People Person

Reviews

Wonderful. People Person is about 5 half-siblings (1 dad, 4 mothers) who, in response to a crisis, meet as adults and start shaping themselves into a family. It's a warm novel, funny and full of emotional intelligence. The tone is light-hearted, even comic at times, but underneath there's an undertow, a steady drumbeat reminding us of all the microaggressions black people experience on a daily basis - and that white people are mostly oblivious of. I cannot recommend it highly enough. People Person is a triumph. I was so moved by this tender, often humorous, portrait of these five siblings, their burgeoning relationships and all their complexities. I loved every one of these beautifully rendered characters and I'm sure the world will too. I couldn't put it down. People Person is fresh, funny and tender - Candice is the voice British fiction needs. People Person is a portrait of a family that is as poignant as it is hilarious. It had me belly-laughing, then picking up my jaw from the floor, then nodding in delighted agreement. Candice is a writer who is not only revealing modern Britain with each of her novels; she is defining it. Cyril Pennington is a character for the ages, but this story truly belongs to the children he never managed to parent. I loved it. I loved People Person. Candice is so gifted at pulling you in as a writer. The storyline is hugely arresting and I was gripped immediately. Candice is remarkably perceptive in the way she writes people; her characters that are so well drawn, and so believable. When I wasn't reading People Person I was thinking about it and I had to finish it at the earliest opportunity. People Person is more than just the title of this phenomenal second novel. It's a statement of intent. It's a declaration that when Candice Carty-Williams writes she captures the hearts and minds of readers everywhere. The Pennington's are a large, messy family and I got to know each member intimately. This is an expertly crafted novel about family secrets that kept me on my toes from start to finish. A dark comedy full of zinging dialogue and all the consolations and complications of family. A treat. As warm and infectious, as familiar and true as Queenie. A funny and touching study of sibling relationships. It's a funny, heartwarming story of inheritance, kinship and influencer culture, told through one dysfunctional south London family, and as with Queenie, a maddening but loveable protagonist. Candice puts in print the word on the street; her eye is on a thriving Afro-Caribbean social and lyrical tradition. People Person is a fresh blend of brilliant wit, delicious drama, and all the ways family ties can be strained and strengthened. I fell head over heels for the Penningtons, quirks, flaws, and all. People Person makes explicit the extremity of inheritance. It's a funny, vibrant exploration of the failures that happen among family and it asks difficult questions about healing and what we owe blood. Carty-Williams has written another big-hearted blockbuster that will make her many fans smile and ache. She paints a vivid picture of the pressures on young people in modern Britain and a poignant one of how a vulnerable outsider can, with the right network, find a sense of belonging and self-acceptance. Where Candice reigns is in writing humorous speech... poignant. Funny, tender, poignant...everything you'd expect from Carty-Williams Delivering a great second novel after a stellar debut is a big ask, but Queenie author Carty-Williams has done just that. Carty-Williams's prose is snappy and propulsive, full of busy, telegenic set-pieces Expand reviews