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stephibabes's review against another edition
3.0
I found the pacing of this story really enjoyable. There wasn't a dull moment. The two main characters were very believable, even if they were almost impossible to like. Four with his stubborn determination to keep focused on the task at hand, and Nine with his foolishly reckless behaviour and womanising.
I guess, by the end, partly because of the ending, I felt that it was all a bit white, and maaaaybe partly that is the point. White saviours sweeping in to fix the road and lauding the positive effects it would inevitably have on 'civilising' this conflict ridden country. The only briefly acknowledged use of arms and fighter planes from USA to continue that conflict. But most of all the constant inability of the protagonist to trust and not believe the worst of the people putting themselves at great risk to help him. The fact that our main character get to leave at the end is telling. But maybe this aims to leave White liberal readers with questions over their own complicity in exactly this sort of work that they paint as inherently virtuous, all the while big faceless companies cream the profits, in doing what some would try and claim to be 'aid work', from countries already bled dry by the very systemic global inequalities inherent in capitalism that make these conflicts endemic.
I borrowed this audiobook from my local library. Support your library!
I guess, by the end, partly because of the ending, I felt that it was all a bit white, and maaaaybe partly that is the point. White saviours sweeping in to fix the road and lauding the positive effects it would inevitably have on 'civilising' this conflict ridden country. The only briefly acknowledged use of arms and fighter planes from USA to continue that conflict. But most of all the constant inability of the protagonist to trust and not believe the worst of the people putting themselves at great risk to help him. The fact that our main character get to leave at the end is telling. But maybe this aims to leave White liberal readers with questions over their own complicity in exactly this sort of work that they paint as inherently virtuous, all the while big faceless companies cream the profits, in doing what some would try and claim to be 'aid work', from countries already bled dry by the very systemic global inequalities inherent in capitalism that make these conflicts endemic.
I borrowed this audiobook from my local library. Support your library!
maxmflick's review against another edition
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
chrissip184's review against another edition
dark
hopeful
reflective
tense
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
4.5
mandydirksen's review against another edition
2.0
This was the first work I’ve read from Eggers and after this book I unfortunately think it was also the last.
The main point of the book, in my experience, was providing critique on Western involvement in developing countries and how this eventually doesn’t work. Don’t get me wrong, I think this is definitely a topic worth criticizing and an interesting one at that, but Eggers didn’t do it well enough.
I found myself often bored by the story which could’ve used more exploration.
The ending too, however tragical, didn’t take my by surprise or left much of an impact.
matth3w99's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
imme_van_gorp's review against another edition
4.0
|| 4.0 stars ||
Set in a country completely torn apart by a Civil War, our main character, Four, is hired by “The Company” to build a highway that will connect the impoverished South with the prosperous Capital.
This road is meant to symbolize the peace struck between the Rebels and the Government, and is predicted to exponentially further the South in their developments and wealth; in other words, this road will help the poor war-victims of the country have access to the medicine, products and information the lucky ones already had.
While Four is building this road, we see him come across many horrible situations in the Southern regions, and he is approached by multiple of the locals. However, he is under strict orders from the Company to not interfere with anything or acknowledge anyone for fear of it leading to difficult situations, ultimately delaying their schedule. He is just supposed to do his job, and nothing else. Four is content to do this and takes his task of building the road very seriously.
His colleague, on the other hand, seemed to have very different plans: Four is paired with a reckless man named Nine, who refuses to be efficient, and who instead chooses to wander away every day to hang out with the locals.
Both men have opposing views; Nine thinks he is helping the Southern people by gracing them with his presence and showing them respect, while Four is practical enough to understand that building this road on time will help the locals more than anything else they could ever do.
It was definitely interesting to see Four develop emotionally throughout this novel; he was very shut off from the harrowing experiences happening around him at first, but he seemed to become more affected as time went by. He also seemed to develop more and more respect for the locals and he even came to realise how some of his assumptions about them were shameful.
Most of all though, I have to say that Four’s narration in itself was absolutely hilarious. His constant annoyance with Nine was such a mood, honestly; who wouldn’t go crazy being stuck with such a useless and self-assured dickhead? I mean, I can see why some people might think Four was heartless and way too uptight, but I found him kind of realistic. They had a job to do, and Four wanted to do it well and efficiently. Also, I don’t think you could do a job like this without shutting yourself off emotionally at least a little.
So I can see why it would be hell to be stuck with someone like Nine in that situation, someone who just refuses to help and does nothing but incessantly talk and make things worse. God, he even drove me insane!
Lastly, I just want to mention that the ending absolutely broke my heart. Seriously. I was completely shocked. It was so depressing.
I mean, that ending literally just said: “Oh you thought there was hope for these people and the rich were actually trying to help the poor? Haha no.”
It was brutal…
Set in a country completely torn apart by a Civil War, our main character, Four, is hired by “The Company” to build a highway that will connect the impoverished South with the prosperous Capital.
This road is meant to symbolize the peace struck between the Rebels and the Government, and is predicted to exponentially further the South in their developments and wealth; in other words, this road will help the poor war-victims of the country have access to the medicine, products and information the lucky ones already had.
While Four is building this road, we see him come across many horrible situations in the Southern regions, and he is approached by multiple of the locals. However, he is under strict orders from the Company to not interfere with anything or acknowledge anyone for fear of it leading to difficult situations, ultimately delaying their schedule. He is just supposed to do his job, and nothing else. Four is content to do this and takes his task of building the road very seriously.
His colleague, on the other hand, seemed to have very different plans: Four is paired with a reckless man named Nine, who refuses to be efficient, and who instead chooses to wander away every day to hang out with the locals.
Both men have opposing views; Nine thinks he is helping the Southern people by gracing them with his presence and showing them respect, while Four is practical enough to understand that building this road on time will help the locals more than anything else they could ever do.
It was definitely interesting to see Four develop emotionally throughout this novel; he was very shut off from the harrowing experiences happening around him at first, but he seemed to become more affected as time went by. He also seemed to develop more and more respect for the locals and he even came to realise how some of his assumptions about them were shameful.
Most of all though, I have to say that Four’s narration in itself was absolutely hilarious. His constant annoyance with Nine was such a mood, honestly; who wouldn’t go crazy being stuck with such a useless and self-assured dickhead? I mean, I can see why some people might think Four was heartless and way too uptight, but I found him kind of realistic. They had a job to do, and Four wanted to do it well and efficiently. Also, I don’t think you could do a job like this without shutting yourself off emotionally at least a little.
So I can see why it would be hell to be stuck with someone like Nine in that situation, someone who just refuses to help and does nothing but incessantly talk and make things worse. God, he even drove me insane!
Lastly, I just want to mention that the ending absolutely broke my heart. Seriously. I was completely shocked. It was so depressing.
I mean, that ending literally just said: “Oh you thought there was hope for these people and the rich were actually trying to help the poor? Haha no.”
It was brutal…
abarkmeier's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
alittleleftofgreen's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.25
naznin4nelson's review against another edition
4.0
Ouch. I enjoyed this. No backgrounds, very little knowledge about the characters at all. And then the end. What are we doing when we think we're helping. So interesting.
merlejuliane's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5