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clarice_flora's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
A really evoking read. The imagery and writing style makes the world come to life and seem touchable, the emotions feelable immediately. A truly gripping story too, if slightly confusing at times when reading the book in smaller chunks. The most emotive part is reflected in the relationships of the spencer family. The siblings are true to life, loving and caring towards each other but suitably disillusioned with each other as well. Zala and Nats relationship development too is touching, real and effecting.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, Mass/school shootings, Kidnapping, Child abuse, and Murder
lildebbie57's review
1.0
This book took me months to read and I wish that I had put it down about 100 pages in. While I respect the story and some parts were well-written, it was overall messy and confusing. I couldn't keep characters straight and it left me incredibly frustrated.
black_girl_reading's review
4.0
This is a hard book, but an important one. The clunky nature of the writing is explained by the author passing away before it was edited. I found it easiest to read in small chunks to be sure. It isn't a treat to read, but it will change you.
hillybeans's review against another edition
3.0
This book should be interesting. Unfortunately, the weird pacing makes it incredibly difficult and tedious to read. Almost a slog. Bambara includes as many details about car trips and meals as she does about tragedies like the daycare explosion, which leads to a kind of boring presentation of events. Her pacing choices leave the reader without any clues as to which events are most important because she lends all events equal importance. Disappointing.
arrianne's review against another edition
4.0
It took me a while to get into this but it's actually a slow-grower and by the end of it I was glad I persisted. It's the story of Atlanta in the late 70s-early 80s, and a series of missing/murdered children. There is a lot of racism in the way the cases are handled, which kinda goes without saying, but the book is from the perspective mostly of one of the sets of parents whose child is missing and it really sucks you into what it would be like to have a missing child and have noone take you seriously.
amyvl93's review against another edition
dark
emotional
slow-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
3.0
<i>Those Bones are Not My Child</i> shines a light on a period of history I knew very little about, and I only wish the whole novel was a bit tighter so it could really pack the punch, and get the readers, it should.
We're placed in the period of the late 1970s and 1980s, during the period of the Atlanta Child Murders where at least 30 young people were murdered. We (mostly) follow Zelda, whose son Sonny at first doesn't return home after going out, and as the novel progresses it becomes clear that he as at risk of joining the number of young people who have passed away. Zelda and her estranged husband Spence become engulfed in the world of parent campaigners, local politics and their own investigation into what has happened to the children - rubbing against rumours of organised crime and the Ku Klux Klan.
There's a lot to like in here, Bambara crafts such close, detailed character studies, particularly in the first few days after Sonny's disappearance - and there are moments when you feel really placed in the family home, in the overcrowded police station and in the local barber shops.
However, it is also a novel which she spent about twelve years crafting, and was edited by her friend the legend Toni Morrison and published after her death. I think perhaps this was a slight flaw as as the novel progresses there are numerous time jumps which become increasingly difficult to follow, and numerous other characters added who also become difficult to keep track of.
An important story which is sometimes undermined by the structure - I am keen to read more of Bambara in the future.
We're placed in the period of the late 1970s and 1980s, during the period of the Atlanta Child Murders where at least 30 young people were murdered. We (mostly) follow Zelda, whose son Sonny at first doesn't return home after going out, and as the novel progresses it becomes clear that he as at risk of joining the number of young people who have passed away. Zelda and her estranged husband Spence become engulfed in the world of parent campaigners, local politics and their own investigation into what has happened to the children - rubbing against rumours of organised crime and the Ku Klux Klan.
There's a lot to like in here, Bambara crafts such close, detailed character studies, particularly in the first few days after Sonny's disappearance - and there are moments when you feel really placed in the family home, in the overcrowded police station and in the local barber shops.
However, it is also a novel which she spent about twelve years crafting, and was edited by her friend the legend Toni Morrison and published after her death. I think perhaps this was a slight flaw as as the novel progresses there are numerous time jumps which become increasingly difficult to follow, and numerous other characters added who also become difficult to keep track of.
An important story which is sometimes undermined by the structure - I am keen to read more of Bambara in the future.
sandra_buckwell's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
3.0
rose_89's review
got a sudden bombardment of reading materials for school, and this just seemed too slow and going nowhere to be worth sticking with
flexmcnutly's review
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
5.0
franceselsie's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-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? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Child abuse, Child death, Torture, Death, Racial slurs, and Sexual assault