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abbeyyyrosee's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
I believe Gurnah achieved the story he was wanting to tell; it was reflective and informational, and it demonstrated the lived experience and nuance of attitudes toward both the German and British colonizers. It makes me think about self and the morality of the individual and how it ties into our singular position in a living, breathing society that will persist with or without us. Societies built by many to benefit the few, and yet impact us all. Published in 2020, it seems to make an indirect comparison to the times we're living in now: many of us bystanders to the wars around the world and the hatred at home. A society rife with racism, homophobia, and all other forms of discrimination that we're expected to move through. It is difficult to live when you must first survive.
Graphic: Racial slurs, Colonisation, Slavery, Child abuse, War, and Racism
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, and Miscarriage
Minor: Bullying
charlyhannah's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Miscarriage and War
blessing_aj's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
However, at its heart lies a broader scope centered around the subject of colonialism of the nations in East Africa with specific focus on the region now known as Tanzania; interrogating how and why it happened and who should take the blame for the events that unfolded as a result.
Abdulrazak is part of the older generation of African writers and his storytelling is very much reminiscent of that fact, but I didn’t mind it at all. As a matter of fact, I dare say I enjoyed it more because of that, since like his peers, he writes what he likes without the veil of political correctness that some contemporary African writers struggle with.
I really liked how well crafted the plot was and how much intentionality went into the creation of the personalities and actions of the characters, but it is the social and political commentary on or the audacity of the the Germans and the British to meddle in other peoples territory and the Tanzanian nationals who fought for them to bring about the colonization of their own homeland, that endears this book to my heart.
Graphic: Chronic illness, Blood, Death, Infertility, Miscarriage, and War
Moderate: Torture
bookmaddie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Graphic: Death, Violence, and War
Moderate: Miscarriage
jennikreads's review against another edition
3.5
Graphic: Colonisation, Abandonment, Child abuse, Violence, Death, and War
Moderate: Death of parent and Miscarriage
nfoutty's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Colonisation, Miscarriage, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and War
Moderate: Infertility, Emotional abuse, Cancer, Death, and Infidelity
Minor: Pregnancy, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Ableism, Religious bigotry, Sexism, and Abandonment
nialiversuch's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Cancer, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Ableism, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Colonisation, Religious bigotry, Terminal illness, Slavery, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Abandonment, Death of parent, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Islamophobia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , War, and Xenophobia
luananki's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Violence, War, Colonisation, Death, Racism, and Slavery
Moderate: Alcohol, Cancer, and Grief
ladymirtazapine's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Cancer, Child abuse, Colonisation, Death, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual harassment, Toxic friendship, War, and Violence