Reviews

Klubas „Tram 83“ by Fiston Mwanza Mujila

irishavincentwaterson's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

4.25

blackringbooks's review against another edition

challenging mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

niharm_1368's review against another edition

4.0

A really unique novel, somehow making me care about the flawed side characters of Tram 83 despite their limited but repeated appearances. My only issue was how unlikable both the main characters are, but that is perhaps the point, making the issue more of a personal taste.

gabbolovesbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark 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

3.0

mkesten's review against another edition

3.0

Mwanza Mujila’s Tram 83 is a very raw portrait of a post-Colonial state tucked into south central Africa. Tram 83 itself seems to be a bar or whorehouse near a railway station anchoring the urban wasteland between miners and soldiers and tourists, although not the class of tourist one would expect in Miami Beach or Disneyworld,

The dialogue between Lucien, a writer, and Requiem, his pal/agent, is flinty.

Jazz blasts from the stage. Scantily-clad waitresses deliver cold beer and liquor to the tables. Prostitutes and their clientele rotate endlessly in the washrooms.

I am reminded of the super-realism of Bulgakov, or Joseph Heller’s Catch-22, or Daniel Dafoe’s London. A funny but nightmarish landscape of broken down institutions, violence, and crooked cops.

It seems only to come alive at night.

I almost expect Anthony Bourdain to pop up with a voice-over “I just happened to meet an old friend along the way to the charming neighbourhood bordellos...”

jlyons's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark funny mysterious fast-paced

4.25

aalayah's review against another edition

adventurous challenging tense fast-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Drug use, Rape, Sexual assault, Classism, Cursing, Drug abuse, Misogyny, Murder, Animal death, Blood, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Addiction, Colonisation, Death, Alcoholism, Body horror, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infidelity, Sexism, Sexual content, and Racial slurs

idkwhosara's review against another edition

challenging reflective tense slow-paced

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

3.25

_emmat's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.0

cvbazley's review against another edition

I don’t want to give this a star rating because maybe something was lost in translation, maybe I didn’t understand something because this book is culturally very different from what I usually read. However, this book is not what I was expecting from the synopsis. I thought it would be more about jazz uniting an international community in the heart of Africa toiling through their universal hardships. Not really. It was more about how this international community gets by on debauchery and perversion. Nearly every page was made sexual, even when it didn’t add to the story.

TLDR: not my thing, but I’m not placing any blame on the author or his vision.