Reviews

In the Company of Men by Véronique Tadjo

noel_rene_cisneros's review against another edition

Novela polifónica que narra el brote de la pandemia de ebola de 2014. Tadjo da voz a aldeanos, doctores, enfermeros, sobrevivientes que vivieron (y algunos perecieron) a causa del brote del virus. La narración es sencilla y conmovedora. La parte final resulta chocante porque explícita lo que hasta antes -salvo en un pequeño apartado al principio donde la voz narradora es la del Boabab- en la que toman la voz el árbol sagrado, el virus mismo y los murciélagos y ofrecen mensajes moralizantes, casi como si se tratara de una fábula.

mockturtleneck's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.25

A much needed account of ebola and how we respond to tragedy and disaster. 

candelibri's review against another edition

fast-paced

4.25

Fiction that reads as nonfiction. Still beautiful. Examining the Ebola outbreak of 2014 from multiple POVs

hnakrs's review against another edition

reflective sad

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.75

valeribanana's review against another edition

It was okay! I just have 200+ books in my TBR and don’t want to finish anything I’m not hooked on by the time I’m 20% through. 

thundrflap's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad fast-paced

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

5.0

Fiction that reads as nonfiction; a blending of reality and fairytale, crushing and hopeful.

sonnymirrors's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

This book reads like a call to attention, to focus on the relationship between humanity and nature and the devastation of that on account of humanity's actions. This book is concerned with making sense of devastation and disaster, trying to find meaning in all the chaos that ensues in our world and endeavouring to foster hope and compassion through it all. 

This book is well written and the structure and flow is simple and considered. The writing is poetic, reflective and contemplative. It successfully created the sense of a heartfelt conversation, serious and instructive at once and yet so patient and understanding. The concern for humanity shines through, the frustration and urgent sense of hope cannot be missed. 

The book is written from the perspective of various characters, Al involved in the Ebola epidemics. Here, nature speaks, bats, survivors, doctors, relatives of the infected, and even the dead speak. One is able to connect to the story, feel the reality of the Ebola epidemics from various angles and points of view. There's more than one side to a story and the impact of a disaster is larger and more far reaching than we may think. This work humbles us to that fact. It's a wonderful book. A pleasure to have read it. 

danielles_reads's review against another edition

informative reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.5

 I envy the people who live elsewhere, far away from this country. They can still believe in happiness. They make plans for their future and that of their children. Their sleep is undisturbed by nightmares. I envy those lucky enough to find a certain measure of fulfillment in their lives. For them, obstacles aren't insurmountable. 

This ended up not being what I was expecting at all. I know the synopsis says "a series of moving snapshots", but this felt like a collection of mini essays pretending to be fiction. Kind of like if Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 was a short story collection of multiple characters.

There were some emotional moments due to the sheer scale of loss experienced during the Ebola epidemic, but since none of the POV characters are named and we never really get to know them, the loss doesn't linger. I did feel sad a few times, like when a man's fiancée suddenly died, but I really wish this had gone more into the daily life and experiences of those most affected rather than list off facts of what happened. I did learn more about the Ebola epidemic from this, since it happened at a busy time in my life when I wasn't really paying attention to world news. This reminded me that the world is a lot bigger than myself and my experiences, which is what I always hope for when I read translated works, especially those by authors from the Global South.

I will say that I think the intent of the author was to educate, considering that the actual name of the country that the book takes place in is never named. It's like the book is supposed to be a generic stand-in for the experiences of those affected by Ebola.

My favorite parts were the chapters from the POVs of non-human characters, which is where this book really felt like a novel, especially with a more experimental bent. The chapter from the POV of the Ebola virus itself was my favorite, as it effectively showed that viruses are just trying to survive like humans, while leaving destruction in their wake that humans may or may not deserve. I did like the ones from the POV of the bats and the Baobab tree too, since they reflected on the fleeting nature of humans while also being incredibly destructive in the rush to "modernize."

Some of the best quotes from the POV of the Ebola virus:

I know nothing about their beliefs. I'm not governed by any law. I'm here purely for the sake of existing. I am me, period. An organism that needs to reproduce itself. No compromise. No negotiation. I'm alive, and I'm prepared to do whatever it takes to stay that way. My only needs are to feed and to defend myself. A pile of flesh will do. Any kind of receptacle, animal or human, it's all the same to me. I'm neither good nor bad. Such judgments are useless. I'm like a plant that grows, like a spider that devours its prey.

Humans lament their fate, but they're no better than I am. They have no lessons to teach to anyone. They should instead take a hard look at the evil they have inflicted and continue to inflict on themselves, deliberately, ever since they first walked the earth.

They are destructive by nature, much more so than I am. And yet, although they are perfectly aware of that fact, they refuse to acknowledge it. They prefer to delude themselves, to believe themselves superior to the other creatures in this world. Rulers, tyrants of this planet, that's what they are, and their power is absolute. Their arrogance has made them forget every  limit. Worse, they slaughter one another without mercy, and they come up with crueler ways of tormenting and killing every single day. They always find new reasons for starting wars.

kotabee's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

3.5

fuzzyhebrew's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad fast-paced

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

4.0

This book seeks to tell the story of the 2014 Ebola outbreak through a series of vignettes each told from a different perspective. There are people who succumb to the virus, people who recover, people who treat it, the animals that carry it, and more. I really enjoyed the variety and it gave me a lot to think about as far as my own responsibilities if such an event were to occur in my area. I think the book is very important to read and hits home especially after the COVID pandemic. The author did write this before COVID, but like many others, she knew that epidemics and pandemics were on the horizon based on how humans interact with nature and each other.