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A review by lattelibrarian
The Girl Who Smiled Beads: A Story of War and What Comes After by Clemantine Wamariya
5.0
Oh, my god. I knew I wanted to read this book the second I got the ARC of it. I can't believe it took me this long to read it. I mean, is it possible to give a book a hundred stars? A thousand? A million?
I want to say that Clemantine and her sister, Claire, deserve so much, but that would be antithetical to Wamariya's experiences: who is she to have come from so little and now have so much? Why her? Why does she deserve this more than others? Really, she doesn't deserve more than anyone else in her position just because she knew how to survive better than them.
UGH THIS BOOK WAS SO GOOD. Wamariya is so evocative and a masterful storyteller--the true horror being that this was indeed her life, as well as so many others. She's careful in what she shares, careful about her rage and anger and upset. She weaves in stories and experiences and the frustrations and wants and needs of her as a six year old to her as a freshman. She must reconcile her privileged hardships alongside the times in which she lived as a refugee, in which her sister married a refugee worker as a means to escape, in which she's lost and alone and has nobody to reach out to.
It's evocative, provocative, chilling, terrifying, reclamative, truthful, honest. It's everything a memoir should be, and a reminder of everything that shouldn't be. Do yourself a favor and read this book. It takes no prisoners, and you will be glad for it.
Review cross-listed here!
I want to say that Clemantine and her sister, Claire, deserve so much, but that would be antithetical to Wamariya's experiences: who is she to have come from so little and now have so much? Why her? Why does she deserve this more than others? Really, she doesn't deserve more than anyone else in her position just because she knew how to survive better than them.
UGH THIS BOOK WAS SO GOOD. Wamariya is so evocative and a masterful storyteller--the true horror being that this was indeed her life, as well as so many others. She's careful in what she shares, careful about her rage and anger and upset. She weaves in stories and experiences and the frustrations and wants and needs of her as a six year old to her as a freshman. She must reconcile her privileged hardships alongside the times in which she lived as a refugee, in which her sister married a refugee worker as a means to escape, in which she's lost and alone and has nobody to reach out to.
It's evocative, provocative, chilling, terrifying, reclamative, truthful, honest. It's everything a memoir should be, and a reminder of everything that shouldn't be. Do yourself a favor and read this book. It takes no prisoners, and you will be glad for it.
Review cross-listed here!