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3.16 AVERAGE
3.16 AVERAGE
Please Haggard I’m on my hands and knees begging you to stop using “ejaculated” as a verb
An unexpectedly interesting and intruiging novel which continuously went in directions I wasn't expecting! I started off quite disinterested but by persevering was rewarded with a curious tale of the journey of some Cambridge scholars into the dense, unexplored jungle and the mysteries that they found there.
What I think the Victorians used to call a ripping good yarn. In the right mood, one could almost overlook the fact that hardly anything happens at all and that what does is told from a vaguely racist imperialist sexist viewpoint. But a chipper and adventurous vaguely racist imperialist sexist viewpoint! So it's fun. Also it's all famous and an influence on Freud, Jung and Tolkein, so good to have it under one's belt. And allows the married/involved among us to bandy about the phrase "She-who-must-be-obeyed" with more clout than mere Rumpole fans.
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Antisemitism
By turns fascinating and verbose: the text is very stilted to the modern reader and the opinions of the lead characters are of their time. Most reviewers here will use the term racist and there's some of that although less than one might expect, more the mid 19th Century Imperial British sense of superiority coupled with a very firm if understated Christianity. Parts of the text are scholarly and the author's knowledge of Africa shines through. A classic of its time and worth a read.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Loveable characters:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Cannibalism, Murder, Colonisation
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
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
DESERVING OF IT'S TITLE AS A CLASSIC AND FULL OF ADVENTURE. This 300-page novel packs in a lot of wild Victorian-era adventure to a land ruled by one called SHE, a 2000-year-old queen of a far-off, mysterious African land. Surprisingly engrossing, I had to finish this quickly in order to know the ending. Read this, you won't regret it. language is slightly dated at times, but understandable due to the context of when it was written. Also, the way they speak in this novel is quintessentially victorian and poetic