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damopedro's review
3.0
A very frustrating book. She can describe a scene or situation beautifully. Better than most. However she ditched quotation marks when people speak in favour of a dash at either end of their sentence. Why? It makes it harder to know when someone is speaking or to tell just who is speaking. That alone really frustrated me. She also tends to write Mehrings thoughts much like real thoughts take place - with lots of skipping around between the current and the past, mixing up of situations. It's not exactly easy to follow. Not a great book for reading when you're tired and your concentration isn't at its best.
janson's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
DNF. I just don’t care at all about the characters. And the writing isn’t enough to keep me within.
shanviolinlove's review against another edition
2.0
Barring a few great scenes and lovely metaphoric language, I am still nonplussed how this book won so many awards. A book mainly based on conversations can, indeed, have merit, but a book with frequent time jumps--all the while in present tense--and confusing dialogues with no entrances? Hard to follow. It was definitely a chore to get through this novel.
whenwomenwerebirds87's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
My rating is probably biased as I’m not at all connected to the time and the place so I can’t fully understand the complexity of the characters and how they interact. Omg the main character Mehring is SO unlikeable though. Worth reading but hard to get through.
joann_l's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.5
eunicek82's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
slow-paced
2.0
This one was not for me. A very challenging stream-of-consciousness novel with one of the most dis likable main characters I’ve come across. I can appreciate what it’s doing thought.
tarajoy90's review against another edition
challenging
slow-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
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Sexual assault, and Colonisation
mazza57's review against another edition
1.0
I think the author set out to market this as a work of superlative fiction and failed miserably. It is very difficult to read, has no real story that i can detect , the characters are barely drawn and the language used is just dire. All of which will make some proclaim it the best thing since sliced bread. I will stick with the bread. This book does not attract me towards reading anything else by this author
cinaedussinister's review against another edition
3.0
This book's writing reminds me of a mix between James Joyce and Margaret Atwood. This has its pros: at times it can be very immersive, and is certainly unique. However, a flaw is that this abstract style of writing can often be confusing, and, especially with Gordimer's writing, it can become boring. I also have mixed feelings about the views expressed in this book, though this may also be due to the fact that it is told through the point of view of Mehring (a rich white South African). Overall, I can see what she is trying to do in this book, and I appreciate that, but I do not think that it is entirely successful.