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A review by raulbime
Who Slashed Celanire's Throat?: A Fantastical Tale by Maryse Condé
4.0
This remarkable story has come to an end, and I leave it and the people in it sadder at its end, happier after reading it and I’d like to think more knowledgeable than I had been before I started it. Where to begin with this exquisite terrifying tale? It starts off on the coasts of modern day Cote D’Ivoire during French Colonization. Celanire, the protagonist of this tale is the most well written villain I’ve read in a while. So well written and so complex and mystifying that it is still difficult to say just how she is evil. An orphan from Guadeloupe, she grows up and studies under the care of nuns and is sent to oversee a home for biracial children abandoned by their white colonial fathers, where destruction and death follows this mysterious figure wherever she goes.
Going from the coasts of West Africa, to the islands of the Caribbean and northern South America, we’re led with brilliant words that give such a vivid picture of the various settings this story takes place in as we trace the origins of Celanire and the history that gave rise to this formidable character. Reading this story I’ve come to know more about maroon communities, traditions shared between the different communities of the African diaspora and generally about the history and geography of the multicultural regions the book is set in.
The most fascinating bit of this story for me was how a story, an incident, narrative, history takes a life of its own as it passes from individual to individual and through time. The story of Celanire, told through different characters gains form from the different individuals, each side enriching the story and driving the tantalizing and equally frightening and macabre story forward. Celanire was such a fascinating character, her motives and their reasons become clearer as the narrative progresses but her character remains just as elusive till the end. The second book to have read by this author, I've really enjoyed it and borrowed some more by her from the library that I can't wait to read.
Going from the coasts of West Africa, to the islands of the Caribbean and northern South America, we’re led with brilliant words that give such a vivid picture of the various settings this story takes place in as we trace the origins of Celanire and the history that gave rise to this formidable character. Reading this story I’ve come to know more about maroon communities, traditions shared between the different communities of the African diaspora and generally about the history and geography of the multicultural regions the book is set in.
The most fascinating bit of this story for me was how a story, an incident, narrative, history takes a life of its own as it passes from individual to individual and through time. The story of Celanire, told through different characters gains form from the different individuals, each side enriching the story and driving the tantalizing and equally frightening and macabre story forward. Celanire was such a fascinating character, her motives and their reasons become clearer as the narrative progresses but her character remains just as elusive till the end. The second book to have read by this author, I've really enjoyed it and borrowed some more by her from the library that I can't wait to read.