A review by hasan27
Alhambra by Kirsten Boie

Did not finish book.

2.0

Ok so I started reading this once when I was about 8 years old but didn't finish it because I got too scared for the protagonist not being able to return home... so there definitely is a good measure of identification and relatability to the protagonist that was built well enough that it emotionally engaged me so at that age. I recently picked it back up, remembering that, and wondering whether it might be worth another read. But then I opened the page and with every sentence I grew more and more uncomfortable with the blatantly clear orientalism and exoticization of culture that happens with the style of writing. Describing things as a piece of "orient" and "exotic" made me so uncomfortable I actually put it back down. That, aided by the fact our protagonist is a white dude surrounded by his mostly diverse classmates who he somehow sees as odd people he acknowledges the existence of, made the reading experience up to chapter 3 (from there I really couldn't bear it anymore) quite excruciating to read, because it felt like just another attempt of "admiring" "such a strange but exotic culture", without actually going into much depth beyond the political and fascinating. Truly, the air of fascination about culture feels so shallow it seems like the person cannot relate and exoticizes it, and my own encounters with this experience made this so uncomfortable. It could have been so good if, and if only, this issue was at least addressed even just in the tone, in which this book is narrated. But no, it seems that the exoticization of culture is a good thing. At least we aren't ridiculing it, right?
In conclusion: another technically well-written white book about a culture that is not, which should not have been written 1. by this person or 2. from this perspective without at least a little bit of insight or commentary on that.