pleoniesmith's review against another edition
1.0
DNF. It started off so strong and it just got stuck. There was no joy in reading it.
gorecki's review against another edition
1.0
I always feel guilty when sharing a negative view on a book - I'm aware of how much work goes into a book and how it's the fruit of someone's sweat, tears and dedication. But even so, there are books that unfortunately really drag me out of my skin and I can't rest until I get the frustration off my chest.
Ladivine starts as a very good read - uncomfortable and pretentious, but still good in its topic - Malinka is the daughter of a black woman who works as a cleaner. Growing up poor and without a father, being called a princess by her mother who tries to give her everything she needs, Malinka starts feeling ashamed of her mother which leads to her treating her as a slave, calling her her servant when one of her classmates sees her, and running away to another city, changing her name and only visiting her mother on the first Tuesday of every month without telling her anything about herself and her life - not even that she's married or has children. I believe this is the only part Ndiaye had figured out before she set out to write this novel. Probably not even the whole part. After this, it all goes downhill.
The language of the whole book is intolerably pretentious, trying hard to be deep but never achieving it. The whole novel reads like an endless character development exercise - what little traces we have of a storyline are only there to put the characters in situations where we can further read about how they feel about this thing or that or what they think of some thing or other, or read endless passages on unrelated memories. So much so, that on many occasions they would contradict themselves. In its pretentiousness and effort at being deep, the book didn't make sense in many scenes: a married couple talks about why they have a dog - the woman says its for protection, the man says its not, the woman says the man is right, it really isn't, so why then? Why do we have a dog? Indeed, Marie, why did you give them that dog? The man says he had no choice. We have no idea what that is supposed to mean, but it must be something deep. In another scene, they throw a young man from a balcony of a hotel and go to sleep. Then the perpetrator is under such intense pressure when he realises that the victim is still alive that we really should feel sorry for him she not for the poor unfortunate soul who was slammed against the pavement. Also do you think this scene was actually related to anything else that happenef in the book?
No.
The characters' behaviour makes no sense in 90% of the time, a huge part of the book is redundant, we learn what happens in the middle of the book and then in the remaining second half nothing else happens. Nothing. People go about thinking and feeling things, then the end comes without any sort of resolution or closure or fanfare.
I'm sorry for ranting, but this was frustrating. How it got nominated for the Booker International Prize is beyond me.
Ladivine starts as a very good read - uncomfortable and pretentious, but still good in its topic - Malinka is the daughter of a black woman who works as a cleaner. Growing up poor and without a father, being called a princess by her mother who tries to give her everything she needs, Malinka starts feeling ashamed of her mother which leads to her treating her as a slave, calling her her servant when one of her classmates sees her, and running away to another city, changing her name and only visiting her mother on the first Tuesday of every month without telling her anything about herself and her life - not even that she's married or has children. I believe this is the only part Ndiaye had figured out before she set out to write this novel. Probably not even the whole part. After this, it all goes downhill.
The language of the whole book is intolerably pretentious, trying hard to be deep but never achieving it. The whole novel reads like an endless character development exercise - what little traces we have of a storyline are only there to put the characters in situations where we can further read about how they feel about this thing or that or what they think of some thing or other, or read endless passages on unrelated memories. So much so, that on many occasions they would contradict themselves. In its pretentiousness and effort at being deep, the book didn't make sense in many scenes: a married couple talks about why they have a dog - the woman says its for protection, the man says its not, the woman says the man is right, it really isn't, so why then? Why do we have a dog? Indeed, Marie, why did you give them that dog? The man says he had no choice. We have no idea what that is supposed to mean, but it must be something deep. In another scene, they throw a young man from a balcony of a hotel and go to sleep. Then the perpetrator is under such intense pressure when he realises that the victim is still alive that we really should feel sorry for him she not for the poor unfortunate soul who was slammed against the pavement. Also do you think this scene was actually related to anything else that happenef in the book?
No.
