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3.82 AVERAGE
3.82 AVERAGE
A bleak, brutal and visceral meditation on the horrors of war and the corruption of duty and conscience. The narrator’s descent into madness is conveyed in an interesting repetitive and rhythmic narrative style which has the driving qualities of an incantation or the sense of a hunched mental patient muttering and rambling as they rock backwards and forward on their heels…
A brutal, efficient bit of work - a Senegalese man fighting with the French during WWI witnesses his friend die in a gruesome manner and takes it upon himself to avenge that death (or soothe his conscience) by killing an enemy soldier and returning to the trenches with a severed hand. Repeatedly. While his fellow soldiers start off celebrating his wild actions, they grow increasingly uneasy as he returns with more and more trophies. It's grim, visceral stuff told in a voice that's like a classic storyteller mixed with the narrator of The Stranger. There's some wicked humor laced in with the huge heart of that lead character, who engages in some pretty nasty stuff by the time this book ends. Diop doesn't shy away from anything here - violence, race, rape, and brutality - including the stunning final chapters that veer us away from the voice we've known and drop us off somewhere completely different, but fittingly right. This book is not for everyone - sections definitely made me queasy and thankful for the small page count. But those with a sturdy stomach and an admiration for clever, thoughtful narration will find much to love here.
And while I know nothing about translation, really, kudos to Anna Moschovakis here as well. She's captured a powerful voice and helped it sing in English, too. Impressive work.
And while I know nothing about translation, really, kudos to Anna Moschovakis here as well. She's captured a powerful voice and helped it sing in English, too. Impressive work.
reflective
fast-paced
If I never read the words God’s truth or I swear to you, I’ll be all good. This was an exhausting slog, and it was utterly boring.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
haunting, lyrical, and provocative. the references to women's bodies felt a bit jarring, but otherwise it's such a brilliantly crafted text and only makes me wish i could've read it in the original french
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Evocative of Conrad's Heart of Darkness.
Such a strong start and finish...5 stars if didn't just drag a bit in the middle and God's truth, I didn't love some of the repetitive prose. Powerful, effective imagery, great descriptions of the barren and the lush. The desperation of violence and war depicted powerfully. Also, sexually loaded with juices nearly dripping off the pages. Very well done.
On the cover of my copy it says "A novel" but at 145 pages is it? Wish it was longer, good story, great writing.
Such a strong start and finish...5 stars if didn't just drag a bit in the middle and God's truth, I didn't love some of the repetitive prose. Powerful, effective imagery, great descriptions of the barren and the lush. The desperation of violence and war depicted powerfully. Also, sexually loaded with juices nearly dripping off the pages. Very well done.
On the cover of my copy it says "A novel" but at 145 pages is it? Wish it was longer, good story, great writing.
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A dark and strange story from the perspective of a tirailleurs sénégalais in World War I and the horror and hardship of war.
challenging
dark
reflective
sad