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A review by readbyrodkelly
Texaco by Patrick Chamoiseau
5.0
The translators of this novel make a joke in the introduction that if they made this book readable then they have failed in their job. This is definitely a difficult read that challenged me in several ways but it was worth it in the end!
Texaco charts the founding of a majestic city and it's lively quarter, populated by resplendent and provocative people who speak in parables and riddles, guided by ancient cosmologies and auditory dreams that bend time and reality, so that the clear facts are never within the reader's grasp. There are big themes addressed: colonialism, oppression, colorism and class, all wrapped up in a shape-shifting and scintillating narrative. Definitely a brilliant novel.
Texaco charts the founding of a majestic city and it's lively quarter, populated by resplendent and provocative people who speak in parables and riddles, guided by ancient cosmologies and auditory dreams that bend time and reality, so that the clear facts are never within the reader's grasp. There are big themes addressed: colonialism, oppression, colorism and class, all wrapped up in a shape-shifting and scintillating narrative. Definitely a brilliant novel.