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thebobsphere 's review for:
Diego Garcia
by Natasha Soobramanien, Luke Williams
Diego Garcia is one of those books which is a one of a kind read but it also, for me, falls into the ‘admire but not love’ category.
The titular main character is a person that a couple meet in a library. We find out that Diego is named after an island in the Chagos archipelago, which is near Mauritius and was part of a British colony and had a turbulent history.
The couple then want to atone for this gross chapter in history and want to tell the story, yet this brings up a paradox as it’s technically not their story to tell, which is where the book goes into a lot of interesting territories.
Using interviews, simultaneous conversations and reports. Natasha Soobramanien and Luke Williams create a mind warping read which surprises the reader with each page turn. On top of that there’s a lot of references to both popular and underground bands ( kudos for mentioning Big Joanie, who released a new album the week I read Diego Garcia).
Unfortunately the book didn’t grab me. I understand it is a post modern look at colonialism and it is definitely a unique read but I just couldn’t get invested and got bored quite a few times. I know it’s just me and it’s a pity as there’s a lot to admire here.
The titular main character is a person that a couple meet in a library. We find out that Diego is named after an island in the Chagos archipelago, which is near Mauritius and was part of a British colony and had a turbulent history.
The couple then want to atone for this gross chapter in history and want to tell the story, yet this brings up a paradox as it’s technically not their story to tell, which is where the book goes into a lot of interesting territories.
Using interviews, simultaneous conversations and reports. Natasha Soobramanien and Luke Williams create a mind warping read which surprises the reader with each page turn. On top of that there’s a lot of references to both popular and underground bands ( kudos for mentioning Big Joanie, who released a new album the week I read Diego Garcia).
Unfortunately the book didn’t grab me. I understand it is a post modern look at colonialism and it is definitely a unique read but I just couldn’t get invested and got bored quite a few times. I know it’s just me and it’s a pity as there’s a lot to admire here.