Reviews

Palmares by Gayl Jones

sarahrussell's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

mlarthur's review

dark mysterious slow-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? No

2.0

indalauryn's review

adventurous challenging 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

 Yes, it took me all of almost seven months to finish this thick girl, but it was well worth the journey. Palmares is somehow both reminiscent of Jones' earlier works but still brings something new and original to her bibliography. She creates a compelling character with Almeyda and wonderfully supports her with post-colonial Brazil. The worldbuilding is so rich and vivid that I was able to immerse myself in it, something I find missing from many works these days. I truly would love to see this adapted as a miniseries. 

starstuff's review

I’m not sure what I’m even reading most of the time. Feeling kinda lost. This writing style is a bit dense for me.  

rgibbons's review

So slow and convoluted. Couldn't go through 500 pages of that. 

mfeldma3's review

adventurous challenging mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

I have to give five stars though I found this book very difficult to read; traversing through Northeast and Central Brazil in its gold-rush era, through story and story; through family and friend and foe. Small characters came back hundreds of pages later and I'd forgotten their names and their details, but safe to say that Almeyda's trek with Luiza Moraze (my fave) to learn the ins-and-outs of herbal medicine, the countryside and the city, and visions helped me finally put the pieces together and join Almeyda on her journey. The palm groves were shrouded in mystery and layers of memory; I didn't know if some of the language was right (Almeydita --> Almeydinha; why wouldn't the publisher publish tildes?) but enjoyed the interplay of Almeyda, the characters she met, and the history of Brazil and its quilombos, their flaws and heroes, imagined and animated such. A story within a story within ours. An epic in every sense of the word. 

jessetrex's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

mitchf's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

lauraanne's review

I just can not follow this at the moment. I love the writing but there's a lot to keep up with and I've just got too much on my mind at the mo. Maybe I'll come back to it later in the year.

asilrenrut's review

So vivid and beautiful -- but by page 300, I didn't get a sense that much was changing. This may surely be part of Jones' project of depicting this time-separate community on the edge of enslavement, poised for the threat of attack ... but I couldn't stay. Other books were beckoning.