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thecriticalreader's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
sad
slow-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? It's complicated
4.0
Review:
In Call and Response, author Gothataone Moeng delivers a collection of short stories about rural and city life in modern-day Botswana. Each of her characters faces loneliness, alienation, and melancholy as they yearn for personal fulfillment amidst a complex network of familial, cultural, financial, and social obligations. Her stories are fastidious, reflective, and concerned with the minutiae of everyday life—as such, this book is slow-paced to the occasional point of dullness. However, Moeng rewards readers for their patience with quiet revelations about life in a country that is simultaneously leaping toward modernity and clinging to cultural legacies borne from native heritage, colonialism, and the specters of not-so-distant national crises.
The Run-Down:
You will probably like Call and Response if . . .
· You like slow-paced, reflective slice-of-life stories
· You want to immerse yourself in the lives of modern-day Batswana
· You like stories that reflect on themes of family, patriarchy, modern social and technological change, and national identity
You might not like Call and Response if . . .
· You want to read a book that pays more attention to the joys of life in Botswana than its sorrows
· You want to a collection of read fast-paced, gripping stories
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Colonisation, Death of parent, Classism, Grief, Infertility, Infidelity, Sexism, Misogyny, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Physical abuse, Racism, Abortion, Blood, Cursing, Sexual harassment, Pandemic/Epidemic, Panic attacks/disorders, and Dementia
Minor: Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Vomit, Miscarriage, Animal death, Child death, Car accident, Excrement, and Fatphobia
reading_beyond_the_book_cover's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
Imbued with emotion and reflection, Call and Response will supply readers with a front-row seat into Batswana life. In 9 beautifully written, self-revelatory stories, we experience the inner turmoil and contradictions of embracing cultural traditions in post-colonial Botswana, inevitable shifts and changes in shared bonds between people, coming of age, navigating familial expectations, and the all too familiar event and memories of homecoming.
Be prepared to traverse around cities of Botswana, and witness the characters’ revelations of themselves as they answer their call.
I recommend this short story collection and rate it a 3.25. The writing is poignant and thought-provoking. That is what I most enjoyed about it. Despite my enjoyment of Moeng’s writing, the pacing of the stories did not compel me to reach for the book as much as I expected to. It would have been a perfect fit for me if the calling were stronger.
I suggest this book to readers who are seeking a slower-paced collection of stories, centered around mostly female characters.
Many thanks to Viking, Gothataone Moeng, and NetGalley for an Advanced Review Copy in exchange for an honest review. My review/reaction is voluntary, all thoughts are mine and unbiased, and receiving the Advanced Review Copy does not influence my rating and/or recommendation.
Full Review Here: https://readingbeyondthebookcover.com/book-review-call-and-response-by-gothataone-moeng/
Content Warnings
Minor: Physical abuse
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