Reviews

In the Country of Others by Leïla Slimani

evorongorota's review against another edition

emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense

5.0

caracteres contados no podrían ni semejar lo sentido con el libro, así que me limito a recomendarlo 
una puta maravilla, ahora solo pienso en leerme todos los libros de esta mujer 

daydreams's review against another edition

reflective medium-paced

• Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.75

ruth14's review

dark informative medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.5

margaretrose's review

dark emotional tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I can't tell if she's wildly islamophobic or not. It feels as though the prejudices and negative personality traits of the characters come from islam, which is a twisting of the faith. And there is the issue of the "lemange" tree and it as a metaphor for interracial/intercultural marriage and children.

The first 20 or so pages were intense to read as a white foreigner married to a brown muslim man as Mathilde navigates her new existence. I worry for her. No character in the novel is blameless but some introspection would go a long way for Mathilde and Amine.

However, the prose is amazing and I would love to read some sentences for the first time again.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Colonisation, and War

Moderate: Xenophobia and Islamophobia

adrireism's review

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

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

3.25

The book is cute but there are too many little episodes that start off right but lead nowhere. It seems like the author tried to fit a lot of side stories into the main plot, and in the end of the book you have the feeling that there are a lot of lose ends. 

fenja_gatz's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective medium-paced

3.0

mchyczij's review

2.0

This one took me a minute to get through because I just didn’t really care about any of the characters? Everyone is kind of horrible and unlikeable. And the “romance” is toxic and horrible. I get that it’s a period piece about a naive woman but come on? If you’re going to enter an interracial marriage and move to Morocco from France, leaving your whole family behind, I feel like you should like the guy? It feels like she hates him almost instantly, and lives with her mistake forever. But I honestly don’t buy that from someone as selfish as her?

Because of these beginning decision I was kinda turned off of the book. I kept trying to sink my claws into something or some character that made me want to care, but I just couldn’t.

The writing is full of beautiful (and sometimes gruesome) imagery, but it was a completely “tell, don’t show” kind of storytelling which isn’t for me. Makes it kind of boring.

yotfus's review

emotional reflective tense 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? Yes

4.5

ikassou's review

challenging emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

monamelona's review against another edition

dark medium-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

1.0

This one was hard to finish. It‘s not that it‘s poorly written or that it doesn‘t sometimes have its moments. But overall it is merely an accumulation of racist clichés, misogynist stereotypes and french colonial propaganda. Hard to endure! The characters are underdeveloped and predictable. I felt like they rather serve to convey the author‘s bourgeois world view, than act as actual people who the reader could build a connection to. Don‘t waste your time on this.