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lynxthepuss's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.75
ninx_reads's review against another edition
3.0
Would prefer a more personality to a narrator, or for that matter, to female characters. A nice family saga take on colonialism.
akohlasch's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
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
3.75
niamhhmulvaney's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
rieviolet's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I actually enjoyed the book much more than I had expected going into it. I really liked the first section set in Algeria and I got to experience a place and time that I'm not at all familiar with.
I found the second and third sections less compelling (maybe because they veer towards a more "literary ficton-y" style that is not entirely my cup of tea) but I still appreciated a lot the nuanced reflections on the immigrant experience and the connected themes of assimilation, integration, and self-identity.
Overall I liked the writing style, but at times it was a bit too much convoluted and there were some more experimental bits that I did not particularly care for.
In the first section, there are some episodes that are already quite gruesome as it is, where I felt like the very specific details were added a bit unnecessarily, sort of like throwaway specifications just for shock value. I could also have done without a very explicit circumcision scene.
I found the second and third sections less compelling (maybe because they veer towards a more "literary ficton-y" style that is not entirely my cup of tea) but I still appreciated a lot the nuanced reflections on the immigrant experience and the connected themes of assimilation, integration, and self-identity.
Overall I liked the writing style, but at times it was a bit too much convoluted and there were some more experimental bits that I did not particularly care for.
In the first section, there are some episodes that are already quite gruesome as it is, where I felt like the very specific details were added a bit unnecessarily, sort of like throwaway specifications just for shock value. I could also have done without a very explicit circumcision scene.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Grief, Murder, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child death, Confinement, Gun violence, Infidelity, Sexual content, Mass/school shootings, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Alcoholism, Cancer, Drug use, Infertility, Terminal illness, Excrement, Antisemitism, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
sjhaug's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
ileniazodiaco's review against another edition
5.0
In un mondo che pretende che tutti primeggino, c’è bisogno di libri che insegnino anche l’arte di perdere.
Un antidoto alla banalizzazione etnica e culturale in corso nel mondo globalizzato, sempre più radicalizzato su posizioni inconciliabili, inizia come una fiaba e finisce per essere anche un racconto generazionale che mostra il progressivo cambiamento valoriale che si verifica tra padri e figli.
Recensione completa qui: https://www.illibraio.it/arte-di-perdere-921900/
Un antidoto alla banalizzazione etnica e culturale in corso nel mondo globalizzato, sempre più radicalizzato su posizioni inconciliabili, inizia come una fiaba e finisce per essere anche un racconto generazionale che mostra il progressivo cambiamento valoriale che si verifica tra padri e figli.
Recensione completa qui: https://www.illibraio.it/arte-di-perdere-921900/
conoraflynn's review against another edition
5.0
a beautifully rendered account of a postcolonial subject and her fraught relationship to her hitherto unseen homeland. Really liked the tripartite narrative told through the father/grandfather that got across the generational trauma of the Algerian war and its aftermath