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A review by taetris
Brazzaville Beach by William Boyd
4.0
This novel consists of three narratives: present day, where our main character Hope Clearwater is living on the titular Brazzaville Beach, some time in the past, when Hope is living in Africa studying Chimpanzees and even further in the past, when Hope is living in England with her husband John.
The two narratives set in the past are the main ones and we mostly switch between those to. In Africa, the story is told in first person, while in England it is told in third person. Between each switch is a short text in cursive about a scientific topic. This all makes it easy to know when we are in which narrative and when the switch happens. As a result, the different narratives are not confusing.
As the novel goes on, each narrative has its own climax and we see how each led to the other.
The writing is good, and Boyd doesn't flinch away from talking about details that are usually left out for good taste's sake (like defecation). This makes the novel seem realistic and life-like.
The novel is incredibly sad, while also being interesting and engaging (due - for me at least - in large part to the Chimp scenes).
The two narratives set in the past are the main ones and we mostly switch between those to. In Africa, the story is told in first person, while in England it is told in third person. Between each switch is a short text in cursive about a scientific topic. This all makes it easy to know when we are in which narrative and when the switch happens. As a result, the different narratives are not confusing.
As the novel goes on, each narrative has its own climax and we see how each led to the other.
The writing is good, and Boyd doesn't flinch away from talking about details that are usually left out for good taste's sake (like defecation). This makes the novel seem realistic and life-like.
The novel is incredibly sad, while also being interesting and engaging (due - for me at least - in large part to the Chimp scenes).