A review by sharkybookshelf
Memoirs of a Porcupine by Alain Mabanckou

challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

A porcupine recounts the increasingly violent missions he went on as the evil “double” (henchman…henchporcupine?) of a man.

This one is a bit hard to review because I enjoyed it, but I’m also mildly confused. Mabanckou delves into human nature, greed and power, but I am fairly sure there is a deeper intellectual commentary which completely went over my head (is the porcupine a metaphor?). I don’t even mind though, because it’s an entertaining read. It’s written as the non-stop stream of consciousness of a disdainful porcupine - there’s a severe lack of full stops, but rather than finding this irritating, I was swept along by the writing, and it’s all slightly bonkers. The story is based on Congolese folklore, which I don’t think I’ve read before, so that was satisfying and I also enjoyed the insights into both Congolese and porcupine society. A slightly perplexing but enjoyable read that looks at human nature, greed and power…from the unique perspective of a villainous porcupine.