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3.95 AVERAGE
3.95 AVERAGE
Beautiful, compelling, unsettling. This book took me a long time to read. The prose is not dense; to the contrary, it is so straightforward, so dry even when recounting the most horrific truths, that I had no choice but to take it slowly. It presents appalling events and ideas in straightforward, neutral, and yet beautiful language. It lulls you with its floating, unjudgmental poetry, until you realize you're disgusted by what you've read. I am sure, of course, that this dissonance is the point. But it still makes for a difficult read, considering that it's not terribly dense writing. It's an unsettling effect - not in an entirely unwelcome way, of course. It's good to be unsettled when reading stories of slavery and oppression, delivered from the perspective of characters who accept these things as part of the natural order of the world, with resignation and without outrage. It puts the burden on the reader to extrapolate the lines, on our own sense of injustice to do the heavy lifting. It is not a book that preaches and allows us to feel good about ourselves while we nod along. As I said, challenging.
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
mysterious
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:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Slavery, Violence, Colonisation
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
slow-paced
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
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
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
I have read quite a few of Isabel Allende's books and this is right near the top of the list!
Really 4.5 stars. Very interesting historical fiction of Haiti and New Orleans. Moving and compelling, it does take some time to get in to.