Take a photo of a barcode or cover
piemaid 's review for:
She Would Be King
by Wayétu Moore
She Would Be King often gets billed as a fictionalized telling of the founding of Liberia. It is so much more than that, and difficult to put into a single book review. There is a sense of reclaiming throughout this book, of making their own things that were taken from the three main characters (most notably their own heritage). Isolation follows each character as he or she struggles to find meaning and “home”, and I found myself longing along with these people as they stumbled, fell, and rose up again.
The magical realism of this tale and the reimagining of the oppressed “other” peoples as almost superheroes of their day is very well done and lends a mysticism to the story that feels very true. It’s somewhat thrilling to imaging changing the course of slave history and the horrors enacted in the name of economics and power. A wonderful addition to the panoply of modern-day black literature.
The magical realism of this tale and the reimagining of the oppressed “other” peoples as almost superheroes of their day is very well done and lends a mysticism to the story that feels very true. It’s somewhat thrilling to imaging changing the course of slave history and the horrors enacted in the name of economics and power. A wonderful addition to the panoply of modern-day black literature.