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clarasen's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
brooke_thornt's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
It should have been three separate books. I want to know what happened with Norah and Sony (is he guilty?!)
qls's review
4.0
fantastically written book that i somehow struggled to get through. i can't quite explain it, maybe it was too much pain or too bright - like staring at the sun. either way i'm glad i did. ndiaye finds infinity in the moment and magic in the mundane.
jasonlesher's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
year23's review against another edition
The word poinciana is written every other paragraph. The writer takes multiple pages to describe the clothing and general look of one character, adding nothing in the overly long (and repetitive) description.
Genuinely one of the most lackluster opening pages I’ve read in awhile. Trying to be better about dnf-ing books that I can tell are not a fit for me. Maybe if this comes out as an audiobook someday, I’ll try again. This kind of writing style is just not a good fit for me.
Genuinely one of the most lackluster opening pages I’ve read in awhile. Trying to be better about dnf-ing books that I can tell are not a fit for me. Maybe if this comes out as an audiobook someday, I’ll try again. This kind of writing style is just not a good fit for me.
verenaahartmann's review against another edition
5.0
Three chapters, three strong women.
The first chapter tells the story of Norah who travels to Senegal to meet her father who had deserted her mother and sister when she was a small child, taking with him their brother. The brother is now in prison and the father, unable to deal with any conflict, had lured Norah to Senegal from her home in France, to take care of her brother.
The second chapter is the story of Fanta written from the perspective of her partner Rudy. They live in France, Fanta had come from Senegal there with hopes to work as a teacher. That didn't work out and the relationship of Fanta and Rudy takes on its own dynamic.
The third and last chapter tells of Khady. Khady was married to a kind man, all her hopes, dreams and energy went into her wish for a baby with him. Then the husband suddenly died and his family sends her away, to travel to Europe so that she can send back money to them ... if she makes it.
All three stories are very engaging, dense, a deep dive into the characters.
Although all three stories are hard to read, especially the last one will haunt me (!!), never the less, this book was wonderfully written.
The overall theme is women who are by circumstances forced to be strong, showing their full strength in great adversary and handling the situationes best as they can. Which is both inspiring and heartbreaking when things take turns for the worse. These stories also tell how women still are expected without even communicating it, to take the fall for bad dicisions men had made, or trying to even out the consequences of men's actions.
NDiaye is a true talent, I am delighted to get to know this marvelous writer! She not only has an ear, an eye and a heart for stories, but she also has the ability to build emotional stories and characters that grip you right away.
I highly recommend this book!!
The first chapter tells the story of Norah who travels to Senegal to meet her father who had deserted her mother and sister when she was a small child, taking with him their brother. The brother is now in prison and the father, unable to deal with any conflict, had lured Norah to Senegal from her home in France, to take care of her brother.
The second chapter is the story of Fanta written from the perspective of her partner Rudy. They live in France, Fanta had come from Senegal there with hopes to work as a teacher. That didn't work out and the relationship of Fanta and Rudy takes on its own dynamic.
The third and last chapter tells of Khady. Khady was married to a kind man, all her hopes, dreams and energy went into her wish for a baby with him. Then the husband suddenly died and his family sends her away, to travel to Europe so that she can send back money to them ... if she makes it.
All three stories are very engaging, dense, a deep dive into the characters.
Although all three stories are hard to read, especially the last one will haunt me (!!), never the less, this book was wonderfully written.
The overall theme is women who are by circumstances forced to be strong, showing their full strength in great adversary and handling the situationes best as they can. Which is both inspiring and heartbreaking when things take turns for the worse. These stories also tell how women still are expected without even communicating it, to take the fall for bad dicisions men had made, or trying to even out the consequences of men's actions.
NDiaye is a true talent, I am delighted to get to know this marvelous writer! She not only has an ear, an eye and a heart for stories, but she also has the ability to build emotional stories and characters that grip you right away.
I highly recommend this book!!
janson's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Oddly, like de Beauvoir’s “The Woman Destroyed”, I DNF the second episode, the protagonist just too… much. But bookended by interior tragedy and smeared anguish no less perfectly crafted.
sam_griffin's review against another edition
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
The writing was well done, but I really didn’t want to hear about the one character’s anus that much.
manaledi's review against another edition
3.0
This was an immigration story, without actually being about immigration. This book is in three parts that didn't connect quite as well as I might have liked, nor were they entirely distinct. The middle section in particular was a struggle for me - for a book about three strong WOMEN I wanted more about the woman and less about the man's emotional struggles. In the end, I wanted to like this more than I actually did.
vie_bibliophile's review
4.0
4.5/5
Three Strong Women is a story that exists on the border between reality and insanity. I usually don't like magical realism, but this book was an exception. NDiaye is so smart in her writing that each sentence alone is like a work of art. There's so much to unpack and analyze in each of her characters, metaphors and storylines. The story is rich and well thought-out; nothing is random. The amount of effort NDiaye has clearly put into writing each sentence shows how much she respects her literature and her reader. Her writing style, although unique and powerful, is not for everyone. Her sentences are long and complex, most making up 5-6 line paragraphs alone. This is one of the unique features of NDiaye's writing and it functions as a powerful tool to pull the reader into the magical realism of the story. But if you find that you don't enjoy complex sentences or get bored with long descriptions, this might not be for you. I thought this book was perfect for people who like to over-analyze and people who enjoy a lot of details.
Three Strong Women is a story that exists on the border between reality and insanity. I usually don't like magical realism, but this book was an exception. NDiaye is so smart in her writing that each sentence alone is like a work of art. There's so much to unpack and analyze in each of her characters, metaphors and storylines. The story is rich and well thought-out; nothing is random. The amount of effort NDiaye has clearly put into writing each sentence shows how much she respects her literature and her reader. Her writing style, although unique and powerful, is not for everyone. Her sentences are long and complex, most making up 5-6 line paragraphs alone. This is one of the unique features of NDiaye's writing and it functions as a powerful tool to pull the reader into the magical realism of the story. But if you find that you don't enjoy complex sentences or get bored with long descriptions, this might not be for you. I thought this book was perfect for people who like to over-analyze and people who enjoy a lot of details.