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3.6 AVERAGE
3.6 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
funny
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
funny
informative
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
slow-paced
I don't normally enjoy second person but the Mabanckou and Stevenson presented it well and I barely noticed it after a few pages. I have not ready any other Mabanckou so I cannot compare this to any of his other works but I anticipate that readers who are not familiar with literary fiction will find this book slow and somewhat difficult to follow. However, readers who already enjoy literary and philosophical fiction will appreciate the cultural immersion and vivid imagery.
Thank you to NetGalley and The New Press for providing the ARC of Dealing with the Dead by Alain Mabanckou.
Cultural and spiritual explorations of death and the afterlife are always fascinating to me, and I have been interested in finding more works and upcoming fiction by African authors. Dealing with the Dead is the first novel that I have read set in the Republic of the Congo.
What I enjoyed most about this book is that there is no over-explaining or hand-holding in regards to the political history, geography, and cultural setting of Pointe-Noire. I felt drawn in by the descriptions of the city, the food, and the tight familial bond between Liwa and his grandmother as the central two characters of this story.
The drawback of the novel is that I found the narrative structure quite difficult to follow - with large interruptions of back-tracking in plot, or pages-long monologues of characters. In addition, despite the novel being written in second-person, I often did not feel pulled into the perspective or shoes of Liwa due to the disorientation of the structure and these monologues. There was also not so much of a mystery or climax element building up to the truth of Liwa’s death, which was quite disappointing for me.
Overall, I think that I was going into this novel anticipating the pomp and style along the lines of The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida, with the mention of Liwa’s outfit. It would have been wiser on my end to have first further educated myself on the history of the Congo and Central Africa before delving into this novel.
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I had a hard time getting into this book, but I ended up enjoying it. I think that certain parts would hit harder if I was more educated about the history of the Congo, but the author did a good job of establishing that context without overexplaining it. I will say that some passages felt unnecessarily long or detailed, especially about the inner workings of the government, and I felt like the story got bogged down in these details at times. I was also a bit confused about the nature of the magic in this world, i.e. how much was understood to be "real" by the living and how much was just speculation. Despite its slow start, I did enjoy this book and how unique the concept is.
ARC access provided by Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
ARC access provided by Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Murder, Classism
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was such a fascinating perspective of Congolese life, especially in regards to death and the traditions/superstitions surrounding it. The narration, which was often a series of storytelling which is told in the second-person "you" perspective, was entertaining and at times impactful. Most of the characters were memorable, especially major figures like Ma Lembe, and the descriptions of the characters and the setting were beautiful. It was interesting hearing from the perspective of the dead, and what their worries were prior to death as well as the legacy that they left behind or their regrets.
The depiction of the Congolese cultural and political workings, which I had very minimal knowledge of prior to reading this novel, was also very interesting to learn about, and it impacts the story in ways that I was not expecting. The only drawback to this novel is that the middle felt slow in comparison to the beginning and the end, both in a narration sense as well as some of the stories told not feeling as impactful (to me at least), but it definitely picked up towards the end. Overall I enjoyed this novel and I was satisfied with the ending! I recommend this if you are interested in magical realism, Congolese culture, politics, or reading from the perspective of the deceased.
The depiction of the Congolese cultural and political workings, which I had very minimal knowledge of prior to reading this novel, was also very interesting to learn about, and it impacts the story in ways that I was not expecting. The only drawback to this novel is that the middle felt slow in comparison to the beginning and the end, both in a narration sense as well as some of the stories told not feeling as impactful (to me at least), but it definitely picked up towards the end. Overall I enjoyed this novel and I was satisfied with the ending! I recommend this if you are interested in magical realism, Congolese culture, politics, or reading from the perspective of the deceased.
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated