You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
I loved this book! It was recommended to me by a dear friend and lived up to my expectation. It's a long read, but VERY good! I highly recommend it to others!
The first 400 pages are excellent. The last 150 pages are not my cup of tea - basically a ginormous epilogue and we all know how I feel about epilogues. Why can’t authors just stop writing. Leave it alone. EDITORS, ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME?!
Okay, but let’s not let this affect how I feel about the first 400 pages. Still worth a read if you just power skim the last bit.
Okay, but let’s not let this affect how I feel about the first 400 pages. Still worth a read if you just power skim the last bit.
This was good!
Interesting, good POVs (although I did have a least favourite one), must have taken a lot of research to get here with it.
However, the book was loooong, and it felt long. I was looking forward to the end for the last 100ish pages. Definitely thought it was worth reading, however I can't say I'd recommend it.
I did love the broadness of the novel; it showed how small a life is, how everything is so consequential and also so unimportant. Some of the broader ideas will stick with me I think,but this book was a bit of a slog so I can't say I'll be looking back fondly on my time reading it.
Interesting, good POVs (although I did have a least favourite one), must have taken a lot of research to get here with it.
However, the book was loooong, and it felt long. I was looking forward to the end for the last 100ish pages. Definitely thought it was worth reading, however I can't say I'd recommend it.
I did love the broadness of the novel; it showed how small a life is, how everything is so consequential and also so unimportant. Some of the broader ideas will stick with me I think,but this book was a bit of a slog so I can't say I'll be looking back fondly on my time reading it.
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Wonderfully written novel that intertwines a fictional story of four sisters (the daughters of a white Southern Baptist preacher) with real historical events in the Congo. The first half of the novel was stronger, more full of action, humour, possibility and mystery. The second half of the novel still had powerful moments, but felt more like a long drawn out epilogue. The second half was also a bit heavy handed with the anti-colonial/anti-imperial themes. The narrative was almost overshadowed by the author's desire to give a history lesson in western-interference in the Congo (which was no doubt appalling). Despite this I loved the book and it deserves the five stars.
Loved the first 2/3 of the book. The POV from each of the sisters was very entertaining. I felt the ending was a little too political and got to be a little too much.