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adam_nie's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Skimming the cover gave me entirely the wrong impression. This is a book about the tragedy of colonialism as told by the colonizers. Troubling throughout.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Racism, Violence, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Colonisation, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Police brutality, Sexism, and Sexual assault
beanie_bob's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Reading Around The World (1/199): Gabon
Spoiler Free Review: Dark and dramatic without being pulpy but it still retains a noir vibe. I feel like this would translate really well to film (and in fact, it has been but I can’t find it readily available anywhere). This book is exactly what it says on the tin; reading the introduction really does set a basis for how to approach the text and Simenon’s anti-colonialist views.
There are no heroes in this book. Once the plot is set in motion there is no stopping it and Timar’s feeble attempt at the end is only met with his own feverish demise - moonstroke.
I thought the final chapter was weak and more of an epilogue to the cliff hanger of chapter 12. I think that’s more reflective of the time period this was written. I think a contemporary author might have filled in the falling action between Timar’s outburst in the courthouse and his winding up on the boat. That’s my only issue with the writing/structure.
This anti-colonial book is written by a white Frenchman and is mostly about the mentality of white French colonizers. Adele, the antagonist and love interest, kills Thomas a black boy on her hotel staff when he tries to blackmail her (since she has taken Timar as a lover). And then frames a Gabonese villager for the murder.
So we see how the black people of Gabon are lesser in the eyes of the white colonizers; the white loggers abuse them, Adele lacks respect or compassion for her staff & vendors, and Timar sees them as interchangeable, dull, simplistic and childlike. When they laugh or joke he can’t imagine that it’s sincere or intentional, he thinks it’s babble for the sake of noise.
And the Gabonese have worked out their own limited hierarchy under French colonial rule; the men sacrifice their women to be raped or whored. The chief selects a man in his village to take the fall for Thomas’ murder -in exchange for what? Food, protection, work? It’s unknown.
This book is sad. There is no justice and the truth dies as Timar succumbs to fever and delirium. Timar transforms from a naive ‘promising young frenchman’ to an angry drunk to a mad man. He’s pitiable and hatable and as much a threat and disturbance to Gabon as any other colonizer or expat in the book.
Spoiler Free Review: Dark and dramatic without being pulpy but it still retains a noir vibe. I feel like this would translate really well to film (and in fact, it has been but I can’t find it readily available anywhere). This book is exactly what it says on the tin; reading the introduction really does set a basis for how to approach the text and Simenon’s anti-colonialist views.
I thought the final chapter was weak and more of an epilogue to the cliff hanger of chapter 12. I think that’s more reflective of the time period this was written. I think a contemporary author might have filled in the falling action between Timar’s outburst in the courthouse and his winding up on the boat. That’s my only issue with the writing/structure.
This anti-colonial book is written by a white Frenchman and is mostly about the mentality of white French colonizers. Adele, the antagonist and love interest, kills Thomas a black boy on her hotel staff when he tries to blackmail her (since she has taken Timar as a lover). And then frames a Gabonese villager for the murder.
So we see how the black people of Gabon are lesser in the eyes of the white colonizers; the white loggers abuse them, Adele lacks respect or compassion for her staff & vendors, and Timar sees them as interchangeable, dull, simplistic and childlike. When they laugh or joke he can’t imagine that it’s sincere or intentional, he thinks it’s babble for the sake of noise.
And the Gabonese have worked out their own limited hierarchy under French colonial rule; the men sacrifice their women to be raped or whored. The chief selects a man in his village to take the fall for Thomas’ murder -in exchange for what? Food, protection, work? It’s unknown.
This book is sad. There is no justice and the truth dies as Timar succumbs to fever and delirium. Timar transforms from a naive ‘promising young frenchman’ to an angry drunk to a mad man. He’s pitiable and hatable and as much a threat and disturbance to Gabon as any other colonizer or expat in the book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder, Alcohol, and Racism
Minor: Rape
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