bookedbymadeline's review
Slow start and often boring. The writing style isn’t for me as it’s scattered at times, and drags with the overly descriptive paragraphs. Maybe my expectations were too high with wanting to learn more about the fight for Morocco’s independence and having that plot be more of a background story. This clearly isn’t the book for learning about this period in history.
I was also getting white savior vibes and cliche stereotypes about women, Moroccans, and Romani people/former slaves. Also very French centric/French superiority vibes. It claims to be anti colonial but all the characters (so far) except for the white woman are actually against the Revolution?! So they apparently need a white advocate now and for her to talk down to them. And the language used does not give me “oh yes the author clearly is against the colonization of Morocco” it feels the opposite.
Racist language reproduced a lot with seemingly no commentary to the contrary? An author can show us the racist and colonialist attitudes of the time in different ways, rather than constantly using racial slurs. I just found it jarring and inappropriate at times because it was not relevant to the context of the stories.
Racist language reproduced a lot with seemingly no commentary to the contrary? An author can show us the racist and colonialist attitudes of the time in different ways, rather than constantly using racial slurs. I just found it jarring and inappropriate at times because it was not relevant to the context of the stories.
Multiple perspectives from all kinds of characters making them all feel flat and lacking depth. Just when I begin getting interested and connecting to a character, it moves on to someone else.
This is book 1 of a trilogy and I got book 2 from Netgalley before I knew it was part of a series 🙈 (I do this way too often). And I’ve heard that book 2 is better and you don’t necessarily need to have read book 1 so I’ll still try the next book and hope that I enjoy it better and maybe it’s less white savior-y.
Also one last note on this being part of a trilogy: if this book is supposed to follow Mathilde and her husband, Amine, and book 2 follows their children then why are we getting a POV from their 6 year old daughter now?! Especially so early in the book. Her chapters sound nothing like a 6 year old, and feel too mature in language and perspective.
This is purely based off what I’ve read so far (and that hasn’t been much). I found an amazing review on Goodreads that discusses some of the problematic things in better detail, and made me ultimately decide to DNF. Highly recommend checking it out as the reader is Moroccan and can speak better on the (lack of) representation and cultural nuance in the novel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, and Violence
Moderate: Domestic abuse
astronautin's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Violence and Domestic abuse
Minor: Antisemitism, Blood, Homophobia, and Rape
kirstym25's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-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
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, and Violence
Moderate: Racism, Misogyny, and Colonisation
philineselavy's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Domestic abuse
Moderate: War, Racism, and Colonisation
jkatey's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Violence, Racism, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, and Colonisation
flyintothestorm's review against another edition
informative
reflective
tense
slow-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Violence, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Pregnancy, Colonisation, and War
clemence16maya's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Domestic abuse
sfschmidt93's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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
Rumor is that “The Country of Others” is to made into a trilogy. I believe this book is to set the scene for what’s to come.
I think Slimani does a good job in informing the reader of the conflicts that were happening in Morocco during the 1950s.
I think Slimani does a good job in informing the reader of the conflicts that were happening in Morocco during the 1950s.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Domestic abuse, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Sexism
adriarato's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
sad
slow-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? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Sexism, and Violence
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