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A review by helenecats
Tropique de la violence by Nathacha Appanah
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Do you know where Mayotte is? If I tell you it's close to Madagascar, you probably imagine a small, vibrant island, with gorgeous vegetation, beaches, tropical fruit and sun all year round.
Pick up this book. It shows you the impact of colonisation, of poverty, of a lack of or inadequate education. Of trying to raise a child of a different skin colour and culture, in a small cocoon. Of what happens when that bubble burst suddenly when that child is still young, and when he goes to the nearby slum and becomes perpetually hungry and scared.
Thank you again @independent_wombat for picking this book as part of the #readtheworld challenge on Bookstagram. Weirdly, one day after reading her review, I spotted this book in a small café in Essaouira, Morocco. (Saha kfé) The owner insisted that I take it for free.
This book swallowed me, and spat me out a day later. I had tears streaming down my face by the end, even though I was on a beautiful sunny Moroccan beach. Shocking, brutal, sad, moving, extremely well-written, in short, a must read. Some passages are really upsetting, but it is a necessary read to understand the situation in Mayotte, and many other places where the very rich live alongside the very poor. It contains violence of many kinds. It starts, continues and ends with death. It has so much despair, hatred, cruelty - please check the trigger warnings.
I think this book affected me even more because I read it in my native language. After all, Mayotte is a French territory. The kwassa kwassa boats are coming to the island's shore, full of refugees from nearby countries, but there are also several white characters in this story… Trying to make a difference and causing many problems in the process; others blatantly exploiting their privilege.
This is not non-fiction, though. The writing style is poetic, lyrical, and I reread many of its sentences. I thoroughly recommend.
Pick up this book. It shows you the impact of colonisation, of poverty, of a lack of or inadequate education. Of trying to raise a child of a different skin colour and culture, in a small cocoon. Of what happens when that bubble burst suddenly when that child is still young, and when he goes to the nearby slum and becomes perpetually hungry and scared.
Thank you again @independent_wombat for picking this book as part of the #readtheworld challenge on Bookstagram. Weirdly, one day after reading her review, I spotted this book in a small café in Essaouira, Morocco. (Saha kfé) The owner insisted that I take it for free.
This book swallowed me, and spat me out a day later. I had tears streaming down my face by the end, even though I was on a beautiful sunny Moroccan beach. Shocking, brutal, sad, moving, extremely well-written, in short, a must read. Some passages are really upsetting, but it is a necessary read to understand the situation in Mayotte, and many other places where the very rich live alongside the very poor. It contains violence of many kinds. It starts, continues and ends with death. It has so much despair, hatred, cruelty - please check the trigger warnings.
I think this book affected me even more because I read it in my native language. After all, Mayotte is a French territory. The kwassa kwassa boats are coming to the island's shore, full of refugees from nearby countries, but there are also several white characters in this story… Trying to make a difference and causing many problems in the process; others blatantly exploiting their privilege.
This is not non-fiction, though. The writing style is poetic, lyrical, and I reread many of its sentences. I thoroughly recommend.