A review by elainarkk
Gravel Heart by Abdulrazak Gurnah

challenging dark emotional tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

This was a required text for a British Literature course, and while I'm glad I read it--as it offers a unique perspective on life in Zanzibar--it ultimately fell flat for me. The entire book felt like it was dancing around main ideas/themes instead of actually engaging with them, and large portions of the book would pass without my noticing: I'd realize that we were decades later than we had been previously, which was confusing. I also felt like the narrator sounded like a young boy, even as he aged, which threw me off. I liked the letter-writing aspect, but that was not enough to overcome my overall unsatisfied feeling with finishing this book.