Take a photo of a barcode or cover
tasha_wade 's review for:
Tram 83
by Fiston Mwanza Mujila
I think there is a different world where I rate this book very highly because there was a lot I did like about it. For starters I like the prose, it's got a poetic quality, it bounces around slips between third and first person in a way that I found interesting and enjoyable. I also really like the concept of this novel, I love the focus on the Tram and the mix of people that come together there, I like the power struggles between tourists (like Malingeau), the locals (like Requiem) and the actual general (although he doesn't really appear just lurks on the edges of the book like the war that's going on). I like how it's the naked photos of men and male nudes that preoccupy a lot of the power struggles too, how they all fear their bodies becoming public.
Which leads me onto parts I did not like. For staters this is exactly like those jokes of how men write women. There are no actual female characters in this book (I guess maybe Émilienne has some complexity but not really) they are just sex objects and it was not fun to read. I also think generally the execution of the ideas mentioned above did fall a bit flat, the war, the mines, this history with Jacqueline are all vaguely mentioned but not fully explored. So in general this book was such a let down to me because it was so nearly good.
Which leads me onto parts I did not like. For staters this is exactly like those jokes of how men write women. There are no actual female characters in this book (I guess maybe Émilienne has some complexity but not really) they are just sex objects and it was not fun to read. I also think generally the execution of the ideas mentioned above did fall a bit flat, the war, the mines, this history with Jacqueline are all vaguely mentioned but not fully explored. So in general this book was such a let down to me because it was so nearly good.