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A review by spinesinaline
The Heart of the Leopard Children by Karen Lindo, Wilfried N'Sondé, Dominic Thomas
2.0
'H' book done!
So the first thing to know about this book is that it’s basically presented as a stream-of-consciousness, which in this story makes it very difficult. Our narrator wakes up in a prison cell with no memory of the night before, and he shares the story of his life with the reader as he tries to piece together what may have happened. We jump back and forth a lot in time and because of this format it’s not always clear what’s recent vs. historical past so trying to understand what his current relationships were with his friends was almost impossible.
Also of note is that this is a translation, though I don’t think that’s what stopped me from really connecting with the book. What I did find interesting is that the main character is modeled after the author, also from the Congo and moved to France as a child, growing up in the projects. I don’t know how much of the story are things he actually experienced but clearly the main themes of this story are pulled from his own life.
These themes of racism and discrimination against immigration, and more generally of struggling to belong, are the strength of the story and this book did make me stop and seriously consider my own position of privilege. The narrator’s struggles are not something I have any experience with but the author is incredibly emotive with his depictions of his native culture and how this clashes with his new home. There’s a lot to learn and listen to in this book, especially for non-minorities like myself, but the form this was presented in caused the story to have less of an impact than I think was intended.
So the first thing to know about this book is that it’s basically presented as a stream-of-consciousness, which in this story makes it very difficult. Our narrator wakes up in a prison cell with no memory of the night before, and he shares the story of his life with the reader as he tries to piece together what may have happened. We jump back and forth a lot in time and because of this format it’s not always clear what’s recent vs. historical past so trying to understand what his current relationships were with his friends was almost impossible.
Also of note is that this is a translation, though I don’t think that’s what stopped me from really connecting with the book. What I did find interesting is that the main character is modeled after the author, also from the Congo and moved to France as a child, growing up in the projects. I don’t know how much of the story are things he actually experienced but clearly the main themes of this story are pulled from his own life.
These themes of racism and discrimination against immigration, and more generally of struggling to belong, are the strength of the story and this book did make me stop and seriously consider my own position of privilege. The narrator’s struggles are not something I have any experience with but the author is incredibly emotive with his depictions of his native culture and how this clashes with his new home. There’s a lot to learn and listen to in this book, especially for non-minorities like myself, but the form this was presented in caused the story to have less of an impact than I think was intended.