chrissireads's review against another edition
1.0
I thought this book had some interesting parts in it, but overall it didn't interest me as much as I had hoped.
bibliobethreads's review against another edition
3.0
A really interesting book that I felt I learned a lot from. Heartbreaking at points, but with a lot of characters to get your head round. At times, this felt a bit overwhelming. Definitely worth a read though for anybody interested in African history/politics.
brmills's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
5.0
I grew up in Liberia at the time in which this book was set so it was a very personal read for me - everyone would learn so much from reading this however.
beckylouise2904's review against another edition
4.0
Beautifully written, vivid and personal account of her childhood in Africa and UK; not my usual genre but the style of writing and emotion poured into this book, it was engaging.
barnitka's review against another edition
2.0
It's a harrowing story and without hope, yet I couldn't gather myself to enjoy it. I soon got lost in timelines and names and very messy writing. Book two - I couldn't care less what was happening and I barely understood what was happening, too. Pity.
bookofcinz's review against another edition
3.0
Solid 3.5
The Devil That Danced On The Water: A Daughter's Quest, is about Aminatta Forna's father Dr. Mohammed Forna, a politician in Sierra Leone during the civil war. This is a hard book to review mainly because it is one part memoir and another part biography. The writer is very close to the issue presented and it is clear that she really did her due diligence.
I knew very little about Sierra Leone's prickly history, so I appreciated that historical content. I got a great look into the country and its culture. I liked both the beginning of the novel and the end, I felt the middle was a bit jumbled and not presented properly. At the end, I did have a lot of unanswered questions, the top being "WHERE IS YOUR MOTHER?".
From reading this book, its clear that it was a hard book to write because there are so many things at play- the history of a country, the telling of a father's story from your memory and the memory of others along with your own history. Nonetheless, the book did a solid job of getting the story across.
The Devil That Danced On The Water: A Daughter's Quest, is about Aminatta Forna's father Dr. Mohammed Forna, a politician in Sierra Leone during the civil war. This is a hard book to review mainly because it is one part memoir and another part biography. The writer is very close to the issue presented and it is clear that she really did her due diligence.
I knew very little about Sierra Leone's prickly history, so I appreciated that historical content. I got a great look into the country and its culture. I liked both the beginning of the novel and the end, I felt the middle was a bit jumbled and not presented properly. At the end, I did have a lot of unanswered questions, the top being "WHERE IS YOUR MOTHER?".
From reading this book, its clear that it was a hard book to write because there are so many things at play- the history of a country, the telling of a father's story from your memory and the memory of others along with your own history. Nonetheless, the book did a solid job of getting the story across.