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baebebluejay's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
tense
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Violence, Rape, and War
harshi_2024's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
fast-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
4.5
what_myla_read's review against another edition
dark
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
5.0
eekayj's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
iluxia's review against another edition
4.0
Unsure what I just read, but it flowed like water. Diop's writing is like a dance, full of movement and color. The story follows a man's gradual loss of his own identity as he becomes unmoored after the violent death of his dear friend and the guilt he shoulders after. One cannot help but think of Cain carrying Abel's corpse in a sack for years on end after the infamous murder. Guilt makes martyrs of us all.
itstomssg's review against another edition
challenging
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
chuckstafer's review against another edition
3.0
Meh.
This story is one of loss for sure, but I think more than anything it's of a soldier slowly losing his mind after the death of his friend when he failed to live up to what he felt he should have done for his friend. I think I understand what happened at the end of this novella, but it got a little lost in the shuffle with the constant flashbacks going on towards the midpoint of the story.
I will say, since this was my first time reading a novel from a Senegalese writer, some of the terminology and phrases he used during the story were strange to me and it took a bit to get used to the flow of the story and how he wrote it.
Not a bad novella or anything, but certainly more physiological horror than physical horror and a bit different than that I thought I was getting into.
This story is one of loss for sure, but I think more than anything it's of a soldier slowly losing his mind after the death of his friend when he failed to live up to what he felt he should have done for his friend. I think I understand what happened at the end of this novella, but it got a little lost in the shuffle with the constant flashbacks going on towards the midpoint of the story.
I will say, since this was my first time reading a novel from a Senegalese writer, some of the terminology and phrases he used during the story were strange to me and it took a bit to get used to the flow of the story and how he wrote it.
Not a bad novella or anything, but certainly more physiological horror than physical horror and a bit different than that I thought I was getting into.