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anniepatt's review against another edition
Very heavy subject matter- not for someone struggling with depression or other mental health issues
coralrose's review
3.0
This book is harsh. It's heart-breaking. And it's not pretty.
But neither is Africa, in all honesty.
I mean, I understand not wanting to read a book that is so much reality and so little joy, but you know, just because our lives are relatively easy doesn't mean that the rest of the world is.
I think that our refusal to see themes in books like this one are the reason that other countries see us as ego-centric. Because we are. Why read about pain and rape and death when we can just go get a latte and listen to Norah Jones instead?
But neither is Africa, in all honesty.
I mean, I understand not wanting to read a book that is so much reality and so little joy, but you know, just because our lives are relatively easy doesn't mean that the rest of the world is.
I think that our refusal to see themes in books like this one are the reason that other countries see us as ego-centric. Because we are. Why read about pain and rape and death when we can just go get a latte and listen to Norah Jones instead?
susanbrooks's review against another edition
2.0
I'd read a lot of GREAT reviews of this book of short stories based upon the tragic lives of children in Africa. It didn't live up to my expectations. I felt like I was supposed to think it was important - and the subject is. The subject matter was difficult, and I wasn't engrossed in the writing.
milktoast's review
3.0
Hit or miss short story collection about the lives of children in various African countries. An important and rich subject matter, but this book could have been vastly improved with an unforgiving editor. Stories ran on too long and sometimes suffered from exposition overload. The shorter stories were much better.
alaiyo0685's review
2.0
I found it hard to connect to the characters in these stories. They are masterfully written, but I would have greatly appreciated something before each story giving readers a sense of the setting and historical context of the conflict the story zooms in on. Without that, the struggle, strife, and unbelievable violence of these stories seems very arbitrary and anonymous.
bookishblond's review
2.0
Uwen Akpan has a very important message he wants to share with you, but he does not have the skills to communicate them. This is unfortunate; the perspective of the child in modern Africa is one that has not been explored thoroughly enough.
Each of these short stories is set in a different country in modern-day Africa and is narrated by a child (two of the "stories" are more like novellas at over a hundred pages each). Akpan tackles issues such as child prostitution, slum life, slavery, race relations, and religion, but there is a striking lack of empathy and emotion in the writing that takes away from the stories. The biggest problem with this collection is the slang dialect and phonetic spelling which makes the stories absolutely unreadable at times.
If you want to read about Africa, skip this one and pick up some Chinua Achebe instead.
Each of these short stories is set in a different country in modern-day Africa and is narrated by a child (two of the "stories" are more like novellas at over a hundred pages each). Akpan tackles issues such as child prostitution, slum life, slavery, race relations, and religion, but there is a striking lack of empathy and emotion in the writing that takes away from the stories. The biggest problem with this collection is the slang dialect and phonetic spelling which makes the stories absolutely unreadable at times.
If you want to read about Africa, skip this one and pick up some Chinua Achebe instead.
ardaigle's review
4.0
This is a tough book to describe. It is a collection of short stories set in different locales in war-torn Africa. A simple summary of my feelings would be uncomfortably educational. The violence is graphic and horrific and the presence of children in each tale makes it all the more awful.
Even so, the stories are filled with hope because they show that even when faced with extraordinary situations, obstacles, and bigotry, the human spirit can remain strong.
Even so, the stories are filled with hope because they show that even when faced with extraordinary situations, obstacles, and bigotry, the human spirit can remain strong.
nssutton's review
3.0
this is not the kind of book that you can say you either liked or disliked. i hated trying to get through it, past the dialogue infused with things i didn't understand and the plot points i couldn't bear to think about being someone's actual realities. i almost stopped reading about ten times, because it's not the sort of book you want to be snow bound with, but in the end i'm glad that i stuck through.