Scan barcode
pearloz's review
4.0
The writing was pretty extraordinary for a book about such a savage, almost inhuman place. Tram 83 is a place of chaos and greed and lust forced and fulfilled, and feels like it's located at the end of the world. Characters blow in and out in a whirlwind of booze and trash and music, and our main character is carried along for the ride like a kid lost at a carnival.
elleneam's review
4.0
At first, I found this book disorientating, confusing, struggling to understand the whirlwind of characters and settings, histories all while trying to grab for some kind of plot. But once I'd gotten used to the strange rhythm of the book I began to see how it captures the desperate energy of lives denied so much and confined to so little, of the oppression of work, colonialism, imperialism and greed which forces us to work and fight each other and try to eke out some kind of meaning in our lives in the slither of free time we have left. It captures the contradictions and vying factions post-colonial states living in the wreckage of failed revolutions with vultures swooping in from abroad and picking at the carcass of what is left. A fantastic read.
irishavincentwaterson's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
4.25
blackringbooks's review
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
niharm_1368's review
4.0
A really unique novel, somehow making me care about the flawed side characters of Tram 83 despite their limited but repeated appearances. My only issue was how unlikable both the main characters are, but that is perhaps the point, making the issue more of a personal taste.
gabbolovesbooks's review
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
fast-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
3.0
mkesten's review
3.0
Mwanza Mujila’s Tram 83 is a very raw portrait of a post-Colonial state tucked into south central Africa. Tram 83 itself seems to be a bar or whorehouse near a railway station anchoring the urban wasteland between miners and soldiers and tourists, although not the class of tourist one would expect in Miami Beach or Disneyworld,
The dialogue between Lucien, a writer, and Requiem, his pal/agent, is flinty.
Jazz blasts from the stage. Scantily-clad waitresses deliver cold beer and liquor to the tables. Prostitutes and their clientele rotate endlessly in the washrooms.
I am reminded of the super-realism of Bulgakov, or Joseph Heller’s Catch-22, or Daniel Dafoe’s London. A funny but nightmarish landscape of broken down institutions, violence, and crooked cops.
It seems only to come alive at night.
I almost expect Anthony Bourdain to pop up with a voice-over “I just happened to meet an old friend along the way to the charming neighbourhood bordellos...”
The dialogue between Lucien, a writer, and Requiem, his pal/agent, is flinty.
Jazz blasts from the stage. Scantily-clad waitresses deliver cold beer and liquor to the tables. Prostitutes and their clientele rotate endlessly in the washrooms.
I am reminded of the super-realism of Bulgakov, or Joseph Heller’s Catch-22, or Daniel Dafoe’s London. A funny but nightmarish landscape of broken down institutions, violence, and crooked cops.
It seems only to come alive at night.
I almost expect Anthony Bourdain to pop up with a voice-over “I just happened to meet an old friend along the way to the charming neighbourhood bordellos...”
aalayah's review
adventurous
challenging
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Drug use, Rape, Sexual assault, Classism, Cursing, Drug abuse, Misogyny, Murder, Animal death, Blood, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Addiction, Colonisation, Death, Alcoholism, Body horror, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infidelity, Sexism, Sexual content, and Racial slurs
idkwhosara's review
challenging
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25