Stephanie Spines

I don't generally go for books with writing styles like this one and I'm surprised nobody else has mentioned it in the comments section. It simply irks me when books are written in the accent that the character's speak with and it is a shortcoming of this book. I just find it annoying, personally. To be fair, the entire book isn't written this way, just at times when Pao and other characters are speaking. While the characters in Pao are interesting, including Pao himself, and the relationships in the book are relatable and visceral, I found this book flat. The plot was predictable and unengaging, and as other people have mentioned, the Sun Tzu quotes seemed a little bit forced and out of place. What I appreciated most about this book was it's intermittent insight into Jamaican politics at the time. These however, are few and far between in the book.