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3.98 AVERAGE
3.98 AVERAGE
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
[CW: sexual violence]
I’m slightly conflicted with this book - it was a sweeping and compelling set of interlinked tales of different members of a family, deeply researched and with so much historical detail - all of which I loved and learned a lot from. I’ve thought and read a lot about white colonisation of Africa, but far less so about the spread of Islam across the continent - this provided a good counterpoint. My conflict comes in how the book depicted sexual violence in incredibly casual ways, sometimes explicitly describing it as rape but often not, sometimes almost excusing it or justifying it even from the perspective of the survivor of the violence. While a degree of this can be allocated to (I presume!) the author attempting to replicate the attitudes of men in the late 18th century, those parts still felt deeply uncomfortable to read.
I’m slightly conflicted with this book - it was a sweeping and compelling set of interlinked tales of different members of a family, deeply researched and with so much historical detail - all of which I loved and learned a lot from. I’ve thought and read a lot about white colonisation of Africa, but far less so about the spread of Islam across the continent - this provided a good counterpoint. My conflict comes in how the book depicted sexual violence in incredibly casual ways, sometimes explicitly describing it as rape but often not, sometimes almost excusing it or justifying it even from the perspective of the survivor of the violence. While a degree of this can be allocated to (I presume!) the author attempting to replicate the attitudes of men in the late 18th century, those parts still felt deeply uncomfortable to read.
four stars for the amount I learned reading it, two stars for the lack of storytelling
adventurous
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Starting from 1797, Maryse Condé's epic historical novel Segu traverses many decades, following the lives of one noble family. Segu was once the capital of the kingdom of Bambara, which was in present-day Mali. In her afterword, Condé thanks numerous colleagues for helping make sure 'this fiction doesn't take too many liberties with the facts'. From this, we can assume it's based on real events.
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We start with the patriarch of the Traore family, Dousika. He is the King's most trusted adviser, but the kingdom as they know it is about to be shaken. Change is on the horizon, mainly in the form of religion, but also the slave trade and colonialism. Condé takes on a huge number of themes within this book, and it can get very heavy at times. However, her writing, and the translation by Barbara Bray, is rich and detailed, exactly the kind of immersive prose you want for historical fiction.
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I learned a lot about the way Christianity and Islam were introduced to the African continent. There were lots of quotes that stuck out, but one in particular: ‘To civilize Africa by converting it to Christianity. But what did that mean? Didn’t every people have its own civilization, subtended by its belief in its own gods? What was converting Africa to Christianity but imposing another civilisation on it?’
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There was another part where one of the characters ends up in London for a short while. He remarks how people from Africa are regarded as the 'uncivilised' ones, yet the white people in London act grotesquely towards him, touching his hair, rubbing his skin. 'Was this the behaviour of civilised people?' he wonders.
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It's not an easy read in terms of content. There's a lot of rape within these pages, which weighs heavily on the reader, and there’s a lot of detail overall. But it's one that I definitely appreciated and I'm glad I finally read it! It's one of those books I'd have loved to study at university, to properly grasp everything Condé is putting out there.
DNF
So I've been wanting to read Maryse Condé for ages and since I've found a copy of "Ségou" I was excited to discover her work but this is boring me to death. Unlike the most recent book I finished this is not a never again, I hope to find another book of hers that appeals more to me and I may even give this one another go at some point as I'm going to keep it for now. Maybe I'm just in the right mood for it or maybe it's that I generally don't enjoy historical fiction..
So I've been wanting to read Maryse Condé for ages and since I've found a copy of "Ségou" I was excited to discover her work but this is boring me to death. Unlike the most recent book I finished this is not a never again, I hope to find another book of hers that appeals more to me and I may even give this one another go at some point as I'm going to keep it for now. Maybe I'm just in the right mood for it or maybe it's that I generally don't enjoy historical fiction..
An enjoyable saga that spans decades and across countries of a once kingdom that had started to see changes coming to them in the form of white men and Islam.