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strawberrytheauthor's review against another edition
It was just so slow and really nothing happened.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Cursing, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Blood, Alcohol, and Colonisation
martareader's review against another edition
4.0
This would have been a 5 star read if it hadn't turned to a syfy novel. The begging was outstanding, the magical elements mixed with normal life and the social critique made this book a masterpiece. But then Children happened and the book became way too sciency and confusing for my brain.
Would recommend if you like weird things though
Would recommend if you like weird things though
anomys_'s review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.5
lwb's review against another edition
3.0
Received this book as a Goodreads/Publisher 'give-away'.
This massive tome seems to me to try too hard to do too much, without achieving anything beyond demonstrating the author's potential. Nominally a history of three generations of women as Zambia moves from colonial times to near future. Each of the women are profoundly wounded in real and surreal ways - one grows hair body-wide continuously, one cries continuously, etc. Men appear only as shallow cartoon characters - one is a colonial usurper of women, the next deserts the pregnant wife, etc. The tome is massive and I found myself willing it to end, but with all that I could not help be a little awed by the scope of the work.
This massive tome seems to me to try too hard to do too much, without achieving anything beyond demonstrating the author's potential. Nominally a history of three generations of women as Zambia moves from colonial times to near future. Each of the women are profoundly wounded in real and surreal ways - one grows hair body-wide continuously, one cries continuously, etc. Men appear only as shallow cartoon characters - one is a colonial usurper of women, the next deserts the pregnant wife, etc. The tome is massive and I found myself willing it to end, but with all that I could not help be a little awed by the scope of the work.
wfordh's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
jess_789's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-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
3.5
sssnoo's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
There is no other book like this book - in a good way. I picked this book to represent Zambia in my around the world reading challenge and it was perfect. This is a big multigenerational saga that manages to portray the complex intertwining of peoples, culture, and history that created modern Zambia. The sense of place, be it rural or urban, is exquisitely wrought. The interludes between sections - from the POV of the mosquito - are like nothing I’ve read before. They are perfect.
I learned a vast amount about Zambia through reading this novel, and that was the point. My favorite tidbit? The Afronauts.
This all said, The Old Drift is not an easy read- at times I wished I was reading it as part of a course as I think I would have gotten even more from the narrative. The book mashes up different literary styles and for the most part is works, but I could have done without much of the magical realism - especially the hair. I just didn’t get it, but that’s me and magical realism. Fortunately it’s not a dominant feature of the novel.
I switched between a print copy of the book and audible. The family tree diagram in the print book was essential - I would have been lost many times without it. The audio narration was fantastic though and it enhanced my experience with the book. The range of accents were generally excellent and there were many.
Bottom line? For an ATW challenge this is THE book for Zambia. It’s also just majestic literature so I highly recommend reading it.
I learned a vast amount about Zambia through reading this novel, and that was the point. My favorite tidbit? The Afronauts.
This all said, The Old Drift is not an easy read- at times I wished I was reading it as part of a course as I think I would have gotten even more from the narrative. The book mashes up different literary styles and for the most part is works, but I could have done without much of the magical realism - especially the hair. I just didn’t get it, but that’s me and magical realism. Fortunately it’s not a dominant feature of the novel.
I switched between a print copy of the book and audible. The family tree diagram in the print book was essential - I would have been lost many times without it. The audio narration was fantastic though and it enhanced my experience with the book. The range of accents were generally excellent and there were many.
Bottom line? For an ATW challenge this is THE book for Zambia. It’s also just majestic literature so I highly recommend reading it.
smithx57's review against another edition
4.0
I loved this book... The slow drift and interplay from historical fiction to science fiction/magic realism is brilliant. My only problem with it... Which is not really fair was that it was long.
dijon_supply's review against another edition
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, and Vomit