Reviews

Black Moses by Alain Mabanckou

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girlgeekcyclist's review against another edition

1.0

I liked the narrator, but many of the other characters were written of a throwaway style, as is to say "this person was part of the story but also here is something horrible they did in the past", ok, thanks. The ending and the overall plot for me were too confusing to follow. I also felt the timing was all over and in the end I guess I was just glad it was over, even if I didn't really understand what happened. I received this book as part of a subscription I've just ordered from a book shop. Here's hoping the next one is a bit more my style.

eddie_burgess's review against another edition

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fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

l0v3lu's review against another edition

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challenging fast-paced

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

2.5

octavia_cade's review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted fast-paced

3.5

The more I read this, the more I was reminded of Charles Dickens... except this is far more lively, and far more contemporary. It's like the Artful Dodger left an orphanage behind and ran to Pointe Noire to live as part of a gang of petty thieves. There's a real undertone of humour here as well, albeit very black humour, but the most appealing thing is the voice of the protagonist. Moses is such an entertaining character, whether he's hiding hot peppers in the midnight snacks of other boys, or mourning the cat he didn't want to eat, or running errands for the local brothel keeper. He's a bit of a larrikin, is Moses, though he means well. I had hoped for a rather happier ending than he got, but then it's not an entirely unhappy ending either. It just skates along the edge of believability, a final incredulous detail in a story that gleefully wallows in its entertaining, over-the-top nature.

thelaurasaurus's review against another edition

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5.0

Told through the eyes of a 13 year old orphan, this book has a refresshingly light touch on some serious issues, such as mental illness, corruption, poverty, and child abuse. There are plenty of books to read which go in-depth on these issues, and sometimes I don’t want that. Despite the levity, it was still moving.

There are arguably four different phases to the story, and each is shorter than the last - I wouldn’t tie the way I see these phases exactly to the sections in the book. Some readers found this to be unbalanced, but for me it brought to mind the way that life seems to speed up the older you get.

I don’t always enjoy translations from French to English, but this one worked for me. I’m never sure if this says more about the author, the translator, or both.

Reading challenge: I’ve sorted my Goodreads list by date added, and I’m going back to the start. I’ll be reading one book added in each year, starting in 2015, working forward, and then repeating until I get bored (which won’t be long). This is book 7 of the catchupathon, 2023.

Reason for putting off reading: About once a year I go to the library, remember that I like doing that, get some books out, then come home, look at my bookshelf about to explode under the weight of all my unread books, feel guilty, and ignore my library books. I’ve only had to renew this once, which is a win.