The characters' behaviour makes no sense in 90% of the time, a huge part of the book is redundant, we learn what happens in the middle of the book and then in the remaining second half nothing else happens. Nothing. People go about thinking and feeling things, then the end comes without any sort of resolution or closure or fanfare.
I'm sorry for ranting, but this was frustrating. How it got nominated for the Booker International Prize is beyond me.
latetotheparty's review against another edition
2.0
I just couldn't get into this book and stopped reading.
anaiira's review against another edition
4.0
Sadness and loneliness in equal parts, with characters mired in their own tragedies of anxiety and love, desire unfulfilled. All set with a backdrop of the loveliness of France and the terrible prejudices against lower-class and race. Every character we meet is so fully convinced that they are not deserving of love, yet try to give it in such generous yet subtle ways.
paulineg's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-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? Yes
3.0
ady_soundslike80's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book was brutal and bleak… and it was also brilliant and beautiful. The writing style is very straightforward and unadorned, but still has a “once upon a time” feel to it. This is my first experience reading from NDiaye. It will certainly not be my last.
andrew61's review against another edition
5.0
This was a remarkable read to which I may struggle to do justice in this brief review. The book explores many themes and as the final third moved into a more magical expression of ideas I put it down with my head spinning .
The books starts with an account of the relationship between Clarisse Riviere and her mother who she calls 'The Servant'. The mother is an African woman ,settled in France , working hard in various cleaning jobs , and living in rented one bedroom accommodation but determined to see her daughter succeed. The child Malinka notices how embarrassing her mother is to her as she progresses through her school life and eventually runs away at 16 , giving up education, finding a bar job and a flat as well as changing her name. Her mother finds her, moving to the town to which she has relocated (with a cringe worthy scene when The servant turns up in the bar where she works) but Clarisse still escapes again when she meets and quickly marries car salesman Richard Riviere. As the story of Clarisse progresses we learn that she can separate from her mother and exclude her from her life as wife and mother by visiting her once a month while telling her husband and daughter that she is an orphan.
Within this part we also see for the first time an underlying theme of people possibly transforming into animals (dogs) with Clarisse ( and later her daughter ) repeatedly seeing a dog following her and a curious scene where her in laws visit to see her new baby ,Ladivine, with a large hound in tow. Richard is afraid of his bullying father but Clarisse and the father in law have a strange connection when the huge dog is found on the baby's bed. I won't go on here but as Clarisse gets older Richard cannot cope with her emotional distance triggering a dramatic and shocking end to Clarisse/Malinka's tale.
The second half then allows us to follow Ladivine Berger ( an important distinction here in surname as we find out that there is a mirroring in the name ) who married to Marko, has two children, is living in Berlin and is at a distance from her father who now has a new wife and step children. In a rut with their holidays ( an interesting exchange ensues with Marko's parents in a bizarre letter) ladivine obtains the advice of her father for a country to visit and the family embark on a disastrous trip to a an unnamed African country where the reader is drawn into an increasingly magical account which includes dogs again , doppelgangers, an encounter with a local boy which is even stranger , and a visit to Richard's car salesmen friends in a forest home. As we move through the section the story becomes increasingly strange and dreamlike as we follow Ladivine's breakdown not knowing what is real or imagined.
This book is strange but compelling and I am still thinking about the characters. The portrayal of three generations of women , race , class and shame is so well drawn that I could feel the embarrassment of Clarisse while also conscious of her deep connection to her mother and the mother's love and need for daughter who rejects her. I understood how Clarisse is emotionally damaged which impacts on her daughter and her daughter's maturity as a wife and mother. The connections are sensitively drawn.
The book also explores women's relationship with men and there is a scene towards the end of Clarisse's tale where certain dynamics change which send a chill down the spine. The interrelationship between Richard and Clarisse , Richard and Ladivine , and Marko and his wife are also well drawn.
The book reflects on race in both the determination of Clarisse to escape her African heritage and skin while later touching on attitudes towards colonialism and a horrific visit to a museum with scenes of colonial massacres and a violent encounter between Marko and the boy Wellington.
