Scan barcode
A review by _inge_
Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This is the first book in a trilogy. It is a challenging read which requires close attention to figure out metaphors and to keep track of what is being said by which character about whom. On top of that, some characters switch shape and name or they go from friend to foe and vice versa.
The narrator is unreliable, as the whole story is told as some sort of interrogation or testimony. To what end is not clear from this book. Therefore, characters that are said to have perished might actually turn up alive again in the following books. What part of the story was a lie and how far is it from the truth?
I'm sure I'll read this book again and I've already marked which characters to pay closer attention to from the beginning next time. It's not always clear which characters will turn out to be an important part of the plot further on, and which ones only play a part in a couple of chapters.
The narrator is unreliable, as the whole story is told as some sort of interrogation or testimony. To what end is not clear from this book. Therefore, characters that are said to have perished might actually turn up alive again in the following books. What part of the story was a lie and how far is it from the truth?
I'm sure I'll read this book again and I've already marked which characters to pay closer attention to from the beginning next time. It's not always clear which characters will turn out to be an important part of the plot further on, and which ones only play a part in a couple of chapters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Death
Moderate: Sexual violence and Child abuse
Minor: Sexual content
If you don't like violence, beware. There is a bunch of explicit violence including against women, children and elders. There are also a lot of metaphors for quite horrific things which may catch unawares one the true meaning hits.