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3.82 AVERAGE
3.82 AVERAGE
dark
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-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
challenging
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
With the understanding that this plot is about a soldier's descent into madness, I just couldn't continue on with how repeating every single chapter is. Not engaging for me but I definitely recognize the talent of the author
challenging
dark
informative
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The story is incredibly compelling. I was expecting worse with regard to the gore and violence, but not only did I find it less horrific than a lot of war fiction, in a way, the brutality on the battlefield in the book is a shadow of the true horrors inflicted on colonized populations, and I think Diop is in fact alluding to this in the story. In that light, it's much easier to understand the violence as more than a device contributing to our questions about the mental state of the main character. There are many little pieces like this that have a double meaning, that make you want to re-read this book. The only reason I would take away a star is that I think the author is trying to get to a point about gender and the treatment of women as objects of fantasy (although not always desire), but it feels a little unfinished.
a lot of disturbing yet extremely beautiful imagery. alfa was a strange character to grasp but it was interesting seeing his mind devolve from lucidity into a fragmented atomisation in a way… not sure how to feel about the final few chapters though
Loved this book so so much, but poor Mademba. Imagine taking in your best friend and your mom adopting him and treating him like your brother just for him to call you out multiple times for being ugly and then watch you die a slow and painful death and not listen to your dying wish…
The majority of the prose was moving and haunting in this tale of two Senegalese friends experiencing the horrors of World War 1.
I was thrown off by the repetitiveness of phrases and felt this would’ve been much better and impactful as a shorter story (despite it already being short) or a series of poetry (as the majority of the writing already flows well).
I was thrown off by the repetitiveness of phrases and felt this would’ve been much better and impactful as a shorter story (despite it already being short) or a series of poetry (as the majority of the writing already flows well).