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3.29 AVERAGE
3.29 AVERAGE
Girl is a fictionalised account of the experiences of one of the young women captured and held by Boko Haram in Nigeria. O’Brien imagines the events of 2014 through the eyes of her narrator, Maryam. She dedicates the book to the mothers and daughters of North East Nigeria, and according to her acknowledgements, she spent quite some time in the area, researching and developing this novel in consultation with their communities. Faber Books sent me a copy for review.
The prose is blunt and staccato, and at times seems detached; perhaps this is a deliberate attempt on O’Brien’s part to echo a dissociative traumatic response, along with strange shifts of tense and point-of-view within chapters, sometimes within paragraphs. The story’s conclusion shows that escape, rescue, and homecoming weren’t necessarily the happy affairs that the media might have had us believe. Still, I struggled to get past the friction of a privileged older white woman writing the story of a young woman of colour, particularly a story so emotionally and politically charged. It is an interesting read side-by-side with other #ownvoices and non-fiction accounts, but perhaps not one to be read in isolation.
The prose is blunt and staccato, and at times seems detached; perhaps this is a deliberate attempt on O’Brien’s part to echo a dissociative traumatic response, along with strange shifts of tense and point-of-view within chapters, sometimes within paragraphs. The story’s conclusion shows that escape, rescue, and homecoming weren’t necessarily the happy affairs that the media might have had us believe. Still, I struggled to get past the friction of a privileged older white woman writing the story of a young woman of colour, particularly a story so emotionally and politically charged. It is an interesting read side-by-side with other #ownvoices and non-fiction accounts, but perhaps not one to be read in isolation.
DNF: narrated by a black woman but written by a white author.
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I really don't know what to say about this.
Positives: sheds light on a really important situation that I was ignorant about; has interesting characters whose stories are clearly well-researched; written well in general; very emotional prose.
Negatives: written by a white Irish woman from the perspective of a Black Nigerian woman which feels inauthentic (I didn't know before reading so will now seek out own voices accounts!!); very wordy for such a short book; I probs would have given up without the audiobook helping me along; the author uses the word 'various' an infuriating amount which doesn't sound like a big issue but I am so sick of hearing/reading it now lol.
Positives: sheds light on a really important situation that I was ignorant about; has interesting characters whose stories are clearly well-researched; written well in general; very emotional prose.
Negatives: written by a white Irish woman from the perspective of a Black Nigerian woman which feels inauthentic (I didn't know before reading so will now seek out own voices accounts!!); very wordy for such a short book; I probs would have given up without the audiobook helping me along; the author uses the word 'various' an infuriating amount which doesn't sound like a big issue but I am so sick of hearing/reading it now lol.
challenging
emotional
sad
tense
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The beginning of this book is tragic, but the more I read, the more disengaged I became. It was a quick read, but large parts of it were confusing because the plot was rushed, and the author switches back and forth between past and present tense with abandon, which is a strong pet peeve of mine in a book.
In writing this review, I've also just found out that this was written by an elderly white woman, which I wasn't previously aware of. I should've known, given how often the word "plonks" comes up in this book. I'm now questioning her choice of narration style here and wondering if her other novels are written in the same way, or if this was an attempt to emulate what she thinks a poor little Nigerian girl would sound like.
Anyway, didn't love it and probably wouldn't recommend it to anyone else.
In writing this review, I've also just found out that this was written by an elderly white woman, which I wasn't previously aware of. I should've known, given how often the word "plonks" comes up in this book. I'm now questioning her choice of narration style here and wondering if her other novels are written in the same way, or if this was an attempt to emulate what she thinks a poor little Nigerian girl would sound like.
Anyway, didn't love it and probably wouldn't recommend it to anyone else.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Rape
dark
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I didn't particularly enjoy the book. I would be very interested to hear accounts from people who had been captured by Boko Haram but this just didn't do it for me. It also brings up the question of who has the right to tell what stories. I found the writing unenjoyable and confusing to read and at times I wasn't sure what was happening. But unfortunately I wasn't bothered enough to even try figure out what I was missing because it happened too often. I also found it hard to connect with the characters and the story. Overall I was disappointed as I had been looking forward to reading this book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape, Sexual violence
He encontrado interesante la lectura de este libro porque me ha permitido acercarme a un episodio oscuro reciente, y por desgracia aún vigente en cierto modo, como es el de los estragos causados a nivel local por el autoproclamado Estado islámico y grupos de la misma calaña. Estamos tan acostumbrados a oir hablar del "terrorismo islámico" como una amenaza contra Occidente, que rara vez nos paramos a pensar en su impacto en las vidas del resto del mundo. La historia, la historia real, es escalofriante.
Ahora bien, la calidad literaria de este libro, en mi opinión, deja un poco que desear. Los personajes parecen un tanto endebles, como fantasmagóricos, y en la redacción hay errores tan elementales como la alternancia indiscriminada entre tiempo verbal presente y pretérito, que le da una gran inconsistencia a la prosa. Una pena, porque creo que se podría haber pulido mucho más el resultado de la que sin duda ha sido una investigación rica por parte de la autora.
Ahora bien, la calidad literaria de este libro, en mi opinión, deja un poco que desear. Los personajes parecen un tanto endebles, como fantasmagóricos, y en la redacción hay errores tan elementales como la alternancia indiscriminada entre tiempo verbal presente y pretérito, que le da una gran inconsistencia a la prosa. Una pena, porque creo que se podría haber pulido mucho más el resultado de la que sin duda ha sido una investigación rica por parte de la autora.
Despite not shying away from the book's truly nightmarish subject, O'Brien manages to find a respectful, honest and even occasionally beautiful way of telling the girl's story.
The focus of the narration is not only on the cruelty that the kidnapped girls have to endure, but also on the failure of their family and society to find a fitting or humane response to these experiences.
O'Brien uses a technique of seeming to describe an actual nightmare that unnoticably developps into a lived experience to capture the horror of the story. This seemed like an unfamiliar and absolutely fitting literary device to me.
Overall, a harrowing but necessary and rewarding read.
The focus of the narration is not only on the cruelty that the kidnapped girls have to endure, but also on the failure of their family and society to find a fitting or humane response to these experiences.
O'Brien uses a technique of seeming to describe an actual nightmare that unnoticably developps into a lived experience to capture the horror of the story. This seemed like an unfamiliar and absolutely fitting literary device to me.
Overall, a harrowing but necessary and rewarding read.
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated