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karinlib's review against another edition
4.0
This was a beautifully written novel about Sierra Leone after their decade Civil War (1991 - 2002), flashbacks to when the rebels ruled the land, and the atrocities that the average civilians had to endure.
estherokunlola's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
patchworkbunny's review against another edition
1.0
DNF
The Memory of Love is not an awful book. Most of my book group enjoyed it though they did seem to agree with me that it took 150 pages to get into. I gave up on page 164 (or 36%).
To be honest, I felt uninspired by the book before I even picked it up. A book about love in Sierra Leone. Sounds promising but I didn't engage at all with the characters and I felt it was all a bit unemotional. The group countered that it was more like real life. 1. I get enough real life as it is and 2. I am quite an emotional person (in real life). I felt like I was going through the motions of reading the words but not feeling them. Some thought it was beautifully written but when I compare it to some of my recent reads, it just doesn't cut the mustard in that respect either. I wasn't even moved by scenes of a country ruined by civil war because I felt it was glossed over. The parts I read that did deal with the effects of war did interest me more. There were also too many "main" characters yet not a lot separating them personality wise.
The Memory of Love is not an awful book. Most of my book group enjoyed it though they did seem to agree with me that it took 150 pages to get into. I gave up on page 164 (or 36%).
To be honest, I felt uninspired by the book before I even picked it up. A book about love in Sierra Leone. Sounds promising but I didn't engage at all with the characters and I felt it was all a bit unemotional. The group countered that it was more like real life. 1. I get enough real life as it is and 2. I am quite an emotional person (in real life). I felt like I was going through the motions of reading the words but not feeling them. Some thought it was beautifully written but when I compare it to some of my recent reads, it just doesn't cut the mustard in that respect either. I wasn't even moved by scenes of a country ruined by civil war because I felt it was glossed over. The parts I read that did deal with the effects of war did interest me more. There were also too many "main" characters yet not a lot separating them personality wise.
pebbles1984's review against another edition
2.0
This must have been the slowest book I've ever read. It took me exactly 1 month to read the 450 pages. For the first 70% I was just waiting for something to happen, then in the last 30% it picked up slightly, but still there were so many pages that I just found boring and had to force my way through. I have to admit I started skimming in the last third, reading a couple of sentences per page properly, and I was still able to follow all of it, so that says something. The reason I finished it is that it took me a long time to decide whether to continue or abandon, and by the time I decided on the latter I was so far in (56%) and already put so much effort in, that it felt like a waste of invested time if I did not finish.
I want to make clear though that this is my experience and I think the reasons it was so slow for me were the writing, the fact that nothing happened, and the lack of connection to the characters. However, I do think that objectively speaking this is not a bad book and I can imagine people giving it higher ratings. That, and the fact that I did finish, makes me give it 2 stars, even though the reading experience itself was more like 1.
I want to make clear though that this is my experience and I think the reasons it was so slow for me were the writing, the fact that nothing happened, and the lack of connection to the characters. However, I do think that objectively speaking this is not a bad book and I can imagine people giving it higher ratings. That, and the fact that I did finish, makes me give it 2 stars, even though the reading experience itself was more like 1.
tcm_62's review against another edition
5.0
A brilliant, intriguing, character-driven novel, Persevere with the beginning until the connections between the characters become clear. The hope-filled ending is very satisfying after the darker exploration of the devastating consequences of civil war within.
A novel to return to again.
A novel to return to again.
elsayles's review against another edition
dark
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Sierra Leone aftermath but also good details on international impact, pre conflict, and characters
brew_and_books's review against another edition
5.0
My chance encounters with books have been the best this year. I stumbled upon this in the library, and the cover had me, and then the blurb, and thank god I picked this up. I had never heard of the book or the author, so this book coming up as remarkably astounding and the best has been nothing but the sweetest reading surprise for me.
