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A review by alisonburnis
Beyond the Door of No Return by David Diop
adventurous
dark
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The renowned botanist Michel Arondson dies in France, having spent most of his life focused on his work, trying to make a great encyclopedia, to the exclusion of everything. His estranged daughter Aglaé nevertheless comes to his side, to spend her days with him as he dies. So she is there to hear his final word: “Maram.”
Aglaé is left a confusing mass of objects from his estate, including a hidden notebook telling of her father’s journey to Senegal as a young scientist and his brief encounter with Maram, a Senegalese woman he fell in love with and sought to save, once. The story is at once fantastical and tragic, a doomed love story.
I love Diop’s first book and International Booker winner, and this second one is equally as strong, though not nearly so brutal. Diop can weave a layered story in relatively few words, and leave you breathless.
I received this ARC via NetGalley.
Aglaé is left a confusing mass of objects from his estate, including a hidden notebook telling of her father’s journey to Senegal as a young scientist and his brief encounter with Maram, a Senegalese woman he fell in love with and sought to save, once. The story is at once fantastical and tragic, a doomed love story.
I love Diop’s first book and International Booker winner, and this second one is equally as strong, though not nearly so brutal. Diop can weave a layered story in relatively few words, and leave you breathless.
I received this ARC via NetGalley.