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wellfedpages's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
‘This story, like all interesting stories, is full of clever innuendo. Whoever tells a well-known story like the one about the lion-sorcerer and the fickle princess might always be hiding another story beneath it. To be seen, the story hidden beneath the well-known story has to peek out a little bit. If the hidden story hides too well beneath the well known story, it stays invisible…When it’s understood by those for whom it is intended, the story hidden beneath the well known story can change the course of their lives, can push them to transform a diffuse desire into a concrete act
Of stories
And meaning
And secrets
Hidden in plain sight
Aren’t those the best deceptions?
The best works of art
The best stories
The face beneath the face
The eyes beneath the eyes
The words beneath the words
Diop is commenting about the nature of story-telling
We all draw from
life
memory
research
our pasts
from things better left unsaid
But writers cloak them in words
So that there is a story on the surface most see
A deeper commentary that many glean between the lines
And then there’s a tale that only few know was told
A story for all
Yet a story for one
Through this blood & gore soaked saga of a soldier unravelling & sinking into the method of madness, Diop untangles the many fissures of war
How it destroy’s people’s sanity
How racism classism & xenophobia are deeply entrenched even in the trenches
& shape events
How there are no winners in a war
Everybody loses some part of themselves
How victory is just an empty shell
crunched on the battlefield
beneath the heavy boots of time
But this is also one man’s story
How he loses his mind
His humanity
Himself
But was it just war that pushed him to those depths of depravity?
Or had loss eaten away his soul long before?
Was war just the last straw?
Was his incapability to be temporarily mad like the others who threw themselves in the line of fire & clear commitment to hunt more apt?
Was his violence towards women a product of war?
Or was it rooted much deeper in how he viewed women & himself?
Was he the lion?
The hunter?
Or just a phantom of the man with the pen
‘The hidden story has to be there without being there, it has to let itself be guessed at, the way a tight saffron-yellow dress lets the beautiful figure of a young girl be guessed at. It has to be transparent.’
The blatant objectification of women in this part that I left out from the initial quote & many such passages say something not just about Alfa or Madema, but Diop
How he views women - objects that are either consumed or plundered
How men write women - the fickle princess or the mute mademoiselle
And how it severs them from becoming truly human
Much like the severed trophies that the protagonist collects
Or was that another hidden message Diop had tucked in all along?
Translated wonderfully from the French by Anna Moschovakis
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, War, Sexism, Violence, Xenophobia, Gore, Rape, Misogyny, and Racism
Moderate: Colonisation and Blood
Minor: Abandonment
charlieeee's review
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Violence
Moderate: Body horror and War
Minor: Sexual content
teainthelibrary's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Violence, and Body horror
Moderate: Rape
qqjj's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Medical trauma, Death, Colonisation, Body horror, and Gore
angelaaaa's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Murder, Death, Rape, Torture, Sexual violence, Sexism, Gore, Violence, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Body horror, and Blood
elke_theworldofabookwormblog's review
dark
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Body horror, and Injury/Injury detail
skeptista's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, and War
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
ida137's review against another edition
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Violence, Blood, Body horror, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, and War
minimarshmallowsonricekrispies's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-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? Yes
5.0
Really fast paced read, the best ww1 book I have read interesting, emotional and insightful on level that is not represented enough when it comes to war literature , lovely writing style would definitely recommend!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, and Gore
Minor: Grief, Sexual content, and Racism
lakeus's review
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
SPOILERS AHEAD
I cannot piece together my thoughts on this book and I wonder whether it was the author’s intention to have that effect.
The chapters about Alfa’s time in the trenches following Mademba’s death and slow spiral into madness are so well written and heartbreaking, especially when reflecting on the death of the ‘traitors’ and his murder of the young German soldier- over who he feels some guilt towards. I think it shows the catastrophic effects of war and brutal violence on the human psyche and what grief can do to a person.
However, in the last few chapters I became confused at the drastically different tone and subject- mainly Alfa’s background- and the twist in the final chapter. I have my own interpretations of what it means but it did catch me off guard and shifted the book’s tone to mystery/fantasy depending on how you read it.
I will definitely need to reread the ending at some point.
I cannot piece together my thoughts on this book and I wonder whether it was the author’s intention to have that effect.
The chapters about Alfa’s time in the trenches following Mademba’s death and slow spiral into madness are so well written and heartbreaking, especially when reflecting on the death of the ‘traitors’ and his murder of the young German soldier- over who he feels some guilt towards. I think it shows the catastrophic effects of war and brutal violence on the human psyche and what grief can do to a person.
However, in the last few chapters I became confused at the drastically different tone and subject- mainly Alfa’s background- and the twist in the final chapter. I have my own interpretations of what it means but it did catch me off guard and shifted the book’s tone to mystery/fantasy depending on how you read it.
I will definitely need to reread the ending at some point.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Torture, Violence, Vomit, and War
Moderate: Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Grief, and Suicidal thoughts