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3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Complicated
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
N/A
After reading Things Fall Apart by Achebe, I was interested in expanding my collection of literature from African authors. I am always interested in reading works from authors of all countries, so Kenya seemed a good next step. I have to say, however, that this one was a disappointment.
Now I was expecting for a command of English that was less than that of other authors, but this was far below what I had in mind. The overall writing style of Thiong'o was rushed and immature at best, and middle-school at worst. Any conversation between characters in the book can only be expected to last three to five lines before Thiong'o moves to summarize what they were saying. The description of the scenery was moderately lengthy, yet used basic diction that does not appeal to advanced readers.
The story itself in the book was far from perfect. There was not much character development in most characters. The main character for most of the book, Wayaki, did not have the utmost sympathy from the audience as the author would expect, as he often made decisions that had the reader asking "why?" And the ending was very rushed; after a few chapters of build up, the final "confrontation" was only a couple of pages long and ended in a disappointing ambiguity. The River Between was also very, very harsh against the Christians in the book, which, while understandable, was also distracting at some points (I am not Christian, so I do not have a bias in this respect). The main Christian leader Joshua was cruel for no apparent reason, seemingly pointing to the author's inherent hatred for the religion as a whole.
Overall, I give this book a 2/5, it's only redeeming quality being its defence of native customs which I agree with. The story itself, however, is poorly told.
Now I was expecting for a command of English that was less than that of other authors, but this was far below what I had in mind. The overall writing style of Thiong'o was rushed and immature at best, and middle-school at worst. Any conversation between characters in the book can only be expected to last three to five lines before Thiong'o moves to summarize what they were saying. The description of the scenery was moderately lengthy, yet used basic diction that does not appeal to advanced readers.
The story itself in the book was far from perfect. There was not much character development in most characters. The main character for most of the book, Wayaki, did not have the utmost sympathy from the audience as the author would expect, as he often made decisions that had the reader asking "why?" And the ending was very rushed; after a few chapters of build up, the final "confrontation" was only a couple of pages long and ended in a disappointing ambiguity. The River Between was also very, very harsh against the Christians in the book, which, while understandable, was also distracting at some points (I am not Christian, so I do not have a bias in this respect). The main Christian leader Joshua was cruel for no apparent reason, seemingly pointing to the author's inherent hatred for the religion as a whole.
Overall, I give this book a 2/5, it's only redeeming quality being its defence of native customs which I agree with. The story itself, however, is poorly told.
I am not entirely sure what I should say; so I will let the words marinate for a little while.
Really well-written, absorbing story. The ending was a little disappointing, which is why I couldn't give it five stars, but the writing was beautiful, and I loved the characters and the poignancy of the conflict they faced.