ecari's review against another edition
1.0
DNF. I tried - I really did. The historical aspect of the story was interesting - completely new to me. But I found the writing overblown, the shifts in timeframe from present to past confusing, and - as a result - the characters to be flat. I made it past halfway mark and then decided my reading time could be better spent otherwise. Friends in my book club similarly didn't finish and hated it.
revenant_tomato's review
informative
sad
slow-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? No
2.5
meghanmarion's review against another edition
3.0
I received this book free via Goodreads giveaways.
This book was challenging, interesting, and one of the most different books I've read in a long time. I feel that because the way the author's culture shares stories made this book harder to grasp, but the writing was lyrical and beautiful.
This book was challenging, interesting, and one of the most different books I've read in a long time. I feel that because the way the author's culture shares stories made this book harder to grasp, but the writing was lyrical and beautiful.
muga's review against another edition
DNFing at 50%, this story is too meandering for my liking. I came here for Sara's story but the narrator takes all kinds of detours and tells us about other people who I don't care about.
sockielady's review against another edition
3.0
I liked the author's writing style, but I think the book was too disjointed. He jumped around between several different characters and timelines and I think the book would have been more enjoyable if he had focused on just one or two main characters. Learned a good amount about the colonial history of Cameroon, though.
lovinlivres's review against another edition
3.0
Beautifully written and incredibly detailed information on Cameroonian colonial history but I’m not entirely sure what the author’s message was.
tien's review against another edition
3.0
Too confusing to be totally enjoyable. Firstly the shift of perspective were rather random; I understand that they were telling past stories and there'd be bits of conversations between current characters but did that really have to be inserted in the middle of the 'stories'? There were at least 3 strands of past stories and because of the identity overlap, sometimes it confuses me at the beginning of the chapter as there is no indication of change in povs etc.
serendipitysbooks's review against another edition
3.0
Mount Pleasant had an intriguing sounding plot. Sara is given by her family to Sultan Njoya who has been exiled by the French who rule over Cameroon in 1931. As she is being prepared to enter his harem Bertha, an enslaved woman who prepares his wives, recognises Sara as her own dead son. The is Sara’s story of her new life as a boy, relayed by her when she is much older. It also covers an influential period in Cameroon’s history. I expected to enjoy this book more than I did. It may well be a case of bad timing due to what was going on around me when I read it. Luckily it is a book I own so I will easily be able to give it another go.
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