Inside the First Scribbles and Quills Book Club Meeting: A Passionate Discussion on Ever Since We Small by Celeste Mohammed

Written by Shari Mitchell

You should have seen it.

Last Friday, 27th February, at 5pm, eleven readers gathered together at the Scribbles and Quills Bookstore to discuss “Ever Since We Small” by Trinidadian author, Celeste Mohammed.

This was our very first Scribbles and Quills Book Club meeting, and to our surprise, what started as polite small talk, transformed into an animated, passionate, deeply revealing fellowship.

Here’s why…

Love and Critique

The truth is, the best book clubs are not just echo chambers of similar voices and opinions.

They are beloved rooms where both agreement and disagreement can coincide harmoniously – where people can love and critique the same story with equal intensity – and let’s just say, this group did not hold back.

Some readers were moved by Mohammed’s rawness and lyrical storytelling, whilst others were visibly frustrated by her structural choices, but no one was indifferent.

This, in itself, says something about her book.

The Questions That Lit the Fire

This passionate flame of discussion all began with our Book Club Leader’s (Malka Siewnarine) guidance through a wide range of thought-provoking questions which immediately pulled us deeper:

• Who do you think is the true protagonist of the book?
• When reading, what emotions did you feel?
• What is the significance of each narrative voice?
• Should this book be placed in secondary school literature?
• What ending would you have liked to read?

Each question expanded minds and opened a new corridor of conversation for us, however, throughout the evening, it was brought to our attention that one of the strongest collective reactions was centered on something entirely different.

The book’s open endings.

Several participants admitted feeling frustrated by this.

Certain storylines felt abrupt. Cut short. Questions lingered in midair without resolution. Character arcs seemed to close without warning, sometimes with a single paragraph tying together loose ends that had been building for chapters.

“It felt incomplete for me,” someone said.

Undoubtedly, there was a shared sense that we wanted more. We wanted to know more about each character’s history, and to sit longer in each one’s evolution.

The narrative choice to withhold closure felt, for some, like artistry, but for others, it felt like abandonment, and this again, is a true testament to how emotionally riveting this novel-in-stories is.

To numbly read the pages of this work is impossible.

Jayanti: The Story That Stole our Hearts

If there was one universal point of agreement among the group, however, it was this: Jayanti’s story left us craving more of her.

Early in the discussion, it became crystal clear that Jayanti emerged as a favorite among us readers.

The opening narrative was so compelling that several members admitted they would have happily read an entire novel dedicated solely to her life. Her storyline – layered with migration, displacement, longing, and resilience – truly captivated us.

As a result, there was a collective hunger to know what happened to her after she made her journey from India to Trinidad.

• How did she survive?
• How did her story unfold?
• How did she transform?
• What became of her inner life?

That unanswered curiosity became one of the night’s most poignant undercurrents.

The Indo-Caribbean Experience

The book’s portrayal of Indo-Caribbean life sparked some of the evening’s most meaningful, and complex conversation as well.

Through its characters, the novel touches on social and cultural issues such as:

• Caste
• Colour
• Jealousy
• Generational trauma
• Land ownership and land grabs
• The silent inheritance of pain

For some at the table, this was more than fiction – it was a blend of social and cultural memories reawakened from the past, and that in itself raised mixed emotions.

Several readers voiced concern that the female characters were portrayed more as victims of circumstance than victors over it, and this inevitably brought larger questions to the forefront:

• Are we repeating the same stereotypical narratives?
• Are we documenting trauma – or unconsciously cementing it?
• How do we balance honesty with responsibility in storytelling?
• How do we see ourselves as Caribbean people?
• How do we view Caribbean ancestry in literature?
• How do we learn from our generational past as Caribbean people?

You would think we were all seated at a tertiary-level academic table, but it simply was heartfelt communal reflection.

What innocently began as dissecting a novel turned into a group of individuals unpacking ancestry, identity, childhood memory and more.

We were left with the question, “how do we tell our own stories?”, and maybe that’s what book clubs do – they remind us that literature is never just about characters.

It’s about us; our own lived experiences.

By this point, voices were surely animated. The bookstore came alive with intellect and stories shared around the table for 3 hours, until the conversation softened at around 8pm.

Our Next Conversation

The evening of our first book club ended with drinks poured, pastries and mini cupcakes passed around, laughter, and strangers becoming familiar faces. Click here for our TikTok recap of Book Club!

But when do we meet to do this all again?

Our next Scribbles and Quills Book Club meeting will take place on Saturday 28^th March 2026. Here, we will be diving into “Love After Love” by Ingrid Persaud; another powerful Caribbean story written by a Caribbean female author, that explores love, identity, and the complexity of family.

If February’s session was any indication, March promises just as much fire and fellowship.

Will we see you there?

CLICK HERE TO JOIN OUR BOOK CLUB.