Reviews

Walking on Cowrie Shells: Stories by Nana Nkweti

ashg's review

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

storysteph's review

4.0

Didn't really enjoy the first story, but I'm glad I kept with it because the rest of the book was great!

andrewb21's review against another edition

medium-paced

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

2.5

Pretty hit and miss story collection. A couple were really good, but I’ve already forgotten what happened in several.

frahhn's review

dark emotional funny reflective medium-paced

kbjornholt's review

medium-paced

2.5

suzannacaldwell's review

challenging emotional reflective fast-paced

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

3.5

forthirtydollarsnameawoman's review

dark

• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

bookofcinz's review

3.0

Love me a collection of short stories, and one with a great title... however this one fell a little flat for me. While I love how diverse the stories are, I only loved the one where the woman was trying to get pregnant.

Honestly, Ill read what she writes next.

annetjeberg's review

4.0

Wahhh, what stories am I reading here? It surprised me constantly where stories were going, and I really enjoyed this collection. Cannot wait to read something else by Nana Nkweti!

lattelibrarian's review

3.0

Nkweti's collection of short stories is a moody, vivid creation of narratives, relationships, and discussion of the African diaspora. Like any collection, it is a mixed bag, but the two stories that stick out to me the most (as I have this terrible penchant for reviewing books nearly two months after I read them) is The Statistician's Wife and Rain Check at MomoCon, which are about wife-killing and an anime convention, respectively.

Culture, check.

Heritage, check.

Absolutely stunning writing, check.

At times I did struggle to grapple with the content, which for me is a good thing. It means I'm breaking out of my comfort zone and experiencing plenty of new lives and perspectives. This is a fantastic collection for that and one that I'll still be pondering for quite a while.