What We All Long for

Dionne Brand takes the youth of Toronto and brings them to vivid life in this novel about several twenty-somethings living in the city and the way their lives do - and do not - meet. I felt the main characters to be well-developed and interesting, though some of the secondary characters could have had a bit more depth to them. The motifs of youthfulness, race, and what it is to live in a city were brought to bear skillfully, as was the over-arching theme of longing. All in all, I enjoyed this book.

The complexity of the characters and how every story intertwines so beautifully kept me absolutely riveted to this book! The ending took a somewhat unexpected, yet full-circle turn; making me leave the book feeling both closure, and wondering what would happen next. I dreamt about these characters for days afterwards.The fact that it was based in Toronto was a bonus too. Nice to recognize the places described.