Can we use novels more intentionally to understand complex policy impacts?

There’s a lot going on in the city right now. Too many unsettling and disturbing events, but also important collective action. I was at City Hall last Friday evening, where I was reminded that there’s nothing quite like the sound of people chanting, clapping, and demanding democracy together.

In an effort to try to wrap my head around everything and make more sense of things, I’ve decided that I need to start writing more. Most of the time, there are so many things bouncing around in my head, and I’m finding myself with a lack of outlets to discuss, dissect, analyze, interpret, and reinterpret much of what I consume on a daily basis. Like many of us living in this bustling urban centre, I read a lot of books, articles, blogs, reports, you name it. I’ve decided to write about some of them as a foray into a writing practice.

I recently finished the novel Brother by David Chariandy, and I think it’s fair to say that this novel punched me right in the heart.

Chariandy’s prose is addictive; his storytelling is so clear and compelling, and his novel seriously screams SCARBOROUGH and TORONTO from every paragraph. If you love this city, read this novel. If you want to learn more about this city, read this novel.

Chariandy grew up in Toronto, more specifically Scarborough, so presumably he is writing a version of what he knows. His parents immigrated to Toronto from Trinidad, and the second generation immigrant experience is one of the many themes into which he delves. My partner is from Trinidad, so reading stories with a connection to his country is important to me.

As I was reading Brother, I started thinking: what if we more intentionally used narratives and novels to understand, articulate, and unpack the complex impacts of policies on people and communities??

Chariandy touches upon and weaves together so many interrelated policy issues, and brings these issues to life through characters to whom you feel close and connected after reading the 177 pages of Brother. Furthermore, much of the subject matter that Chariandy unpacks is directly related to recent events in the city, such as gun violence, its repercussions, and the unequal depictions of different communities by the media, police, and politicians.

What if every police officer in the Toronto Police Department had to read Brother as part of their training? What about every Council Member? All 47 of them ;) People relate to stories because they make complex subject matter easier to understand. We have been natural storytellers, and story listeners, from time. The allegory, the parable, the metaphor. We’ve been teaching people through stories since well before people knew how to read or write.

I’ve detailed the major themes that Chariandy has incorporated into Brother below, and articulated some of the related policy issues and policy impacts (just quickly: I should mention that a low to medium grade spoiler alert is in effect, as I do mention critical issues that come up in the book, but I do not articulate the connection to specific characters):

1.) Spatial segregation in the city:

• The disconnect between Scarborough and downtown, and the idea of Scarborough being both conceptually and and physically far apart
• Immigrant families living in diverse, largely non-white neighbourhoods
• It being apparent that where you live is considered a “bad neighbourhood” and there is distinction with “good neighbourhoods”
• Wanting to “get out” of the neighbourhood where you grew up
• Having to rely on the bus or walking to get around, and having to commute long distances on the bus to work or downtown

Related to: urban planning and development policies; transit policy; housing policy; economic development policy; policies related to diversity and inclusion; stigmatization associated with certain neighbourhoods

2.) Immigrant families:

• Immigrant mothers putting a lot pressure on their children to seize opportunities
• Immigrant mothers working around the clock, being tired a lot of the time, and still being poor
• Emphasis being put on education as a way to change your situation

Related to: immigration and integration policies; education policy; gendered nature precarious work and unpaid labour

3.) Violence and the effects of violence:

• Young black men being killed by police
• Police officers escalating instead of de-escalating situations
• How shootings affect communities LONG AFTER the news cameras and police officers are no longer coming around
• Dealing with complicated grief
• Young boys being afraid of the violence in their community; these same boys growing up and being indirectly or directly connected to the violence in their community
• Navigating institutions where you feel threatened, judged and unsafe, and where you are treated differently because of how you look (e.g. police stations, hospitals, schools)
• Neighbours making assumptions, judging you, being wary and afraid of you

Related to: youth justice policies; race-based discrimination and oppression; anti-black racism; carding; stigmatization associated with certain neighbourhoods; gun violence

4.) Navigating masculinity:

• Sons growing up without fathers being present
• The bonds, loyalty, and complicated relationships between brothers. (The way the protagonist discusses his brother, you can feel his brother’s emotions: his pain, his love, and his loyalty.)
• Sons not being able to talk to their mothers about their feelings or connect more deeply with their mothers about vulnerability. (As a character, the protagonist’s mother remains closed off. This feels very intentional.)
• Navigating homosexuality in a macho, heteronormative environment

Related to: family policies; gender and sexuality policies; hyper-masculinity; toxic masculinity; men not being allowed to be vulnerable

5.) Mental health and social isolation:

• Deteriorating mental health and mental illness, specifically dementia and disorientation
• The meaning of “home” and “back home”
• Being geographically far away from family, and not being able to visit often

Related to: health policies; policies related to diversity and inclusion; social determinants of health; lack of support and stigmatization of mental health issues and mental illness; barriers faced by immigrant women when navigating the healthcare system

6.) Sense of community

• The importance of libraries to communities
• Bonds between neighbours
• People understanding where you’ve come from and how you’ve grown up
• The importance of music in bringing people together
• Barber shops: not just for cutting hair
• Older people looking out for younger people, and young people taking care of aging parents

Related to: community infrastructure; neighbourhood policies; shared spaces; civic engagement and community engagement; intergenerational bonds

All of this packed into 177 pages.

I’ve read on twitter that people finished this book in one night; others have recommended that it be required reading for Grade 9 or 10 students.

I think it should required reading for policy makers and police officers. I think it could be used as a tool to facilitate more informed conversations among the people who are making decisions that directly affect the lives of those living in neighbourhoods like The Park, the community where the protagonist and his brother grew up, in real life.

I don’t think it’s surprising that David Chariandy shouts out Rinaldo Walcott in the back of Brother, and that Rinaldo Walcott is a signatory on this open letter: https://nowtoronto.com/news/gun-violence-john-tory-doug-ford/

I’d like to give a shout out to David Chariandy for writing this beautiful book. Thank you sincerely. I cannot wait to read, I’ve Been Meaning to Tell You: A Letter to My Daughter. It is currently residing on my bookshelf, waiting to be started.