Reviews

The City Always Wins by Omar Robert Hamilton

janlc's review against another edition

dark emotional informative sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.0

En stærk oplevelse. Vi bliver smidt ind midt i det kaotiske maskinrum i revolutionen i Cairo.
Efterdønningerne af det arabiske forår, der brød ud (i Egypten) i januar 2011 er i gang og vi lander midt i det. Vi følger en gruppe unge, der i et mediekollektiv arbejder for at vælte Egyptens dikator, Mubarrak. 
Over en længere periode følger vi ændringerne i revolutionen og konsekvenserne for de mennesker, der er involveret i den. 
Hvad sker der med en revolution, hvis der ikke er et klart mål om, hvor den skal hen? Hvordan definerer man overhovedet, hvor den skal hen? 

Bogen er delt op i 3 dele, og i hver del skriftes der fortællestil. Vi kommer forbi nutid, 1. personsfortæller, 3. person, datid og alt derimellem. Det fungerer rigtig godt, og underbygger skiftet i stemning undervejs. Fra optimisme over fremtiden til det fatalistisk depressive.

bearpolar's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

4.5

annabanana96's review against another edition

5.0

This is a kind of personal book which took me on an emotional journey because I lived in Cairo and experienced at least the beginning of the revolution. This book is incredibly powerful, telling in a kind of non-linear chaotic way the story of the Egyptian revolution from the view of one of the revolutionaries. It is raw, brutally real, down to the description of the torture of people. I glimpsed at a parallel world which I never experienced or was aware of when I lived there as a teenager from a foreign country. This was enlightening, being like a veil being pulled back, exposing the dark and dirty side of the wonderfully prepared stage on which you stood and thought everything was so great on. The book paints the euphoria of the young people hoping to change everything. It has thought-provoking pictures and symbols. The lines transport you to the hot, dusty, loud and crowded streets of Cairo. This book also has, however, some issues. More than once I was confused as to what was happening and where everybody was. There are a lot of names. In the middle I thought one of the main characters died, only finding out pages later that was not the case. There are snippets of thoughts from parents, Twitter, news etc. thrown in. Be prepared to read lines of thoughts, over a page, until anything else happens. This style of writing is probably not to everybody's taste. Still, this book left an impression on me and I just can't help but give it 5 stars.

bs_'s review against another edition

challenging emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

3.75

zahrareads's review

dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Gun violence, Police brutality, Death, and Sexual violence

tarunmalik's review

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

• 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

4.75

emcatbee's review

dark sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

smacbot's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.25

The narrative is quite confusing, it's often hard to tell what's going on. Then it changes to 1st person for the last few chapters... 

laurenriebs's review

5.0

One of the most beautifully written novels and experiences about the struggle to believe in and enact change I have ever read.

mark_henrii's review

3.0

This book helped me better understand the Arab Spring in Egypt from the perspective of the activists and protestors on the ground. But it was a bit hard to follow, felt a bit disjointed and the narrator changed from passage to passage.