misspalah's review against another edition
4.0
This will be marked as one of the heart wrenching books I've read in 2018. All of 5 tales featured in the book is fiction but the gap it has with reality is so close. Deprivation of education, Children Trafficking, Religion Extremism, Civil wars and Genocide are rooted deeply as the theme of these stories. The only complaint i have with this book is when the character(s) were having a conversation, I couldn't understand some of it as the usage of slang of their native language are heavily used in the book. I don't mind it at all but i wish author would put the * or side notes for the slang so i could comprehend it. Overall, This is not a light reading, proceed with cautious and calm mind.
jlworley's review against another edition
DNF at page 220.
I read 3/5 of the short stories in this book and just could not find the motivation to read the last two. It's well written and it's topics we should all probably be more aware of (poverty, children trafficking, etc.) but I'm setting this one aside. I think part of the problem is they're all such depressing stories, but the main reason is that I'm not a fan of short stories because they tend to end right about the time I'm actually starting to care about the story or the characters.
I read 3/5 of the short stories in this book and just could not find the motivation to read the last two. It's well written and it's topics we should all probably be more aware of (poverty, children trafficking, etc.) but I'm setting this one aside. I think part of the problem is they're all such depressing stories, but the main reason is that I'm not a fan of short stories because they tend to end right about the time I'm actually starting to care about the story or the characters.
rocknrollfun's review against another edition
1.0
While the subject matter should have been engaging or provoking, the way it was written left me feeling flat and detached (much like the characters). I read about half the book before just stopping. I never got into it and never saw the point of finishing. It's truly disappointing, as I feel these stories could have been so much better.
tlchand's review against another edition
3.0
I had a very hard time getting through the first few stories. I think this was primarily because of the colloquial language used throughout. The stories were fiction but still bring awareness to horrendous conditions and acts that occurred throughout history in Africa.
phonte's review against another edition
5.0
Incredibly powerful and moving. Left me in shock. The Uwem Akpan really showed genius in this novel. The innocence in children and forced maturity was truly on display in this novel. Also creates an immediate disgust and contempt for the adults who truly wrong these children.
jfbfsf's review against another edition
4.0
The writing was beautiful, and the characters engaging. However, I found each successive story to be harder to read, because of the subject matter. Almost all the stories were about children suffering at the hands of others. Starving, living in the slums and scrounging for food, families torn apart by civil war, etc. By the time I got to the last story, I almost wished I had never read it - certainly not the last story anyway. I have a habit of sinking into the setting of a book, and the tone and feeling of the book affects how I feel, my mood, and my thoughts. It's not a great thing - I like to read all kinds of books, and books about suffering can be good - but I can't always help it. Knowing that, I felt terrible when I was done with this book - a testament to the author's skillful writing, and to the tragic circumstances of some of the stories. Worth reading... but I'll just say again: I wish I had never read the last story.
indianajane's review against another edition
3.0
After finishing the book I was having a hard time coming up with a rating. There were things that I liked about the writing, but there were times I wanted to say, "Okay, okay. Move on already." The stories, told from the points of view of children, are sad and brutal, but I know that he is portraying reality, which makes them that much sadder.
I can't really say that I liked the book, but at the same time I'm not sorry I read it.
I can't really say that I liked the book, but at the same time I'm not sorry I read it.
geirertzgaard's review against another edition
4.0
For en glimrende, vanskelig lest bok! Uwem Akpan har gitt ut én bok, og det er denne, og den er knallsterk og vond å lese på den rette måten. Boken består av fem noveller med ujevn lengde, der alle handler om fattige barn i ekstreme situasjoner i fem forskjellige afrikanske land som opplever helt ulike situasjoner men som har alle til felles at det «går ikke bra». Umulig fattigdom i Nairobi, barn som selges som slaver i Benin, en ungdom som flykter fra trosforfølgelse i Nigeria, jenta som bevitner hvordan foreldrene havner på feil side under folkemordet i Rwanda, bestevenninner som ikke får leke sammen mer i Etiopia fordi situasjonen forandrer seg fra den ene dagen til den neste.
Vanskelig å lese fordi Akpan skriver nært, så nært at selv dialogen i de forskjellige språkene er på pidgin eller tilsvarende lokale varianter, og som gjør hver setning til en øvelse. Det hinderet er verd å passere, for den virkelige smerten boken beskriver overvinner alle lesetekniske hinder og gjør boken svært minneverdig. Blir det for makabert, for sterkt? Nei, fordi Akpan holder seg tett inntil enkeltpersonene hele tiden, og de ekstreme ytre forholdene får aldri lov til å dominere historiene.
Ikke fem stjerner? Nei, dialogen gjør dette til en vanskelig bok å lese, for mange for vanskelig.
Vanskelig å lese fordi Akpan skriver nært, så nært at selv dialogen i de forskjellige språkene er på pidgin eller tilsvarende lokale varianter, og som gjør hver setning til en øvelse. Det hinderet er verd å passere, for den virkelige smerten boken beskriver overvinner alle lesetekniske hinder og gjør boken svært minneverdig. Blir det for makabert, for sterkt? Nei, fordi Akpan holder seg tett inntil enkeltpersonene hele tiden, og de ekstreme ytre forholdene får aldri lov til å dominere historiene.
Ikke fem stjerner? Nei, dialogen gjør dette til en vanskelig bok å lese, for mange for vanskelig.
lifeinpoetry's review against another edition
5.0
This short story collection was brutal. Every story felt like a blow and none ended happily. Atrocity after atrocity displayed for American/Western consumption. It's really hard to rate this because while the individual characters may be fictional the violence that took place at particular points in time was very real. I remember a lot of discussion about these issues from school, especially for Model United Nations (MUN).