Reviews

La Porte du voyage sans retour by David Diop, David Diop

jacque18's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

lauraportalupi's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No

2.5

This reminds me of why I’d rather read books by women. After finishing the book and feeling disappointed, I looked for reviews and analyses that would help me see what I had missed in my own reading. The positive reviews I read in the NYT and The Guardian didn’t change my perspective, just confused me. 

I felt nothing but disgust for the main character, who it seems the author is trying to compel readers to feel empathy for. He is just another man behaving badly. 

The last chapter was disjointed and simplistic.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Death, Slavery, Kidnapping, and Sexual assault

sadhbhprice's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

londontoffee's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

maisilu24's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.75

apparently lightning does strike twice, or maybe i just adore david diop’s writing. powerful and vivid storytelling comes so naturally to him

juliewheat1's review against another edition

adventurous emotional informative mysterious reflective 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

4.0

gypsynyx91's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad fast-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

5.0

plankpot's review against another edition

reflective medium-paced

3.5

mothling's review against another edition

will come back to this later, bc i really did love "at night all blood is black" but i'm struggling to get into this one right now and just need a book with a different vibe i think.

samolineux's review against another edition

adventurous dark reflective 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? It's complicated

3.25