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profejmarie's review against another edition
The narrative style with this book took me quite a bit to get accustomed to, but once I did, I enjoyed the almost poetic nature of the prose. The plot covers a painfully complex family and country history set in Kenya from the 1950s to early 2000s and worth sticking with it as everything comes full circle in the end.
bill_muganda's review against another edition
4.0
This left me breathless Holy Sh*t! I need to gather my thoughts but it was an amazing reading experience
In the past, I have struggled to connect with Kenyan Literature and it didn't help that my English teacher wasn't as enthusiastic about it either. Majority of the books I came across were predominately politically driven and that just didn't suite my contemporary taste. So I took upon myself to try out Dust by Yvonne Adhiambo crossing my fingers that this might be the book that finally reignites my interest in Kenyan Lit. I loved it!
Following The Oganda family after the son (Odidi) gets gun downed in the streets of Nairobi we see the reputation of this vile action through the family's grief & memories which opens the door to a dark past pelted with generational secrets that still haunt them in the present. At the same time, a young Englishman arrives at the Ogandas’ house, seeking his missing father; a hardened policeman who has borne witness to unspeakable acts reopens a cold case, and an all-seeing Trader with a murky identity plots an overdue revenge. In scenes stretching from the violent upheaval of contemporary Kenya back through a shocking political assassination in 1969 and the Mau Mau uprisings against British colonial rule in the 1950s, we come to learn the secrets held by this parched landscape, buried deep within the shared past of the family and of a conflicted nation.
The lyrical poetic narrative style is so cinematic & intertwined with so much emotion that you will fill every character's pain, happiness, without being directly told. The first couple of pages might seem confusing but give it time to get used to the flow of the writing and you won't stop reading. The politics doesn't overpower the story but lingers in the background which balances the narrative, putting emphasis on the family saga. Lush description of the beautiful Kenyan Landscapes and the local street life are brought to life through the characters eyes, as well as the local slang and deep Kenyan proverbs make the experience feel authentic. It has its dark moments, you will weep at the author explores the injustices that take place through the hands of corrupt leaders and the poor state of living but you will also experience the local everyday life of a Kenyan, Using the public transport matatus, cuisine etc. I highly recommend you give it a try.
In the past, I have struggled to connect with Kenyan Literature and it didn't help that my English teacher wasn't as enthusiastic about it either. Majority of the books I came across were predominately politically driven and that just didn't suite my contemporary taste. So I took upon myself to try out Dust by Yvonne Adhiambo crossing my fingers that this might be the book that finally reignites my interest in Kenyan Lit. I loved it!
Following The Oganda family after the son (Odidi) gets gun downed in the streets of Nairobi we see the reputation of this vile action through the family's grief & memories which opens the door to a dark past pelted with generational secrets that still haunt them in the present. At the same time, a young Englishman arrives at the Ogandas’ house, seeking his missing father; a hardened policeman who has borne witness to unspeakable acts reopens a cold case, and an all-seeing Trader with a murky identity plots an overdue revenge. In scenes stretching from the violent upheaval of contemporary Kenya back through a shocking political assassination in 1969 and the Mau Mau uprisings against British colonial rule in the 1950s, we come to learn the secrets held by this parched landscape, buried deep within the shared past of the family and of a conflicted nation.
The lyrical poetic narrative style is so cinematic & intertwined with so much emotion that you will fill every character's pain, happiness, without being directly told. The first couple of pages might seem confusing but give it time to get used to the flow of the writing and you won't stop reading. The politics doesn't overpower the story but lingers in the background which balances the narrative, putting emphasis on the family saga. Lush description of the beautiful Kenyan Landscapes and the local street life are brought to life through the characters eyes, as well as the local slang and deep Kenyan proverbs make the experience feel authentic. It has its dark moments, you will weep at the author explores the injustices that take place through the hands of corrupt leaders and the poor state of living but you will also experience the local everyday life of a Kenyan, Using the public transport matatus, cuisine etc. I highly recommend you give it a try.
moreteamorecats's review against another edition
5.0
A wall-to-wall gorgeous reflection on the redemption of colonial, post-colonial, and family sins. It helped that I knew Kenya a bit, much as it helps to know something of the deep South when reading Faulkner. In fact, [b: Light in August|10979|Light in August|William Faulkner|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1355360091s/10979.jpg|1595500] isn't a bad comparison to Dust: Both break up the surface of their storytelling with high modernist temporal tricks, and find more redemption in suffering than would have seemed possible at the novel's outset.
nellym27's review against another edition
1.0
I didn't like this book at all. Its attempt to be poetic just made it dull in my eyes and meant that the actual plot, which was complex enough in itself, became very confused. I'm still baffled by what exactly happened but also I don't really care that much? I had to force myself through this book (I'm reading it for university) and I'm proud of myself for simply finishing it, bothering to research it more seems a task too far.
sebbie's review
challenging
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
lydiagardiner's review
dark
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
melodiey's review
The language was so colorful I could not make out the meaning very well. I’m not in the mood to decipher at this time but I’m sure I’ll come back to try again.
secretbookcase's review
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
4.0
This is an impressive tale about the fate of a northern Kenyan family. As the family members mourn and come to terms with the violent death of the son, Odidi, the story interweaves their recollections of individual experiences of violence, injustice and repression spanning Kenya’s history from colonial times to the outburst of electoral violence in 2007. Through this, the book reflects on the role of memory and forgetting, both in how people cope with traumas from the past and the role it plays in Kenya’s fractious nation-building process. The non-linearity of the writing and the recourse to sparse language and clipped phrasing makes the reading occasionally difficult and drawn out. But it also lends the book a very particular character: the story is like a painting that slowly emerges from loose-handed brushstrokes. A challenging but beautiful book, that paints a vivid image of Kenya’s past and the complex ties that bind people together, including through suffering.