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pearloz's review
4.0
Great book set in a country I knew nothing about—Equatorial Guinea. I was floored to learn how similar it was to Latin American countries, Mexico in particular given the strength of the patriarchy, and the amount of curadarismo that permeates the book. The book concerns a lesbian teenager trying to survive in a deeply patriarchal world where dowrys are still paid, and an arcane set of rules subjugate women. Our narrator is a bastarda, a fatherless girl because no one paid a “bride price” to the mother’s family when she was pregnant. If a woman dies her widower is entitled to his deceased wife’s sister. When a husband dies, his widow needs to be impregnated by the deceased’s brother. Gay men and lesbian women are called “man-woman” and “woman-man” and ostracized.
When our narrator finds a community of lesbian teenagers, her world simultaneously gets larger and smaller. Then she goes off I search of her father. Wonderful book, all too short!
When our narrator finds a community of lesbian teenagers, her world simultaneously gets larger and smaller. Then she goes off I search of her father. Wonderful book, all too short!
hanntastic's review against another edition
Global Read Challenge 18: Equatorial Guinea
As a lot of the reviews mention, this is the first book by an Equatorial Guinean woman to be published in English and that's super exciting. It is a short intense beautiful novella. Despite its brevity I felt I got a strong sense of the character and place. It is such a quick read that there's really no reason not to read it.
As a lot of the reviews mention, this is the first book by an Equatorial Guinean woman to be published in English and that's super exciting. It is a short intense beautiful novella. Despite its brevity I felt I got a strong sense of the character and place. It is such a quick read that there's really no reason not to read it.
megansoetaert's review against another edition
emotional
fast-paced
4.5
a very very quick read that packs a punch. I don’t know why this is rated so low—i thought it was well done, emotional, and authentic. the ending did feel a little rushed, i agree w others about that!
sending love to my queer siblings the world round, especially other women & girls. this book shows how impossible it can be to be us, but there’s always hope for our futures.
sending love to my queer siblings the world round, especially other women & girls. this book shows how impossible it can be to be us, but there’s always hope for our futures.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape and Homophobia
temi_m's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
namakurhea's review against another edition
5.0
I was surprised to see Goodreads rating this book 3.6 because yo, THIS IS A FIVE STARS READ FOR ME. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This book is one of many examples why you should never judge a book by its GR rating.
In only 88 pages, this book discusses so much! At surface level it’s basically a coming-of-age story as our main character, Okomo, tries to define herself in a community that is suffocatingly patriarchal and heteronormative. I’m putting the brief summary at the slide above so that I can proceed to mention everything I love about this work.
I decided to read this book not just from a literary lense. I learned my lesson from when I was reading “Women Dreaming” by Salma where I was very sharp in my review...when in fact I was limitting myself to judging the work from literary lense. So when reading “La Bastarda”, I keep in mind that this is the first novel by a female author from Equatorial Guinea (a country with 1.5 mio population and the only country in the continent where Spanish is the official language). This book is banned in Equatorial Guinea and as per info from @transitsanta, it is no longer in print. This book is also published by @feministpress . All the aforementioned things made me think that “Hey perhaps Trifonia Melibea Obono wrote this book as a stand; a statement.” NOT to get high GR ratings. NOT to please someone looking for character development. But to portray a character’s journey to self-determination in a society that so close to a heteronormative script.
I love the afterword by Abosede George in which she also talks about how LGBT rights activists were often accused of being “Un-African”. “La Bastarda” counteracts this argument because eventually Okomo and her friends found solace deeper within the jungles of Equatorial Guinea (in contrast with going to a more liberal metropolis like in Western societies).
In only 88 pages, this book discusses so much! At surface level it’s basically a coming-of-age story as our main character, Okomo, tries to define herself in a community that is suffocatingly patriarchal and heteronormative. I’m putting the brief summary at the slide above so that I can proceed to mention everything I love about this work.
I decided to read this book not just from a literary lense. I learned my lesson from when I was reading “Women Dreaming” by Salma where I was very sharp in my review...when in fact I was limitting myself to judging the work from literary lense. So when reading “La Bastarda”, I keep in mind that this is the first novel by a female author from Equatorial Guinea (a country with 1.5 mio population and the only country in the continent where Spanish is the official language). This book is banned in Equatorial Guinea and as per info from @transitsanta, it is no longer in print. This book is also published by @feministpress . All the aforementioned things made me think that “Hey perhaps Trifonia Melibea Obono wrote this book as a stand; a statement.” NOT to get high GR ratings. NOT to please someone looking for character development. But to portray a character’s journey to self-determination in a society that so close to a heteronormative script.
I love the afterword by Abosede George in which she also talks about how LGBT rights activists were often accused of being “Un-African”. “La Bastarda” counteracts this argument because eventually Okomo and her friends found solace deeper within the jungles of Equatorial Guinea (in contrast with going to a more liberal metropolis like in Western societies).
torrie_reads's review
4.0
Thoughts
I am so glad that @tumasbooks recommended this book when we were talking about all the countries I still needed to fill for my reading Around the World series.
It hooked me from the beginning and I didn't want to put it down. And like any good book it had me Googling to learn more about the place.
"I thought only of my father: where he was and why he didn't come looking for me. I needed to see him, to kiss him and tell him everything that had happened to me since I was a child. I wanted to tell him that I would go live with him even if he had no home, no family, no friends; to show him my good grades; and to ask him to come whenever there were celebrations at my school."
When I got to that quote (on page 20) I knew this book was going to be good. The way it pierced my heart. Tears started to well up in my eyes halfway through it.
Okomo is a great MC. This book is filled with so many trigger warnings so please check those out or ask me if you have any concerns, but it is one I would recommend reading.
My only complaint is that the ending felt a little rushed. I wish it was a little bit longer with more detail.
The afterward was great as well.
I am so glad that @tumasbooks recommended this book when we were talking about all the countries I still needed to fill for my reading Around the World series.
It hooked me from the beginning and I didn't want to put it down. And like any good book it had me Googling to learn more about the place.
"I thought only of my father: where he was and why he didn't come looking for me. I needed to see him, to kiss him and tell him everything that had happened to me since I was a child. I wanted to tell him that I would go live with him even if he had no home, no family, no friends; to show him my good grades; and to ask him to come whenever there were celebrations at my school."
When I got to that quote (on page 20) I knew this book was going to be good. The way it pierced my heart. Tears started to well up in my eyes halfway through it.
Okomo is a great MC. This book is filled with so many trigger warnings so please check those out or ask me if you have any concerns, but it is one I would recommend reading.
My only complaint is that the ending felt a little rushed. I wish it was a little bit longer with more detail.
The afterward was great as well.
madivanthof08's review
challenging
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- 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
abgraver97's review
3.0
This was fine, it touched on some interesting cultures I had never read about before but too much on "insta love" for me.
kitta's review
challenging
dark
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- 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
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Misogyny, Lesbophobia, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual violence, and Outing