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mshai's review
challenging
dark
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
4.75
This was stunningly evocative writing. My goodness. It was very dark and horrible in places but the writing really carried this book. Beautiful imagery in such a sad lonely landscape. This story follows a young girl called Ayosa and her journey with her mother and the other women in her family’s past, with her deep loneliness, with her “gift” of memories and with her beautiful friendship and love for her friend Mbui. Jentrix was a beautiful character who deserved more and same with the cafe owner. This is the first magical realism book I’ve read set in Kenya, my motherland, and it was one im unlikely to forget. Warnings: this is very death centric and mentions a lot of death in detail and also speaks about loneliness in a way that aaaaches.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Death of parent, and Abandonment
Minor: Rape and Violence
chichio's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
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
4.0
A unique and magical exploration of generational trauma and the complexities of woman relationships (i.e. mothers and their daughters, and sisterhood achieved through blood and through friendships). I really enjoyed the look into the relationship between Ayosa and Namumbo Promise; Odour isn’t scared to lean into the beauty and the ugliness of mother-daughter relationships, taking a look at how the roles flip and how the daughter is often put in the position of doing the mothering. I also loved the general discussion she forged around family and what it actually means to be part of one. Are you truly a family just because you share blood?
My only real gripe about this read was that some methods of exploring the main theme got repetitive near the end of the book–new scenes that played out the same way and led us to the same ending/epiphany. It didn’t bother me too much because I feel like it displays the consistent toxicity of Ayosa and her mother’s dynamic, but it did make it feel like the book was slow at some points.
Still, I enjoyed it! African literature and magical realism is a match made in heaven; the blurring of lines between realism and African folklore will always intrigue me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Colonisation