Reviews

Beyond the Door of No Return by David Diop

Only show reviews with written explanations

jdmcn's review

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dark emotional reflective sad fast-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

3.75

kboulden's review

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emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

saszito's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional tense slow-paced

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

1.5

Auf der Suche nach senegalesischer Literatur stolperte ich über diesen Titel, fand die Kurzbeschreibung verlockend und schon war es um mich geschehen. Ein wenig hatte ich die Vorstellung hier auf so etwas Ähnliches wie T.C.Boyles "Wassermusik" zu treffen. Eines der besten Bücher, in welches ich je das Vergnügen haben durfte, einzutauchen. Doch leider wurde ich derbe enttäuscht. Es ist weniger dieses Aufeinanderprallen von westlicher Aufklärung und indigenen Selbstverständnis, von Rationalität und Mystik, gefüttert von ungebändigter Reiselust und Forschertrieb (derlei Romane und Sachbücher sind es, die ich suche) vielmehr ist es ein fades Seifenbad der "Gefühle" mit zahlreichen, lose heraushängenden Handlungsfäden und in gewisser Weise sogar eine ungewollte Reproduktion des kolonialen Blicks mit ganz geringen Erkenntniswert.

freckleduck's review

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adventurous reflective slow-paced

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

3.0

I have a lot of feelings about this book. First of all it was more highbrow literature than I usually read. I enjoyed some of the story. There were certain parts that felt so true to humanity as a whole. I picked it up as a book about botany to read in April but instead it was about much else. I found the story within a story seemed like not a useful tool and I didn’t feel like it ended in a satisfying way.

abperez89's review

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dark reflective sad tense medium-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

3.75

jacque18's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad 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

3.5

lauraportalupi's review

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dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No

2.5

This reminds me of why I’d rather read books by women. After finishing the book and feeling disappointed, I looked for reviews and analyses that would help me see what I had missed in my own reading. The positive reviews I read in the NYT and The Guardian didn’t change my perspective, just confused me.

I felt nothing but disgust for the main character, who it seems the author is trying to compel readers to feel empathy for. He is just another man behaving badly.

The last chapter was disjointed and simplistic.

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