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A review by mariebrunelm
Histoire de la femme cannibale by Maryse Condé
challenging
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
I hadn’t planned to read this book. Not that I read it against my better judgement, mind you. I’d been wanting to read Maryse Condé for some time, but I intended to start with I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem. That one wasn’t available at the second-hand bookshop, so I picked this one instead. That’s for the context.
The Story of the Cannibal Woman is a stream-of-consciousness contemporary novel about a black Guadeloupean woman, Rosélie, living in Cape Town with Stephen, her white English husband. When Stephen is found dead one night, her whole life unravels and she becomes unmoored. This novel follows her present interspersed with memories from her life with him and the troubles they faced as they travelled across the world before settling in South Africa. It deals heavily with the racism she faced and how misunderstood she was by the black community for having married a white man. It’s mostly an impressive portrait of a woman with all her strengths and failures.
This book was both an easy read and a very difficult one. Easy, because the prose is quite beautiful and flows without you even noticing it. Difficult, because I’m not used to stream-of-consciousness writing (I have hazy memories of reading Virginia Woolf’s Jacob’s Room at university and not understanding a single bit). The narrative jumps from one point in time to another, from one character to another, even though Rosélie is the main focus. I think this book would benefit from being read with a book club or in class with someone giving key points and being ready to answer questions. There were parts where I thought: “This begs to be analysed thoughtfully. Too bad I can’t do it.” So, this book was a little too literary for me, but hey, I’m always glad to step out of my comfort zone and discover more francophone diverse voices.
Rep: Guadeloupean MC.
The Story of the Cannibal Woman is a stream-of-consciousness contemporary novel about a black Guadeloupean woman, Rosélie, living in Cape Town with Stephen, her white English husband. When Stephen is found dead one night, her whole life unravels and she becomes unmoored. This novel follows her present interspersed with memories from her life with him and the troubles they faced as they travelled across the world before settling in South Africa. It deals heavily with the racism she faced and how misunderstood she was by the black community for having married a white man. It’s mostly an impressive portrait of a woman with all her strengths and failures.
This book was both an easy read and a very difficult one. Easy, because the prose is quite beautiful and flows without you even noticing it. Difficult, because I’m not used to stream-of-consciousness writing (I have hazy memories of reading Virginia Woolf’s Jacob’s Room at university and not understanding a single bit). The narrative jumps from one point in time to another, from one character to another, even though Rosélie is the main focus. I think this book would benefit from being read with a book club or in class with someone giving key points and being ready to answer questions. There were parts where I thought: “This begs to be analysed thoughtfully. Too bad I can’t do it.” So, this book was a little too literary for me, but hey, I’m always glad to step out of my comfort zone and discover more francophone diverse voices.
Rep: Guadeloupean MC.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Death
Minor: Child abuse