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ella_hynds12's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
drdreuh's review against another edition
4.0
A multiple point of view short(-ish) story, comprising the present, before, and after of a disparate group of individuals who once shared an illegal boat ride from Morrocco to Spain. The storyline are new-to-me and therefore intriguing, and Lalami writes with a lovely plain-spoken style. It's a bit of a tasting menu of a book, and I would love to read her go deep.
mamalemma's review against another edition
3.0
This was a very odd book. The conflict happens in the very first pages of the book, and is resolved immediately. Then the rest of the book is a look back at how they arrived at the conflict, and a look forward toward what happened after the conflict. It wasn't horrible, but it wasn't overly satisfying, either. Partially, my disappointment stems from what could have been in this book had it been organized differently.
mcmontgomery's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
halfling_stories's review against another edition
It was well written, but not the sort of book I l like to read, in either content or format. I'm not a big fan of non-linear narratives.
jenage's review against another edition
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
robertrivasplata's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Stories of four different immigrants we meet on a zodiac boat going from Morocco to Spain. Even though this book is short, it reads even faster than I expected. Makes me want to check out other writings by Lalami. I can guess what she was trying to get across by giving the two people who failed to immigrate to Spain happier endings than the two who did make it, but I wonder how those ideas have evolved, & also what she has to say about how the world has evolved (or de-evolved) over the past 20 years. This book reminds me of The Warmth of Other Suns, not only because of the descriptions of journeys, but also because of the descriptions of working & unemployment (& underemployment). It also reminds me of Viet Thanh Nguyen's The Refugees, & also the anthology he edited, The Displaced. Can't wait to discuss this in book club!
wah38's review against another edition
5.0
On reviews of this and other Lalami books, there is a certain *type* of reviewer who says in a low star review something to the effect of "to learn something from this book, you would have to know very little about Morocco." For one, while only giving a high review to books you learn something from would be a laughable standard, it is absurd for a work of fiction. For another, this is precisely the sort of Orientalism Lalami skewers in the final "after" vignette ("The Storyteller"), in which protagonist Murad overhears several white Western women in his bookshop caring only about some long-dead US author who happened to settle in Tangier, and saying of him that he "knew Morocco better than the Moroccans." That any Westerner could read this book and come away with the notion that they understand Morocco so well that this stirring narrative is beneath their contempt is a mentality I wish had died with Ernest Renan or Sykes and Picot.
anitaofplaybooktag's review against another edition
4.0
I'd love to give this one five stars as I think it is truly unique and well written. But it just doesn't give quite enough sense of resolution for me to be totally satisfied. A great book detailing the plight of several Moroccans and following their attempt to migrate to escape the lack of jobs and hopelessness of Morocco. Each chapter is the perspective of one of the characters - - either before or after they've tried to emigrate. The prose is spare and easy to read. A little treasure of a book.
sara126's review against another edition
4.0
i was expecting a continuous narrative but i kinda liked the jumps from character to character. humanizes immigration in a non-pitiful way.