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3.29 AVERAGE
3.29 AVERAGE
DNF at Page 153/230
This is a jarring reading experience about a harrowing experience.
If the question is, can an Irish author in her 80's write convincingly from the point of view of an abducted Borno school girl, I'd have to answer no.
I think there are good intentions in the attempt and it did remind me of their plight, I googled what the current situation is (unsurprisingly, it's not good and I still feel helpless to do anything).
However, I could not stop questioning each reaction, response and internal dialogue through out the story. I abandoned it finally after a complete stranger decided to emotionally tell the main character about his own traumatic loss of a loved one. Do Nigerian adult males reveal that to a school girl who's on the way home after being abducted by soldiers? I don't think so. Just jarred for so many reasons.
I really was hoping it would be a more insightful story but it struck me as badly done YA fiction, (not sure that is the audience).
Read it because it's long-listed on the 2020 Women's Prize for Fiction and I'm trying to read more fiction set in countries outside my own.
I hope others get more out of it than I did.
This is a jarring reading experience about a harrowing experience.
If the question is, can an Irish author in her 80's write convincingly from the point of view of an abducted Borno school girl, I'd have to answer no.
I think there are good intentions in the attempt and it did remind me of their plight, I googled what the current situation is (unsurprisingly, it's not good and I still feel helpless to do anything).
However, I could not stop questioning each reaction, response and internal dialogue through out the story. I abandoned it finally after a complete stranger decided to emotionally tell the main character about his own traumatic loss of a loved one. Do Nigerian adult males reveal that to a school girl who's on the way home after being abducted by soldiers? I don't think so. Just jarred for so many reasons.
I really was hoping it would be a more insightful story but it struck me as badly done YA fiction, (not sure that is the audience).
Read it because it's long-listed on the 2020 Women's Prize for Fiction and I'm trying to read more fiction set in countries outside my own.
I hope others get more out of it than I did.
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Kidnapping, War
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-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
At times this book was hard to read, so brutal is the subject matter of a young girl abducted, raped and later cast out by her family. The story centres on the journey, from the point of abduction to a final resolution. There were moments where the narrative thread felt clumsy, where the fragments of other narratives became intrusive, where there was a sense of things being glossed over. It felt as if the author had struggled to finish the book, to control the narrative, to deliver the story as a coherent entity. I’d expected so much of this book and I guess that may have contributed to my disappointment.
dark
emotional
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:
Complicated
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Was really disappointed in this book. Although I can see how important a story this is and how it does need to be told, I think it was in the wrong format and by the wrong author. It was too long as a novel and I just couldn’t engage in the style of writing or the descriptions of the characters.
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
I'm very disappointed. I misunderstood the basis for this book, thinking the author was writing the story on behalf of a victim of Boko Haram. Instead, the author writes a fictional account *inspired* these women's stories. It doesn't sit well with me that a white women is basically profiting from black womens torture.
The audiobook is read by a Ugandan-born, British actor and this choice honestly feels performative... as if it was done to make this terrorism-inspiration porn seem more "authentic". At least they didn't hire a white woman to put on the accents.
Basically for this book, a white, Irish author has written numerous, detailed, in-depth rape scenes, as well as writing about women being stoned, children being captured and it's just so tasteless, I can't put my disgust into words. The audiobook was returned.
This should never have been published, listen to the actual victims stories and treat them with the dignity they deserve.
The audiobook is read by a Ugandan-born, British actor and this choice honestly feels performative... as if it was done to make this terrorism-inspiration porn seem more "authentic". At least they didn't hire a white woman to put on the accents.
Basically for this book, a white, Irish author has written numerous, detailed, in-depth rape scenes, as well as writing about women being stoned, children being captured and it's just so tasteless, I can't put my disgust into words. The audiobook was returned.
This should never have been published, listen to the actual victims stories and treat them with the dignity they deserve.
challenging
dark
informative
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual violence, Violence, Kidnapping, War