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3.82 AVERAGE
3.82 AVERAGE
dark
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
challenging
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
"Temporary madness makes it possible to forget the truth about bullets. Temporary madness, in war, is bravery's sister. But when you seem crazy all the time, continuously, without stopping, that's when you make people afraid, even your war brothers. And that's when you stop being the brave one, the death-defier, and become instead the true friend of death, its accomplice, its more-than-brother."
It took me a few days to really think about this one. This story follows our main character Alfa, a black soldier for the French army during WWI. His best friend, Mademba, is mortally wounded in battle and asks Alfa for a mercy killing. Alfa can't do it, and it haunts him immediately.
You'll notice the writing style is repetitive, which works considering the point of view ascending into the madness and horrors of war. This is a dark and graphic book, you've been warned.
Why not 5 stars? I still don't know how I feel about the ending. It's one that appears to be up for debate, which I can appreciate it, but I was left feeling confused. Definitely a good option to discuss with others, but not a book for the faint of heart.
It took me a few days to really think about this one. This story follows our main character Alfa, a black soldier for the French army during WWI. His best friend, Mademba, is mortally wounded in battle and asks Alfa for a mercy killing. Alfa can't do it, and it haunts him immediately.
You'll notice the writing style is repetitive, which works considering the point of view ascending into the madness and horrors of war. This is a dark and graphic book, you've been warned.
Why not 5 stars? I still don't know how I feel about the ending. It's one that appears to be up for debate, which I can appreciate it, but I was left feeling confused. Definitely a good option to discuss with others, but not a book for the faint of heart.
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Overhyped? It's not terrible but it gets weird and the writing style (with the repetitions) gets slightly annoying by the end
The first half was powerful but the second half lost me. There's a certain rhythm to the writing but after a while it became repetitious, and the characters lacked depth.
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
this book is physically and emotionally disturbing, depicting in vivid detail the horrors of war and what it does to people. i was blown away by the writing style and the stream of consciousness narrative.
not for the faint of heart but if you can stomach this it is painful and dark and enlightening.
not for the faint of heart but if you can stomach this it is painful and dark and enlightening.
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes