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bookreviewswithkb's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
4.25 ✨
elegy, psychological thriller, mystery, literary fiction
author of THE OLD DRIFT
this novel is the epitome of the protagonist’s desire - she isn’t here to tell us what happened, but to tell us how it felt. and you will feel. i don’t think it’s possible to fully grasp all Serpell offers in this novel on the first read through and i think it would be easy to give up on this novel but you absolutely shouldn’t. it’s worth giving all of your attention to and then some
the first half is a kind of elegy, for the main character’s grief experienced by the death of her brother, but also for all the ways Black people are harmed by this world and the ever changing flow of grief that follows
in the second half there’s a shift in POV and in language and in feel. it is an exploration of the systems that oppress Black people and the ways it can manifest and how much power it can hold
“you get a rap like that, eighteen years old? in baltimore? it’s a wrap. it’s like you dead, and now you gotta spend the rest of your days as a ghost to the life you was supposed to be livin. and when i got out, what was i sposed to do? …get me an apartment and a job? aint nobody hirin an ex-con. nah, man. truth is, there ain’t no life but The Life once you done a nickel.”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Racism, and Violence
Moderate: Death and Police brutality