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chlo_nelsonnn's review against another edition
5.0
“I had nothing but books inside my head, and they were burning me, burning with the engines of hope and illusion into the endless expanse of air”
What an incredible author. This should be deemed a classic, for it far exceeds any sort of comprehension relevant to that of the sane mind. Moreover, it is overwhelmingly intensive - both form and content will leave you feeling like a bubbling over has rendered you empty with a ringing in your ears as if you’ve been hearing nothing but your own screaming. Highly highly recommend. Marechera is the writer’s writer - deeply loved by the writer’s mind, yet deeply hated by the greater society’s head
What an incredible author. This should be deemed a classic, for it far exceeds any sort of comprehension relevant to that of the sane mind. Moreover, it is overwhelmingly intensive - both form and content will leave you feeling like a bubbling over has rendered you empty with a ringing in your ears as if you’ve been hearing nothing but your own screaming. Highly highly recommend. Marechera is the writer’s writer - deeply loved by the writer’s mind, yet deeply hated by the greater society’s head
lydiogames's review against another edition
challenging
dark
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
sometimes you've got to know when you're beat and this thing just isn't for me I think. a vital and important read with real things to say but ultimately far too fractured in its prose and perspective to ever feel like a comfortable read. and sure, that's partly the point, but Marechera is clearly guided by superb writing talent and demonstrates real flashes of both fascinating prose and mind opening symbolism, metaphor, observation. it's instead left feeling inescapably messy, dictated with some awkward turns of phrase and text (that I have to assume are simply the result of Zimbabwean dialect, totally happy to admit it's not my place to knock that, but it doesn't help on top of such a push-pull series of events). and god does this get repetitive. feels like there's a near endless description of beatings happening one after the other with much of the same actions and metaphors over and over ("stains!", "crushed my face"). unfortunately just held a little too distant from the "I" of the novel and the frequent disparaging of women and feminine characteristics that seem pretty deeply ingrained with little meaningful reflection or even a real personable quality, just frequent and simple acknowledgements of it.
still though, can recognise the strengths of this thing and to an extent I completely understand all of the acclaim; much more of a me thing. it's impressive all the same, and did truly start off strong, but lost me and lost me further as things continued.
still though, can recognise the strengths of this thing and to an extent I completely understand all of the acclaim; much more of a me thing. it's impressive all the same, and did truly start off strong, but lost me and lost me further as things continued.
christensen5's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
ru_rue's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
charliereadsalot's review against another edition
3.5
3.5 STARS
CW: violence, blood, gore, mention of self-harm & suicidal ideation, sexual assault, rape, mention of abortion
I will have to think on this book. It's very dense with imagery and I found the narrative voice very interesting in concert with the themes and symbols that were used throughout the text. Once again, this was for class and I wouldn't have picked it up otherwise. I wouldn't say I enjoyed it a lot but, academically, it was very compelling to me.
CW: violence, blood, gore, mention of self-harm & suicidal ideation, sexual assault, rape, mention of abortion
I will have to think on this book. It's very dense with imagery and I found the narrative voice very interesting in concert with the themes and symbols that were used throughout the text. Once again, this was for class and I wouldn't have picked it up otherwise. I wouldn't say I enjoyed it a lot but, academically, it was very compelling to me.
gormenghost's review against another edition
4.0
The prose is beautiful, the entire book dream-like, diving into the protagonist's memories and resurfacing, the narration similar to the old man's stories with no beginning or end at the end of the novel