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chichio's review
challenging
dark
sad
tense
fast-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
5.0
“God’s truth, that’s how things go, that’s how the world is: each thing is double.”
Jesus Christ. This was such a searing experience. I couldn’t put the book down…I literally read it all in one sitting.
This book takes on large themes despite it being such a quick read. In this narrative, Diop speaks on race, war, toxic masculinity, and the way these three things aggravate one another, coming together to create a complex discussion on humanity, and the loss thereof.
It’s a dark, unbelievably bleak read, yet it’s still poetic and beautifully literary—I found myself highlighting a lot of lines. The character voice in this is so strong and disturbing; Diop drags you into the mind of our protagonist, Alfa, and forces you to accompany him during his descent into madness. In the latter half of the book, as Alfa grows narcissistic, you begin to sense that he’s not just an unreliable narrator, but also an unbelievably unlikeable one, worn down into something ugly by grief and guilt.
The prose is filled with repetition. Repetition of phrases, themes, and metaphors, but it works. It works. They perfectly highlight Alfa’s mental state, and the nonlinear narrative confuses you and forces you to keep up with him as his mind bounces between the past and the present, reality and delusion.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Grief, Classism, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Xenophobia, War, Death, and Sexual assault
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