Reviews

Dust by Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor

girlvsbookshelf's review against another edition

3.0

Really mixed feelings about this one. Parts of it were brilliant but as a whole novel it felt hyper-stylised and bloated, just hard work really. It perfectly evokes the sense of dread, corruption, chaos and turmoil in wider Kenya, and sparked me to go and do wider reading into the political background to this novel, of which I was previously woefully ignorant. But the characters themselves didn't particularly grab me. And the poetic language is laid on so thick that I read and re-read certain passages and am still not 100% sure what was happening. I'm left feeling like I've finished a chore, unfortunately.

hannahjr's review

5.0

A book that I enjoyed for its poetry rather than following the plot in its entirety. It was written in an beautiful and original way. Single words and brief sentences packed so much meaning as story spanning the past 50 years in Kenya uncurled around the main characters.

moraa's review

5.0

A wonderful book. I enjoyed reading it immensely.
9/10 recommendation.

greenblack's review

5.0

Do the thinking and dreaming and sorrowing and singing...
this powerful book requires and deserves your effort.
Why shouldn't it?

Thank you Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor

alanfederman's review

5.0

To paraphrase the NY Times Book Review - don't waste your time reading the review, get the book. I did just that (rarely is the Times so effusive, so I was certain it must be good!) and I was not disappointed. Rarely has any writing captivated all five senses in the way this book did. Set primarily in Kenya the story mixed the troubled history of the country with the troubled history of a family together. There was little sentimentality but tremendous amounts of honesty and much room for ongoing thoughts about what really is family and history and of course, self. I found myself referring to the internet now and again to fill in the gaps of Kenyan history, but this was a near flawless novel and one that will stay with me for a long time.

adastraperlibros's review

challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0