.com · Unknown · 2025-11-21
brilliant 4.50

The Land of Love and Drowning is a family drama intertwined with the history of St. Thomas, exploring themes of belonging and identity. The Bradshaw sisters, Eeona and Anette, navigate their complex relationship and the changing cultural landscape of their island home.

The Land of Love and Drowning is a richly layered family drama that delves into the Bradshaw family's secrets and the cultural shifts of St. Thomas. The story follows the Bradshaw sisters, Eeona and Anette, as they grapple with their identities and the changing world around them. The novel beautifully captures the tension between tradition and modernity, and the search for belonging. The prose is evocative and the characters are deeply compelling, making it a memorable read. The narrative also explores the impact of American influence on the island, adding a layer of historical depth to the personal stories of the characters.

Quick quotes

    her running away had finally taken her to a haunted place where the past greets you at the door.

    Tiphanie Yanique writes some damn beautiful prose.

    The way the fantasy elements are treated reminded me a little of Jo Walton’s Among Others, where the plot of the story doesn’t orbit around the magic (except when it does).

bookmarks.reviews · Unknown · 2025-11-20
brilliant 4.50

Land of Love and Drowning is a rich, complex novel that masterfully blends history with magic, offering a vivid portrayal of family and legacy in the Caribbean. The story, spanning generations, is both deeply personal and culturally resonant, with sharp details that transcend cultural boundaries. The novel's power lies in its ability to evoke the essence of the Virgin Islands through a unique and captivating narrative.

Land of Love and Drowning by Tiphanie Yanique is a dauntless and complex novel that seamlessly merges true history with magical elements, creating a rich seascape about family, legacy, and the impact of race and class in the twentieth-century Caribbean. The novel follows the Bradshaw family over sixty years, depicting their triumphs, tragedies, and the magical gifts that shape their lives. Yanique's authorial power is evident in her ability to render each scene with sharp details that transcend culture and travel across oceans. The story is both deeply personal and culturally resonant, offering a vivid portrayal of the Virgin Islands. The novel's strength lies in its ability to build a panoramic view of the islands through a unique and captivating narrative. Despite comparisons to other literary works, Yanique's voice is distinctly her own, making this a standout piece of literature.

Quick quotes

    How rare to encounter a dauntless and complex novel that convincingly melds true history with magic, but Tiphanie Yanique’s debut — a rich seascape about family and legacy, beauty’s clout and the variable waves of race and class on the twentieth-century Caribbean islands — accomplishes just that.

    Yanique has set out to write the epic of this region and culture, and in fact this book deserves better than to be labeled with last-century publishing buzzwords.

    While the novel is a sweeping, historical family epic with touches of magical realism, immediately putting it in a similar vein to Gabriel García Márquez’s One Hundred Years Of Solitude or Toni Morrison’s Song Of Solomon or Isabel Allende’s The House Of The Spirits, such comparisons may also be doing a disservice. Yanique’s voice is her own.

goodreads.com · Unknown · 2025-11-14
captivating 4.50

Land of Love and Drowning is a beautifully written novel that weaves together history, magic, and family drama. The characters are richly drawn, and the setting is vividly brought to life, making it a compelling read.

Land of Love and Drowning is a captivating novel that seamlessly blends historical events with magical realism. The story is set in the U.S. Virgin Islands and follows the Bradshaw family over several decades. The characters are deeply complex and their relationships are portrayed with great nuance. The author's prose is lyrical and evocative, creating a richly textured world that draws the reader in. The novel explores themes of love, power, and the legacy of colonialism, making it a thought-provoking and emotionally resonant read. While the plot can be somewhat meandering at times, the strength of the characters and the beauty of the writing make it a standout work of fiction.

Quick quotes

    The prose is lyrical and evocative, creating a richly textured world that draws the reader in.

    The characters are deeply complex and their relationships are portrayed with great nuance.

    The novel explores themes of love, power, and the legacy of colonialism, making it a thought-provoking and emotionally resonant read.

historicalnovelsociety.org · Unknown · 2025-11-14
brilliant 4.50

The review discusses Tiphanie Yanique's novel 'Land of Love and Drowning,' highlighting its exploration of Caribbean identity and the impact of colonization. The story centers around two sisters, Eeona and Anette, who represent different aspects of the Virgin Islands' culture and history. The novel is praised for its depth and complexity, offering a counterpoint to earlier, less nuanced depictions of Caribbean life.

Tiphanie Yanique's 'Land of Love and Drowning' is a richly layered novel that delves into the complexities of Caribbean identity, particularly in the US Virgin Islands. The story revolves around two sisters, Eeona and Anette Bradshaw, who navigate the changing landscape of their home as it transitions from Danish to American control. Eeona, with her beauty and purity, symbolizes the Virgin Islands themselves, while Anette embodies the resilience and spirit of the people. The novel is a love letter to the Virgin Islands, exploring themes of colonization, identity, and the impact of external forces on a culture and a family. Yanique's work is noted for its depth and complexity, offering a more nuanced portrayal of Caribbean life compared to earlier literature. The review also highlights Yanique's artistic choices, such as using a Caribbean vernacular for Anette's narration, which adds authenticity and poetic beauty to the story.

Quick quotes

    The novel is a love letter to the Virgin Islands, both the land and spirit of the place.

    It is an intimate portrayal of a people and the impact of colonization on a culture and a particular family.

    I wanted to write a text that might be held up alongside that text. That sounds very big, very braggadocio. But I wanted to write something that people would say, 'If you're going to read the Herman Wouk, you have to also read the Yanique.

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