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A review by dreareads_
The Old Drift by Namwali Serpell
4.0
There were times I wanted to give up while reading this book but there was something about Serpell’s clear yet emotive writing that kept me hooked.
This is a multi generational story that tells a fictional (yet rooted in reality) history of Zambia through the lens of different people that are interconnected either through blood or story. These lenses are presented through “short” stories/chapters that contain their own logic but feed into the wider narrative. The threads between these short stories come together to embrace the chaos and hope that are the core message.
The books shines when it embraces the dark/light/honest emotions of the reality of the characters in these pages. There was not a single character with a name that was not complicated and fully realized. Especially the women, Serpell takes great care in showcasing the strength and weaknesses of women under difficult and privileged contexts. You can feel their joy, pain, frustration, gains, losses, heartbreak, and despair.
The main flaw with this book are the “magical” , “SciFi” elements that are sprinkled throughout. There were moments where the magical realism felt out of place, or at least the meaning of some of these parts was not fully clear after a the first read through. I found myself wishing for a more clear presence of these elements, because their scattered nature left me wondering what the point of them was (maybe that is the point? there isn’t any). The short stories were great at providing different perspectives but I feel that the book meanders a little in the middle, causing the thread of the themes to become lost at times.
Regardless of these flaws, I cannot help but loving this book quite a bit. Even when it felt like the story lost focus, it never lost its heart and that’s what makes it special.
Tw: violence, violence against women, SA, pedophelia, murder, death, racism, sexism, misogyny, colonialism, domestic violence, infidelity, loss of a child, loss of a parent, animal abuse, war, torture, incarceration.
This is a multi generational story that tells a fictional (yet rooted in reality) history of Zambia through the lens of different people that are interconnected either through blood or story. These lenses are presented through “short” stories/chapters that contain their own logic but feed into the wider narrative. The threads between these short stories come together to embrace the chaos and hope that are the core message.
The books shines when it embraces the dark/light/honest emotions of the reality of the characters in these pages. There was not a single character with a name that was not complicated and fully realized. Especially the women, Serpell takes great care in showcasing the strength and weaknesses of women under difficult and privileged contexts. You can feel their joy, pain, frustration, gains, losses, heartbreak, and despair.
The main flaw with this book are the “magical” , “SciFi” elements that are sprinkled throughout. There were moments where the magical realism felt out of place, or at least the meaning of some of these parts was not fully clear after a the first read through. I found myself wishing for a more clear presence of these elements, because their scattered nature left me wondering what the point of them was (maybe that is the point? there isn’t any). The short stories were great at providing different perspectives but I feel that the book meanders a little in the middle, causing the thread of the themes to become lost at times.
Regardless of these flaws, I cannot help but loving this book quite a bit. Even when it felt like the story lost focus, it never lost its heart and that’s what makes it special.
Tw: violence, violence against women, SA, pedophelia, murder, death, racism, sexism, misogyny, colonialism, domestic violence, infidelity, loss of a child, loss of a parent, animal abuse, war, torture, incarceration.