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charliezegers's review
2.0
Maybe my least-favorite Elmore Leonard to this point. Could have been a much more compelling story, but the structure he opted to use this time was sort of detached, which made the book feel awfully "talky."
ibebrie's review
2.0
I saw the reviews to this and tried really hard to give it a chance.
This was my first book by Elmore Leonard, and he may be a great author and this was just a flop...bit this was definitely a flop. I hated the writing style, especially towards the middle of the book, when the style switched from an already disjointed display to an even more disjointed discussion to move the plot forward.
I also found the plot too tired. It almost seemed like the author was trying to half a** his way through and hoped no one would notice because it had a lot of fast passed "24"-style action to it. Well I caught it and it made the book really hard to read.
Probably the worst thing about this book is the last scene. It almost seemed like the author forgot that his book hadn't ended and threw something together. The thing that made this exceptionally terrible was the last line. For shame Mr Leonard. A line like that should never be used in seriousness. That is all I will say about that!
This was my first book by Elmore Leonard, and he may be a great author and this was just a flop...bit this was definitely a flop. I hated the writing style, especially towards the middle of the book, when the style switched from an already disjointed display to an even more disjointed discussion to move the plot forward.
I also found the plot too tired. It almost seemed like the author was trying to half a** his way through and hoped no one would notice because it had a lot of fast passed "24"-style action to it. Well I caught it and it made the book really hard to read.
Probably the worst thing about this book is the last scene. It almost seemed like the author forgot that his book hadn't ended and threw something together. The thing that made this exceptionally terrible was the last line. For shame Mr Leonard. A line like that should never be used in seriousness. That is all I will say about that!
scienceworks's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
annabella82's review
1.0
This novel started out with such promise but then somewhere along the line something went horribly wrong. I was really turned off by this novel; it got to a point where the story got "weird" and I just couldn't follow it anymore.
It felt like Leonard started the story going in one direction and then, for shits and giggles, changed his mind and went in a completely different direction with it.
Don't even get me started on the characters...they were so unrealistic and unlikeable that I was so happy when I actually finished reading the book that I could erase them from my mind.
It felt like Leonard started the story going in one direction and then, for shits and giggles, changed his mind and went in a completely different direction with it.
Don't even get me started on the characters...they were so unrealistic and unlikeable that I was so happy when I actually finished reading the book that I could erase them from my mind.
doctortdm's review
2.0
As other reviewers have stated this book lacks a plot which would be ok if the dialog was halfway entertaining which isn't.
austinburns's review against another edition
4.0
i really don’t like the framing where all of the action happens off page and then is relayed to us by two people talking about it. luckily that’s only in the beginning and it gets better after that. also the ending was not great.
tinabaich's review
2.0
Djibouti follows documentary filmmaker, Dara Barr, and her right-hand man, Xavier LeBo, in a quest to make a documentary about Somali pirates. They travel to Djibouti and spend several weeks at sea gathering footage. The book begins with Dara's arrival in Djibouti, but once they set off on their rented boat, Leonard cuts back to their return to Djibouti. Through the majority of the novel, Dara and Xavier's view points are conveyed through a review of this footage. The reader isn't reading the events firsthand, but reads them through the lenses of Dara and Xavier's hindsight. The reader does, however, get to know what happens outside of the film footage. After hearing from Dara and Xavier, the reader is taken back to the action to see the roles of the other characters play out.
I know, this is sounding really complicated and hard to follow. While I may not be explaining it well, this narrative device isn't hard to follow as a reader. It's really an interesting concept and succeeds in conveying the story. At the end, I felt like I'd just read the rough cut of a film. Leonard is extremely clever in his execution.
That being said, I did have trouble getting into Djibouti at first. From the opening page, I found Xavier's dialect jarring. I had to re-read the first page a few times to get the rhythm of his speech, which does not pay much attention, if any, to sentence structure. I kept getting confused by words missing from sentences. I did get used to it after awhile, but never felt completely comfortable with it. My other nit-picky complaint is the lack of a map. I'm not very familiar, okay, not at all familiar, with the geography of the region in which the story takes place. I finally used my smartphone to pull up a map so I could see where the heck Djibouti is (just north of Somalia in the Horn of Africa).
Despite these complaints, I found myself continuing to read. I think I was fascinated by the subject matter and the way in which the story was being told. This is the first book by Elmore Leonard I've ever read, and I'd be willing to read another in future. I've seen some mixed reviews out there, but I think Djibouti is well-executed despites its oddities. If you are a true Leonard fan or are intrigued by the rough cut film narrative device, you should read Djibouti. Otherwise, you can probably move it to the bottom of your TBR pile.
http://iubookgirl.blogspot.com/2010/12/review-djibouti.html
I know, this is sounding really complicated and hard to follow. While I may not be explaining it well, this narrative device isn't hard to follow as a reader. It's really an interesting concept and succeeds in conveying the story. At the end, I felt like I'd just read the rough cut of a film. Leonard is extremely clever in his execution.
That being said, I did have trouble getting into Djibouti at first. From the opening page, I found Xavier's dialect jarring. I had to re-read the first page a few times to get the rhythm of his speech, which does not pay much attention, if any, to sentence structure. I kept getting confused by words missing from sentences. I did get used to it after awhile, but never felt completely comfortable with it. My other nit-picky complaint is the lack of a map. I'm not very familiar, okay, not at all familiar, with the geography of the region in which the story takes place. I finally used my smartphone to pull up a map so I could see where the heck Djibouti is (just north of Somalia in the Horn of Africa).
Despite these complaints, I found myself continuing to read. I think I was fascinated by the subject matter and the way in which the story was being told. This is the first book by Elmore Leonard I've ever read, and I'd be willing to read another in future. I've seen some mixed reviews out there, but I think Djibouti is well-executed despites its oddities. If you are a true Leonard fan or are intrigued by the rough cut film narrative device, you should read Djibouti. Otherwise, you can probably move it to the bottom of your TBR pile.
http://iubookgirl.blogspot.com/2010/12/review-djibouti.html
msjoanna's review against another edition
3.0
Many cool characters and cool ideas meandering about a bit trying to find a coherent story. As he always does, Leonard created popping dialogue and complex characters who are decidedly not all good, even when they are the heroes of the story.
I couldn't help feeling that Xavier was an author-stand-in. He's a 72-year-old cool black guy generally showing up and proving that he's still awfully awesome. I loved him. And obviously, so did Leonard.
The narrator did his best with this somewhat disjointed novel and it ultimately found it's core story with the tale of an American-turned-terrorist who takes over the story about halfway through. Once he entered, all the other characters came into sharper focus and the action had a direction.
Not my favorite Elmore Leonard, not especially recommended, but not awful either.
I couldn't help feeling that Xavier was an author-stand-in. He's a 72-year-old cool black guy generally showing up and proving that he's still awfully awesome. I loved him. And obviously, so did Leonard.
The narrator did his best with this somewhat disjointed novel and it ultimately found it's core story with the tale of an American-turned-terrorist who takes over the story about halfway through. Once he entered, all the other characters came into sharper focus and the action had a direction.
Not my favorite Elmore Leonard, not especially recommended, but not awful either.
bick_mcswiney's review
2.0
Started off good, but ended in a mess. This my first Elmore Leonard, and I wish I had started with something else. Could somebody please tell me what the point of the climax was? Pretty disappointing, if you ask me.