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itstomssg's review against another edition
challenging
dark
fast-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
4.0
chuckstafer's review
3.0
Meh.
This story is one of loss for sure, but I think more than anything it's of a soldier slowly losing his mind after the death of his friend when he failed to live up to what he felt he should have done for his friend. I think I understand what happened at the end of this novella, but it got a little lost in the shuffle with the constant flashbacks going on towards the midpoint of the story.
I will say, since this was my first time reading a novel from a Senegalese writer, some of the terminology and phrases he used during the story were strange to me and it took a bit to get used to the flow of the story and how he wrote it.
Not a bad novella or anything, but certainly more physiological horror than physical horror and a bit different than that I thought I was getting into.
This story is one of loss for sure, but I think more than anything it's of a soldier slowly losing his mind after the death of his friend when he failed to live up to what he felt he should have done for his friend. I think I understand what happened at the end of this novella, but it got a little lost in the shuffle with the constant flashbacks going on towards the midpoint of the story.
I will say, since this was my first time reading a novel from a Senegalese writer, some of the terminology and phrases he used during the story were strange to me and it took a bit to get used to the flow of the story and how he wrote it.
Not a bad novella or anything, but certainly more physiological horror than physical horror and a bit different than that I thought I was getting into.
falling_like_icarus's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Dehumanising
herri1je's review against another edition
4.0
This is one of the most strange books I've read. It's beautifully written, almost poetic, and narrated with awe and brutality. This was such an original book that barreled through levels of terror then walloped me with a abrupt ending, like I'd been struck by a train.
lydia_woolf's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
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
4.0
tinylove's review against another edition
4.25
This book!
I picked it up completely at random at the library. A tiny book, translated fiction, it had not fallen on my radar at all on its own. So I thought I would give it a chance and see! And I was sure confused at times, and unsettled, but I was not disappointed! Reading it was an experience.
I really loved the unreliable narrator and the repetitive speech patterns (?) in the writing... it had great rhythm and poetry in how it was written, the misleadingly simple language, the violence and love written with the same care. It left me thinking about it for a long time afterward, the entanglement of regret, resentment, war and trauma, childhood friendship intertwined with rivalry, envy and comparison, carrying all those you loved in your heart crossing over to possession... a story within a story, hidden, all the different interpretations of the same events by different people... including ourselves as the readers, who are left to interpret the story as we will. Not much happens, to be fair! But also so much is found enclosed between the two covers of this book, the man talking about his life and his battles and madness and trauma and loss. A very small book that packs so much! It might not be for everyone; actually; it certainly isn't. But it spoke to me, it did, it did!
I picked it up completely at random at the library. A tiny book, translated fiction, it had not fallen on my radar at all on its own. So I thought I would give it a chance and see! And I was sure confused at times, and unsettled, but I was not disappointed! Reading it was an experience.
I really loved the unreliable narrator and the repetitive speech patterns (?) in the writing... it had great rhythm and poetry in how it was written, the misleadingly simple language, the violence and love written with the same care. It left me thinking about it for a long time afterward, the entanglement of regret, resentment, war and trauma, childhood friendship intertwined with rivalry, envy and comparison, carrying all those you loved in your heart crossing over to possession... a story within a story, hidden, all the different interpretations of the same events by different people... including ourselves as the readers, who are left to interpret the story as we will. Not much happens, to be fair! But also so much is found enclosed between the two covers of this book, the man talking about his life and his battles and madness and trauma and loss. A very small book that packs so much! It might not be for everyone; actually; it certainly isn't. But it spoke to me, it did, it did!
andalara's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
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
5.0