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A review by mst3kakalina
The Radiance of the King by Camara Laye
2.0
This is shelved in my "TIME Top 100" novels shelf, but it's not actually in the TIME Top 100 list. I've edited the list to include a greater variety of writers (i.e. not all old white dudes).
I started out really liking this book---I am a little bit of an H. Rider Haggard/old timey African adventure novel fan, and I appreciated what seemed to be a postcolonial, subversive take on the genre.
But then as the story progressed, shit just got really, really weird. Even with the help of Toni Morrison's introduction I still felt adrift.
Is this a problem of translation? Is this a problem of my own personal taste? Is this a problem of being compelled to read under a deadline, even a generous one (this was a library read)? Is this a problem of fundamental weaknesses in American literary education, particularly as it relates to colonialism/writers of color/etc.? I don't know.
So then, the trouble of reviewing: I wanted to like it, and even now I love the idea and concept of it, but if I am honest the experience of reading was not entirely an enjoyable one. Two stars seems the best balance between my affection for the idea and the execution's failures (or, better put, my failures to really comprehend the execution). Perhaps I should put this aside for Laye's more autobiographical works instead?
I started out really liking this book---I am a little bit of an H. Rider Haggard/old timey African adventure novel fan, and I appreciated what seemed to be a postcolonial, subversive take on the genre.
But then as the story progressed, shit just got really, really weird. Even with the help of Toni Morrison's introduction I still felt adrift.
Is this a problem of translation? Is this a problem of my own personal taste? Is this a problem of being compelled to read under a deadline, even a generous one (this was a library read)? Is this a problem of fundamental weaknesses in American literary education, particularly as it relates to colonialism/writers of color/etc.? I don't know.
So then, the trouble of reviewing: I wanted to like it, and even now I love the idea and concept of it, but if I am honest the experience of reading was not entirely an enjoyable one. Two stars seems the best balance between my affection for the idea and the execution's failures (or, better put, my failures to really comprehend the execution). Perhaps I should put this aside for Laye's more autobiographical works instead?