glittercherry's review
- 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
- 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
4.0
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
4.5
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
- 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
- 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
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
calarco's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
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.