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A review by blessing_aj
Discretion by Faïza Guène
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Much like Faiza did in Men Don’t Cry which I absolutely enjoyed reading, the bulk of the issues highlighted in Discretion are centered around migration and it’s peculiarities.
We follow the unraveling of events through different timelines in France, Algeria and Morocco. We also get to experience the story through multiple POVs including that of Yamina, the Taleb matriarch, all the other family members and some other acquaintances.
Sometimes one comes across a translated version of a novel where the translator has done such a good job with the sentence structure that it almost reads like it was originally written in English. This is not one of those and I am envious of those who get to read it in French.
That said, Faiza’s sense of humor is to die for and I loved it for capturing each generation and personality in the Taleb family so well even if the constant head hopping never failed to take me by surprise. I also loved it for brazenly portraying the challenges of being a first and second generation African living in France.
We follow the unraveling of events through different timelines in France, Algeria and Morocco. We also get to experience the story through multiple POVs including that of Yamina, the Taleb matriarch, all the other family members and some other acquaintances.
Sometimes one comes across a translated version of a novel where the translator has done such a good job with the sentence structure that it almost reads like it was originally written in English. This is not one of those and I am envious of those who get to read it in French.
That said, Faiza’s sense of humor is to die for and I loved it for capturing each generation and personality in the Taleb family so well even if the constant head hopping never failed to take me by surprise. I also loved it for brazenly portraying the challenges of being a first and second generation African living in France.