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3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
Engaging book dealing with a subject that can apply to any culture being invaded or encroached upon by a "foreign" culture and religion. Well-written, with the exception of the last few chapters, which tended to reiterate the quandaries and became, to me, tedious and redundant.
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Religious bigotry
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
An incredibly compelling tale especially considering how surprisingly short the story is - Thiong'o is quite the economical storyteller.
While feeling incomplete in areas, and ending sooner than I'd have liked it too, The River Between nevertheless masterfully explores the themes of colonialism, religious clashes, and the loss of one's home. Waiyaki is an incredibly likeable protagonist - even when you feel he's going in the wrong direction, you still understand where he's coming from - and that applies to pretty much every character in the story too. There's a cast of characters with widely differing views and while they're not all the most sympathetic, they all feel genuinely passionate and righteous.
I especially like the relative lack of focus on the white colonisers - this is a story about colonialism infecting a region and causing things to fall apart, and such stories, in my opinion, work best when they focus primarily on the people that colonialism acts upon, as opposed to those who practice it.
I do think the romance subplot could have been fleshed out more, and I would have liked a few extra chapters in the end to show how everything ends up - even if the book gives us an idea of what happens - so it's not a perfect story, but it's an incredibly absorbing and memorable one.
While feeling incomplete in areas, and ending sooner than I'd have liked it too, The River Between nevertheless masterfully explores the themes of colonialism, religious clashes, and the loss of one's home. Waiyaki is an incredibly likeable protagonist - even when you feel he's going in the wrong direction, you still understand where he's coming from - and that applies to pretty much every character in the story too. There's a cast of characters with widely differing views and while they're not all the most sympathetic, they all feel genuinely passionate and righteous.
I especially like the relative lack of focus on the white colonisers - this is a story about colonialism infecting a region and causing things to fall apart, and such stories, in my opinion, work best when they focus primarily on the people that colonialism acts upon, as opposed to those who practice it.
I do think the romance subplot could have been fleshed out more, and I would have liked a few extra chapters in the end to show how everything ends up - even if the book gives us an idea of what happens - so it's not a perfect story, but it's an incredibly absorbing and memorable one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation
I usually like character-based stories, but this one went nowhere. The entire time our protagonist went back and forth, making no progress on his decisions throughout the story. The reason for the extra star is that the writing and descriptions were beautiful, but this book needed a better story to highlight the writing.
This was school reading, and while it was definitely a more challenging read, it was not interesting plot wise nor in characters for my taste.
emotional
informative
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A deeply nuanced narrative exploring the experience of Kenyan tribes as white men arrive and attempt to spread Christianity. Easy to read while touching on elements and issues in African culture/religion I’ve been learning about including animism, genealogy, covenants, and female circumcision (or FGM).
challenging
emotional
informative
tense
slow-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:
Complicated
this is a really good depiction of the smaller scale tension that imperialism and religion can cause. The characters were really interesting and realistic but the actual plot wasn't very riveting
This was a poignant story about an African village (two, actually) and the conflicts they face as a result of encroaching colonization and the Christianization of some of the villagers. The novel reminded me a lot of Achebe's canonical Things Fall Apart. For readers who also enjoy Achebe's work, this is a worthy read to learn more about the impacts of colonization on African life.