A review by sde
Speak No Evil by Uzodinma Iweala
4.0
I received an Advance Readers Copy of this book at an event for librarians.
A short, quick volume that will stay with me for a long time. Great writing with a well-developed main character, Niru. The book is a good mix of the standard coming-of-age story with some very specific elements that make the story go beyond the standard - the setting of high end sections of Washington DC, including an exclusive private school, the tension between a US kid and his Nigerian born parents, a very privileged kid who is still dark-skinned.
The author did a great job at the setting. I felt I was there on the school grounds, the streets of Georgetown, out in the more far-flung, suburban parts of the District, etc. The school kids seemed like real school kids, no caricatures of rich, spoiled private school kids. Perhaps because of the author's great skill at evoking character and setting, I found this book to be more heart-rending than books about much worse things - war, death camps, torture, etc. I felt like I was right there experiencing it as the characters' peer.
But the book is a sad one, not a relaxing read. I felt like crying for hours after finishing it. I understand the second section, and it is an important part of the story the author is telling, but I also kind of hated it. I wanted to be able to follow Niru's story further.
A short, quick volume that will stay with me for a long time. Great writing with a well-developed main character, Niru. The book is a good mix of the standard coming-of-age story with some very specific elements that make the story go beyond the standard - the setting of high end sections of Washington DC, including an exclusive private school, the tension between a US kid and his Nigerian born parents, a very privileged kid who is still dark-skinned.
The author did a great job at the setting. I felt I was there on the school grounds, the streets of Georgetown, out in the more far-flung, suburban parts of the District, etc. The school kids seemed like real school kids, no caricatures of rich, spoiled private school kids. Perhaps because of the author's great skill at evoking character and setting, I found this book to be more heart-rending than books about much worse things - war, death camps, torture, etc. I felt like I was right there experiencing it as the characters' peer.
But the book is a sad one, not a relaxing read. I felt like crying for hours after finishing it. I understand the second section, and it is an important part of the story the author is telling, but I also kind of hated it. I wanted to be able to follow Niru's story further.