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ohlhauc's review
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
This novel follows a boy sharing his memories from his childhood living on the island of Annobon, off the coast of Equatorial Guinea. It encapsulates major events like a bushfire, murder, and cholera outbreak to more minor moments of everyday life. Beyond sharing these events, the narrator also reflect on what they mean, both what he was thinking as a child and what he now thinks of the same situations as an adult.
The writing is gorgeous and follows the oral storytelling tradition. It feels like you can actually hear the narrator sharing this story to you personally. There are a lot of callbacks, descriptions of characters in lieu of names, tangents (but they're fascinating and don't drag the story on) and rhetorical questions thrown to the audience/reader. There is also a lot of repetition, namely telling certain events multiple times from different perspectives.
All of these techniques helped me to feel deeply connected to the place and characters. The repetition, especially, worked to build many layers of meaning and to force the author to question the assumptions they likely have after hearing the event initially.
The writing is sharp, emotional, and melodic. The psychological character development is spot on. And the story was also fascinating. Highly recommend.
The writing is gorgeous and follows the oral storytelling tradition. It feels like you can actually hear the narrator sharing this story to you personally. There are a lot of callbacks, descriptions of characters in lieu of names, tangents (but they're fascinating and don't drag the story on) and rhetorical questions thrown to the audience/reader. There is also a lot of repetition, namely telling certain events multiple times from different perspectives.
All of these techniques helped me to feel deeply connected to the place and characters. The repetition, especially, worked to build many layers of meaning and to force the author to question the assumptions they likely have after hearing the event initially.
The writing is sharp, emotional, and melodic. The psychological character development is spot on. And the story was also fascinating. Highly recommend.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Excrement, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Violence
Minor: Child death, Racism, Religious bigotry, and Death of parent
Detailed descriptions of cholera outbreak