I am so over joyous about reading such a brilliant book and yet so out of words. I need to learn how to surmise it, but I will give a meek attempt at it (and terribly fail). Broadly concerning four individuals, 'The Memory of Love' steers through the life stories of these utmost real, flawed characters set in Sierra Leone against the backdrop of the civil war. It wraps around many more characters in its course and sets through the deep caverns of complex emotions and the human psyche that feels both astounding and unfeigned. The story smoothly interplays between two timelines (during and after the war) around different characters, and it does so phenomenally well; I was equally invested in all the stories, timelines, and people (which is a rarity for me). The story glides through time and people effortlessly giving justice to everything needed, progressing through hope and longing to the pitfalls of renunciation and resignation, all too well.
In my initial experience, what felt like a war novel became so much more. I have read my share of war books, but this one, by far, is the best. It's about the people not directly fighting the war but deeply affected by the same: their love and loss, their struggle and scuffle for existence, duplicity and loyalty in relationships, mental health issues, and PTSD. It's about my best read of this year! A million times and over for books like these <333
I am so over joyous about reading such a brilliant book and yet so out of words. I need to learn how to surmise it, but I will give a meek attempt at it (and terribly fail). Broadly concerning four individuals, 'The Memory of Love' steers through the life stories of these utmost real, flawed characters set in Sierra Leone against the backdrop of the civil war. It wraps around many more characters in its course and sets through the deep caverns of complex emotions and the human psyche that feels both astounding and unfeigned. The story smoothly interplays between two timelines (during and after the war) around different characters, and it does so phenomenally well; I was equally invested in all the stories, timelines, and people (which is a rarity for me). The story glides through time and people effortlessly giving justice to everything needed, progressing through hope and longing to the pitfalls of renunciation and resignation, all too well.
In my initial experience, what felt like a war novel became so much more. I have read my share of war books, but this one, by far, is the best. It's about the people not directly fighting the war but deeply affected by the same: their love and loss, their struggle and scuffle for existence, duplicity and loyalty in relationships, mental health issues, and PTSD. It's about my best read of this year! A million times and over for books like these <333
zoemjimenez18's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-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
4.0
Forna unravels a world damned to silent suffering that is only expressed through crippling nightmares fueled by the memories of love lost to war. Love, both familial and romantic is the subject of punishment for the political and social sins of each character. Love, meant to be the key to longevity, is lost to alternate modes of survival that challenge each character’s values and moral convictions. The aftermath of lost love leaves three men wandering in Sierra Leone’s red dust of loneliness and trauma, left to reckon with their own coping mechanisms which function for better or worse.
Despite, Adrian’s initial thoughtless expatriation to Freetown, his love for his friends in his new home and empathy for each patient saves my own empathy for him. In the end, his ability to allow love to shift his perspective to the likeness of his African peers is also what allows the story to unfold and come to a conclusion. While at first I was unwilling to compare myself to Adrian, I had to accept that my lack of historical context and western upbringing allowed me to use Adrian as a vessel for challenging my own opinion of each Freetown character’s foreign temperaments and methods of emotional perseverance.
Adrian’s startling realization of the common fault in historical recordings is quite ironic given the long history of British rewriting of history apropos non-Western regions of the globe. This is due to the authoritative intentions of imperialist historical narration and the blunt ignorance of the traditions, customs and attitudes of the people in historical subject. Overall Forna’s political and philosophical commentary on the question of “who writes history” should be universally applied and should be remembered in every instance of governmental authority (no matter it be , decentralized, centralized, or internationally unrecognized).
Motifs of verdant gardens express the flourishing beauty of a country who can hope to progress yet later act as pitiful reminders of how, within half a generation, the gardens of hope can become overrun with the weeds and pestilence of silent submission to evil. The beautiful moments of intimacy between the latter love triangle boast the highest form of spiritual respite in between pages of psychological torment and descriptions of national destruction. This is illustrated by Forna’s Lucious scenes of lovemaking describing the profound fulfillment in being impossibly close to one’s lover. These memories of lovemaking were said to be repressed by Kai for the past year, presumably leading to his longing for platonic love in Tejani and his growing desire to increase his physical proximity to his once estranged friend. Present moments of lovemaking are so ripe within the later end of Adrian’s journey are so powerful they remove him entirely from the memories of his haunting responsibilities in London.
