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booktwitcher23's review against another edition
emotional
informative
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
burrowsi1's review
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-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
4.0
adrienneturner's review
I just could not bring myself to care about Elias or Adrian (kinda hate Elias tbh) and life is just too short to keep muddling through this.
nqcliteracy's review against another edition
5.0
Beautiful, raw, thought-provoking, intricate, poignant, interesting, heavy, and ambitious: I loved this story. It snuck up on me. Deeply adored the characters, felt enraptured by Sierra Leone, and fell in love with the weighted, direct nature of the narration. Everything about the book spoke love, nostalgia— the trauma of feeling— from the title to the descriptions to the images evoked. Not without its horrors, Forna tells of rebel violence and resulting PTSD with grace and honesty. Family saga with evolving and surprise connected storylines. Raw and wrenching at times but won my heart ten times over. Gorgeous, gorgeous read from an importance voice I want never to forget. Highly recommend.
black_girl_reading's review against another edition
4.0
This book really harkened back to the epic novels of trauma and tribulations and humanity of Rohinton Mistry and Michael Ondaatje. The story, about the war in Sierra Leone told through the connections of various parties and they live and relate to one another in the post-conflict society as it rebuilds itself, weaves a rich tapestry of lives and personalities and scenarios. This book was excellent. Everyone was so well written, no one was all good or bad. I was extremely fond of many people, and invested in all of them. Bad choices seemed to be human choices, and even things I hated, I could understand. The book intensified into a crescendo of past and current crises that made it harder and harder to put down. Im so glad it was written by a Sierra Leonian, she was able to tell the story of her place and her people in an honest and complex way, and call out the racism of aid workers so spectacularly. Many of the coincidences were maybe a bit too coincidental, but the book was so good I’m able to overlook it. I’ll check out her newer works for sure.
wkariuki_'s review against another edition
4.0
The book is beautifully written. The author has employed an interesting outlook on trying to exhibit the characters’ feelings/ emotions. The best part for me in the book was realizing that Nenebah and Mamakay were one and the same person, just outstanding!
nadiaa3's review against another edition
5.0
ah the memory of love, the memory of pain Wonderful book, subtle, sober and powerful
thank you mrs forna!
thank you mrs forna!
100booksyearly's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.5
quiche12's review against another edition
5.0
Beautiful in its depiction of the scars that both war and love can leave on people. All of the characters are intriguing and wonderfully drawn. Forna gives great descriptions of the settings. But keeps them short so as to focus on her characters: their loves, their hopes, their dreams, their weaknesses, their betrayals, their despair.