thunguyen's review
3.0
3 star as I neither like it or hate it. Good enough for me to keep reading and finish the book in one go. After reading it I think I can understand the gravitational pull of such barren land.
myrymayranen's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
xxxbandarxxx's review
5.0
يروي هذا الكتاب قصة امرأة بدوية شابة من الصحراء تصبح عارضة صورة شهيرة، وعودتها إلى الصحراء لتلد طفلها. وكذالك يحكي الكتاب قصة موازية عن سحق الطوارق في بداية القرن 20 من قبل المستعمرين الفرنسيين.
كسر المؤلف أسس جديدة مع كتابه ألصحراء حيث أكد ونقل صورا رائعة للثقافة الضائعة في صحراء شمال أفريقيا تقابلها رؤية لأوروبا من خلال عيون مهاجرين غير مرغوب فيهم. وامرأة تخلت عن اراضيها الصحراوية وتتحرك في بيئة منحلة من التحضر الفرنسي.
كما خلق الكاتب ببراعة العلاقة التكافلية بين الطوارق والطبيعة. قصة ليلى وقصة نور وارتباطهم بالأرض للحصول على إجابات، الرزق والرياح والشمس والبحر لا تتحكم بحياتهم فقط، ولكنها النبض الداخلي في دمائهم وداخل قلوبهم. هذا هو ما يعطي الكتاب لقراءة ألعالمين وهو منظور الناس التي تجوب الصحراء بحثا عن أرضهم وتقاليدهم. ولكن الجوع والبأس و السلطة نظفت ببطء لائحة التنوع العرقي.
كتاب الصحراء هو جهد الكاتب لإعطاء صوت للشعب الذي تحدث خلال رحلاتهم وخلال احترامهم للطبيعة وخلال صمتهم، وقال انه يجعلنا نعلم كم هم يستحقون مكانا على هذه الأرض.
من افضل ما قرأت.
كسر المؤلف أسس جديدة مع كتابه ألصحراء حيث أكد ونقل صورا رائعة للثقافة الضائعة في صحراء شمال أفريقيا تقابلها رؤية لأوروبا من خلال عيون مهاجرين غير مرغوب فيهم. وامرأة تخلت عن اراضيها الصحراوية وتتحرك في بيئة منحلة من التحضر الفرنسي.
كما خلق الكاتب ببراعة العلاقة التكافلية بين الطوارق والطبيعة. قصة ليلى وقصة نور وارتباطهم بالأرض للحصول على إجابات، الرزق والرياح والشمس والبحر لا تتحكم بحياتهم فقط، ولكنها النبض الداخلي في دمائهم وداخل قلوبهم. هذا هو ما يعطي الكتاب لقراءة ألعالمين وهو منظور الناس التي تجوب الصحراء بحثا عن أرضهم وتقاليدهم. ولكن الجوع والبأس و السلطة نظفت ببطء لائحة التنوع العرقي.
كتاب الصحراء هو جهد الكاتب لإعطاء صوت للشعب الذي تحدث خلال رحلاتهم وخلال احترامهم للطبيعة وخلال صمتهم، وقال انه يجعلنا نعلم كم هم يستحقون مكانا على هذه الأرض.
من افضل ما قرأت.
wathohuc's review against another edition
3.0
Finally! I’ll tell you, it’s a rich, dense, and poetically beautiful read. But it’s tedious, too. It has zero plot line. The two main characters and their storylines have zero connection other than some loose ties to the same geographical region of North Africa. I’m finding that this is how French writers write. And I’m finding that it’s not my favorite style. In fact, it’s among my least favorite styles. I can acknowledge the aesthetic beauty in the writing; but I just need more of a storyline. French writers seem to think that greatness in writing comes from how closely one can approximate Proust. LeClézio is no exception. Just like U.S. writers measure literary greatness in terms of how closely they can approximate Faulkner’s stream of consciousness style, and just like Latin American writers make Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s magical realism their gold standard, French writers follow the same logic, but with Proust as the literary bellwether. And that’s not my cup of tea. However, on the flip side, if you love Proust, you’ll enjoy LeClézio and his efforts here.
nwhyte's review
4.0
http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/2144107.html[return][return]When Le Cl�zio won the Nobel Prize for Literature a few years back, I was fascinated to discover that he had written a book set partly in the Western Sahara, which is indeed where his story starts and ends, following an uprising of then indigenous people against the Europeans of 1910-11, told from the viewpoint of a young boy close to but not in the events. But more than half of the book, interwoven with the sections set earlier, is the story of Lalla, set perhaps in the early 1950s, following her from a shanty-town near the coast, with her unspeaking herdsman lover, to Marseilles and back. It is Marseilles that turns out to be the real human desert, full of alienation for Lalla; Nour's desert is a vibrant human space, full of physical and cultural significance. It would be interesting to read some critiques of this from sources nearer the region, but I very much enjoyed Le Cl�zio's turning round the questions of who is alien, what is normal, where is the real desert.
cindywho's review against another edition
2.0
I was curious about Le Clezio because he won the Nobel Prize. The prose was lovely and lyrical, but I do love a good plot. Two stories intertwine - a young man is part of an ill-fated army headed across the desert to fight the Christians in the early part of the 20th century. In the later part of the century, a young woman lives in squalor on the coast of North Africa. She seems to be a conduit for a lot of marvelous description of nature and then later of city life - but to not have much of a life of her own. Finishing it was a bit of a struggle. I hope the next in line at the library enjoys it more!
jpmedina's review
emotional
inspiring
reflective
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? It's complicated
4.75
nightynate's review
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
0.25
aelinskingdom's review
2.0
Wow
That’s all
Wow
(Spoilers kind of)
But also why did everyone have to die like goddamnit no I liked Radicz or however you spell his same and that massacre was not fun to read
That’s all
Wow
(Spoilers kind of)
But also why did everyone have to die like goddamnit no I liked Radicz or however you spell his same and that massacre was not fun to read
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