This is , as I said at the outset a remarkable read and having spent some time now thinking back over the story I have elevated it from an initial 4* to 5*. While I do not expect it will appeal to everyone as it is not a straightforward plot, descends in magical expression, I think it a unique book which is well worth persevering with to a what is an ambiguous but interesting end.
The books starts with an account of the relationship between Clarisse Riviere and her mother who she calls 'The Servant'. The mother is an African woman ,settled in France , working hard in various cleaning jobs , and living in rented one bedroom accommodation but determined to see her daughter succeed. The child Malinka notices how embarrassing her mother is to her as she progresses through her school life and eventually runs away at 16 , giving up education, finding a bar job and a flat as well as changing her name. Her mother finds her, moving to the town to which she has relocated (with a cringe worthy scene when The servant turns up in the bar where she works) but Clarisse still escapes again when she meets and quickly marries car salesman Richard Riviere. As the story of Clarisse progresses we learn that she can separate from her mother and exclude her from her life as wife and mother by visiting her once a month while telling her husband and daughter that she is an orphan.
Within this part we also see for the first time an underlying theme of people possibly transforming into animals (dogs) with Clarisse ( and later her daughter ) repeatedly seeing a dog following her and a curious scene where her in laws visit to see her new baby ,Ladivine, with a large hound in tow. Richard is afraid of his bullying father but Clarisse and the father in law have a strange connection when the huge dog is found on the baby's bed. I won't go on here but as Clarisse gets older Richard cannot cope with her emotional distance triggering a dramatic and shocking end to Clarisse/Malinka's tale.
The second half then allows us to follow Ladivine Berger ( an important distinction here in surname as we find out that there is a mirroring in the name ) who married to Marko, has two children, is living in Berlin and is at a distance from her father who now has a new wife and step children. In a rut with their holidays ( an interesting exchange ensues with Marko's parents in a bizarre letter) ladivine obtains the advice of her father for a country to visit and the family embark on a disastrous trip to a an unnamed African country where the reader is drawn into an increasingly magical account which includes dogs again , doppelgangers, an encounter with a local boy which is even stranger , and a visit to Richard's car salesmen friends in a forest home. As we move through the section the story becomes increasingly strange and dreamlike as we follow Ladivine's breakdown not knowing what is real or imagined.
This book is strange but compelling and I am still thinking about the characters. The portrayal of three generations of women , race , class and shame is so well drawn that I could feel the embarrassment of Clarisse while also conscious of her deep connection to her mother and the mother's love and need for daughter who rejects her. I understood how Clarisse is emotionally damaged which impacts on her daughter and her daughter's maturity as a wife and mother. The connections are sensitively drawn.
The book also explores women's relationship with men and there is a scene towards the end of Clarisse's tale where certain dynamics change which send a chill down the spine. The interrelationship between Richard and Clarisse , Richard and Ladivine , and Marko and his wife are also well drawn.
The book reflects on race in both the determination of Clarisse to escape her African heritage and skin while later touching on attitudes towards colonialism and a horrific visit to a museum with scenes of colonial massacres and a violent encounter between Marko and the boy Wellington.
This is , as I said at the outset a remarkable read and having spent some time now thinking back over the story I have elevated it from an initial 4* to 5*. While I do not expect it will appeal to everyone as it is not a straightforward plot, descends in magical expression, I think it a unique book which is well worth persevering with to a what is an ambiguous but interesting end.
julietabb's review against another edition
I can't assign a rating to this book because I simultaneously want to give it two and five stars. It's a tough read, really slow and obscure. But the ideas, the plot, the characters are intensely interesting, incredibly layered. I'm impressed with the story and the writing in many sections, but man, it was not an easy or enjoyable read.
anywiebs's review against another edition
1.0
What did I read there? I still couldn't tell you what actually happens in the book. Also the writing had an annoying circuitous, mysterious structure that didn't serve any other purpose than showing how unreliable the characters were in their perception of the world and keep you reading.
No I cannot recommend this at all.
No I cannot recommend this at all.