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crazytourists_books's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
This book was a struggle. A huge struggle.
I really liked the first and the third story, the third was utterly heartbreaking. On the other hand, I couldn't care less for the second one (which was not about a woman, so the title is rather wrong). I found it tiring, boring, too long and repetitive.
I am not a big fun of the "stream of consciousness" style of writing (or the magical realism) but for the two stories that I did like, worked.
Mixed feelings for this one, if only the second story was through the eyes of a woman...
I really liked the first and the third story, the third was utterly heartbreaking. On the other hand, I couldn't care less for the second one (which was not about a woman, so the title is rather wrong). I found it tiring, boring, too long and repetitive.
I am not a big fun of the "stream of consciousness" style of writing (or the magical realism) but for the two stories that I did like, worked.
Mixed feelings for this one, if only the second story was through the eyes of a woman...
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Murder, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, and Racism
the_literarylinguist's review against another edition
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Infertility, Racism, and Rape
katie_greenwinginmymouth's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I found this book a really difficult read and that wasn’t just to do with the subject matter. The language was really formal and pretty hard to engage with, NDiaye used loads of really old fashioned words and phrases and incredibly long sentences with lots of clauses. I felt it made the book really cold and that made it doubly hard to process the sorts of traumatic experiences that were being described. Also the title of the book felt really misleading - For a start the longest story in the middle was from the pov of one woman’s husband so we didn’t hear her voice at all. The three women in the stories were stuck dealing with the mess that the men in their lives had created and I don’t know if it actually was about the women’s strength as much as the racism and misogyny they all were subject to.
This was a book club read and amazingly we had a couple of people who’d read it in the original French who confirmed that the style wasn’t an issue with the translation which was done faithfully. Also there was some interesting conversations about the type of academic language and structure that might have been a factor in the book winning the Prix Goncourt. It was really disappointing that the style got in the way cos there were some crucial themes tackled in the book, especially around the relationship between France and Senegal, interracial relationships and forced migration. Ultimately though I just found it bleak, brutal and suffocating.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Murder, Racism, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Fatphobia
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