glittercherry's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
blackandbound's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
noleek's review against another edition
4.0
Zimbabwe does not seem like a wonderful place to live. The struggle of the common citizen to find their place in an almost lawless society where adolescence sex, drug and alcohol abuse, rape, and poverty are everyday regular occurrences. The entire narrative is thought provoking and speaks about racism as well as dysphoria for one's own people and society. I have heard some arguments that this novel is sexist. I have to disagree. I think it sheds light on the disgusting truth of what happened in Rhodesia, that the horrors women endure are unfortunately common place. I think this novel brings those horrors to a much needed larger group of observers. Hopefully one day the abuse will stop.
The House of Hunger is written in an almost Kafkaesque flow of consciousness style narrative where everything is miserable and there is no hope. The narrator is in a constant struggle with his own identity. He is not only aware of his self-loathing but so are others.
The tie in short stories help expand and give clarity to the bleak universe the narrator lives in. A sort of constant limbo between his homeland of Rhodesia and Britain.
Of the shorts I enjoyed Protista the most. It was a surreal look at exile and the madness it causes.
The final Harare trilogy, as I have come to call it, ties the book together with the narrator returning home make for a depressing ending. The last short consisting of a conversation between a Rasta and a cop about what abuse and corruption really mean at their core.
The House of Hunger is written in an almost Kafkaesque flow of consciousness style narrative where everything is miserable and there is no hope. The narrator is in a constant struggle with his own identity. He is not only aware of his self-loathing but so are others.
The tie in short stories help expand and give clarity to the bleak universe the narrator lives in. A sort of constant limbo between his homeland of Rhodesia and Britain.
Of the shorts I enjoyed Protista the most. It was a surreal look at exile and the madness it causes.
The final Harare trilogy, as I have come to call it, ties the book together with the narrator returning home make for a depressing ending. The last short consisting of a conversation between a Rasta and a cop about what abuse and corruption really mean at their core.
nates's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Racism, Violence, Gore, Injury/injury detail, Misogyny, Alcoholism, and Police brutality
Moderate: Death of parent, Animal death, Colonisation, Sexual violence, Body horror, Sexual harassment, Bullying, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, and Sexual assault
norer's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
eli_jw's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Cursing, Death of parent, Infidelity, Misogyny, Police brutality, Racism, Sexual violence, Injury/injury detail, Physical abuse, Animal death, Colonisation, Racial slurs, Self harm, Violence, Child abuse, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Sexual assault, and Rape
vanyavampi118's review against another edition
4.0
A difficult read. The main character is eccentric and interesting. Not an easy read, it disgusts as well as amazes.
calarco's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
jake_'s review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
4.5
It is very difficult to rate a book when its flaws, particularly its occasionally clunky use of language, are a key element of its artistic and political point (from The Guardian's review: 'He considered English a form of combat, a process of "discarding grammar, throwing syntax out, subverting images from within, beating the drum and cymbals of rhythm, developing torture chambers of irony and sarcasm, gas ovens of limitless black resonance"').
Whatever the number of stars, this is a work of idiosyncratic brilliance and great social and historical importance, comparable to that of the Roman satirists (with their juxtaposing of the highest and lowest parts of culture and of life), Bruno Schulz (a troubled childhood takes off into surreal, metaphor-laden chaos), or, more recently, Fiston Mwanza Mujila (African literature which can only express the absurdity and outrage of colonialism with postmodernism).
For a full review I'd recommend https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2014/jan/07/survey-short-story-dambudzo-marechera and the discussion on the Sherds Podcast.
Whatever the number of stars, this is a work of idiosyncratic brilliance and great social and historical importance, comparable to that of the Roman satirists (with their juxtaposing of the highest and lowest parts of culture and of life), Bruno Schulz (a troubled childhood takes off into surreal, metaphor-laden chaos), or, more recently, Fiston Mwanza Mujila (African literature which can only express the absurdity and outrage of colonialism with postmodernism).
For a full review I'd recommend https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2014/jan/07/survey-short-story-dambudzo-marechera and the discussion on the Sherds Podcast.