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challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
What an astonishing book.
I've had this sat on my kindle for nearly a year and so decided to tackle it as my first book of 2025.
The first half is not for the faint of heart, the plot develops slowly as do our characters, and it is all interspersed with deep philosophical lectures from the Oxford professors. The slow pace allows for the reader to get into Robin's head, to fall in love with Oxford and it's mad academic rituals and rigour. And to empathise with his struggle to reconcile his love for the life and family he's built and his creeping realisation of the evils of his colonial oppressors.
I read the last 200 pages in one afternoon, pausing every time my heart broke, but unable to put the book down.
A true masterpiece.
I've had this sat on my kindle for nearly a year and so decided to tackle it as my first book of 2025.
The first half is not for the faint of heart, the plot develops slowly as do our characters, and it is all interspersed with deep philosophical lectures from the Oxford professors. The slow pace allows for the reader to get into Robin's head, to fall in love with Oxford and it's mad academic rituals and rigour. And to empathise with his struggle to reconcile his love for the life and family he's built and his creeping realisation of the evils of his colonial oppressors.
I read the last 200 pages in one afternoon, pausing every time my heart broke, but unable to put the book down.
A true masterpiece.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Racism, Xenophobia, Colonisation
Minor: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Death of parent