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kivt's review against another edition
2.0
I wanted this book to be good, and occasionally it was. Every four or five pages there was a small passage that practically made my heart stop, but the pointlessly and indulgently dreary filler between those passages made this book almost impossible to finish. It's a huge disappointment because the premise is great. Unfortunately nearly nothing about the execution is worthwhile. The basic plot is unnecessary and somewhat insulting, the prose is repetitive, and constant comparisons of cities to "old whores" is particularly tasteless and boring. Sometimes authors revel in their characters' misogyny as an attempt to make a story "gritty" or "realistic," but it usually falls flat if the reader is even halfway awake. This is a good example.
I want to clarify that I don't think the book was bad because the protagonist was "whiny" "entitled" or "boring." Rather, the author's specific choices of how to explore the protagonist's (and his mother's) trauma were misogynist, boring, and immensely disappointing. The choice to echo the structure & events of "The Stranger" was unnecessary and poorly executed besides. There's a lot to explore about what the concept of "the absurd" even means in a post-colonial context, or what "the absurd" might mean to a family whose son was abruptly murdered and thoroughly erased, but Daoud either doesn't attempt any of this or is very bad at it. The book needed much stronger editing.
I want to clarify that I don't think the book was bad because the protagonist was "whiny" "entitled" or "boring." Rather, the author's specific choices of how to explore the protagonist's (and his mother's) trauma were misogynist, boring, and immensely disappointing. The choice to echo the structure & events of "The Stranger" was unnecessary and poorly executed besides. There's a lot to explore about what the concept of "the absurd" even means in a post-colonial context, or what "the absurd" might mean to a family whose son was abruptly murdered and thoroughly erased, but Daoud either doesn't attempt any of this or is very bad at it. The book needed much stronger editing.
michinio's review against another edition
2.0
იდეა უსაინტერესოესია, მარა განხორციელება - ეჰ... ეს მწერალი მაგრად ცდილობს გაექცეს ბანალურობას და კლიშეებს, და გამოსდის კიდეც, მაგრამ ამ სირბილში ისეთ გრაფომანიულ ჯოჯოხეთში ამოყო თავი, ისევ კაი ზომიერი კლიშეები აჯობებდა imho
marie_blanc's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
aeblair's review against another edition
2.0
I only tolerated this because it was a follow up to the Stranger by Albert Camus. This was meant to be sloppy, I believe, but still it lacked depth for me. At the beginning, I was pleased to hear the family perspective on the Arab man passing away but it was drawn out in a very repetitive way. At one point in this book, the narrator says “I am doddling a lot, that must be annoying”. And I thought, that’s what I’ve been thinking this whole time.
jasmin_pike's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
dikshya's review against another edition
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- 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
ccbaxter's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.5
qls's review against another edition
4.0
post-colonial classic. the premise of this book is incredible and the use of literature as a space to explore the colonial relationship is brilliant.
there are moments in this book that are truly truly superb but a lot of it feels like an admission of defeat (on my part? or on the author's?) - and maybe that's the point. i prefer the theoretical to the "biographical"/story elements, and expected the book to be more of a linguistic and philosophical exploration and critique of the book. it's not, it's about the life of the survivor. it is messy. certainly my expectations were flawed, and perhaps this is better. but i can still see glimpses of the book i wanted this to be, and i'm a little sad.
there are moments in this book that are truly truly superb but a lot of it feels like an admission of defeat (on my part? or on the author's?) - and maybe that's the point. i prefer the theoretical to the "biographical"/story elements, and expected the book to be more of a linguistic and philosophical exploration and critique of the book. it's not, it's about the life of the survivor. it is messy. certainly my expectations were flawed, and perhaps this is better. but i can still see glimpses of the book i wanted this to be, and i'm a little sad.
karinlib's review against another edition
I'm not going to rate this because I found this book to be uneven. I liked the premise. A look at the murder victim's point of view from the [b:The Stranger|49552|The Stranger|Albert Camus|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1590930002l/49552._SY75_.jpg|3324344] by [a:Albert Camus|957894|Albert Camus|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1606568448p2/957894.jpg]. The first part of the book was repetitive. The last third or so of the book was the most interesting because the discussion of Independence and life in Oran, Algeria.
khargaotte's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5