My enjoyment of the novel primarily stems from learning to understand a world so different from mine. Simultaneously, I am able to connect to each story through the universal feelings of yearning, nostalgia, and regret all which are counterbalanced by sex, conception, and accepting one’s reality. These are all forms of love and all forms of love we may experience at one time or another.
The challenges of reading this novel lie in the nebulous contextualizatjon of setting. While the more aesthetic descriptions were quite satisfying, I felt lost when trying to reconcile the time period and location. This was also an issue when realizing Adrian was not a black man from England but a white man much later in the novel than I’d like to admit. This could have been a result if glazing over information early in the novel. Similarly, I understood the country’s setting only due to a book review I had previously read. Perhaps, this is an entitled ask and I could have done a bit more background research before reading rather than at disparate moments throughout the book.
Despite, Adrian’s initial thoughtless expatriation to Freetown, his love for his friends in his new home and empathy for each patient saves my own empathy for him. In the end, his ability to allow love to shift his perspective to the likeness of his African peers is also what allows the story to unfold and come to a conclusion. While at first I was unwilling to compare myself to Adrian, I had to accept that my lack of historical context and western upbringing allowed me to use Adrian as a vessel for challenging my own opinion of each Freetown character’s foreign temperaments and methods of emotional perseverance.
Adrian’s startling realization of the common fault in historical recordings is quite ironic given the long history of British rewriting of history apropos non-Western regions of the globe. This is due to the authoritative intentions of imperialist historical narration and the blunt ignorance of the traditions, customs and attitudes of the people in historical subject. Overall Forna’s political and philosophical commentary on the question of “who writes history” should be universally applied and should be remembered in every instance of governmental authority (no matter it be , decentralized, centralized, or internationally unrecognized).
Motifs of verdant gardens express the flourishing beauty of a country who can hope to progress yet later act as pitiful reminders of how, within half a generation, the gardens of hope can become overrun with the weeds and pestilence of silent submission to evil. The beautiful moments of intimacy between the latter love triangle boast the highest form of spiritual respite in between pages of psychological torment and descriptions of national destruction. This is illustrated by Forna’s Lucious scenes of lovemaking describing the profound fulfillment in being impossibly close to one’s lover. These memories of lovemaking were said to be repressed by Kai for the past year, presumably leading to his longing for platonic love in Tejani and his growing desire to increase his physical proximity to his once estranged friend. Present moments of lovemaking are so ripe within the later end of Adrian’s journey are so powerful they remove him entirely from the memories of his haunting responsibilities in London.
My enjoyment of the novel primarily stems from learning to understand a world so different from mine. Simultaneously, I am able to connect to each story through the universal feelings of yearning, nostalgia, and regret all which are counterbalanced by sex, conception, and accepting one’s reality. These are all forms of love and all forms of love we may experience at one time or another.
The challenges of reading this novel lie in the nebulous contextualizatjon of setting. While the more aesthetic descriptions were quite satisfying, I felt lost when trying to reconcile the time period and location. This was also an issue when realizing Adrian was not a black man from England but a white man much later in the novel than I’d like to admit. This could have been a result if glazing over information early in the novel. Similarly, I understood the country’s setting only due to a book review I had previously read. Perhaps, this is an entitled ask and I could have done a bit more background research before reading rather than at disparate moments throughout the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Body horror, Death, Grief, and War
lindy_b's review against another edition
2.0
Make a list of every stereotype about literary fiction and this book will represent over half of them.
Also, it's 445 pages long, and most of them contain at least one paragraph like this:
Also, it's 445 pages long, and most of them contain at least one paragraph like this:
Later he showers. Standing beneath the spout of water, he has the urge to urinate. He stands at the edge of the tiled shower cubicle and aims at the toilet bowl. Success brings with it his first sense of achievement of the day. (p 46)