A review by rissaleighs
The Old Drift by Namwali Serpell
2.0
Well darn. I had gotten an ARC download from Penguin First Reads but it expired before I could finish reading this. So I got about 300 pages in.
I can appreciate the comparisons to Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Like Marquez, this book interested my brain at times but didn't engage my heart. Each chapter followed a different character from an intertwined family tree of sorts--which is a structure I loved in a different book recently--but here, it didn't work for me. I struggled to keep track of characters, figure out how the chapters related to each other....and actually, really tired of most of the chapters WAY before they were over.
I can see why this book is getting the rave reviews, but I'm kind of relieved to be able to move on.
I can appreciate the comparisons to Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Like Marquez, this book interested my brain at times but didn't engage my heart. Each chapter followed a different character from an intertwined family tree of sorts--which is a structure I loved in a different book recently--but here, it didn't work for me. I struggled to keep track of characters, figure out how the chapters related to each other....and actually, really tired of most of the chapters WAY before they were over.
I can see why this book is getting the rave reviews, but I'm kind of relieved to be able to move on.