A review by rachelbohlen
The Old Drift by Namwali Serpell

3.0

3.5 stars. This is a multigenerational saga about Zambian families. The book is split up, essentially, by generations. During the first two sections of the book, I loved it. But the last third of the book just did not connect with me. It veers off into what seems to be a lecture about the horrors of technology and maybe some anti-vaccine vibes too. Worse than that, the three characters highlighted in the last section are just kind of terrible. It was such a let down after the first 400 or so pages, which were so rich with great, complex characters. Despite this disappointing ending, I would definitely recommend this book - hey, you may think differently about the last section! And it’s worth reading for the author’s beautiful writing style.