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A review by cellardoor10
The Old Drift by Namwali Serpell
4.0
I wish this had been just a little bit shorter. I listened on audiobook, and by hour 22ish, I just couldn't seem to hold it all in my brain. Similar to Homegoing or 100 Years of Solitude, this is a longitudinal study of about a century in the lives of 3 families in Zambia (mostly). We also hear from a swarm of mosquitos, commenting on biology and sociology in beautiful, meta interludes. It reminds me a little of the metaphorical passages in Grapes of Wrath about the turtle, etc.
A study of imperialism, biology, science, and ultimately, the human condition, including failings, flaws, protests, triumphs, and quiet indignities. So much of it is breathtakingly good. Serpell is quite the wordsmith, especially during the swarm interludes, when she gets to pull out her broad, sweeping commentary and literary devices that her characters would not use.
An enjoyable book - balances the horrifying with the warm and the absurd. In an interview, the author discusses that Americans know very little about Zambian history and culture, and while reading this, I realized that was true for me as well - I am familiar with a few countries in the region, but I had no particular associations with Zambia in my mind, neither positive nor negative.
The audiobook is very well narrated, especially the reader of the Swarm interludes, listening to him is magical, but I might recommend physically reading it if you might need assistance tracking who is who. Episodes mentioned in one chapter get consistently revisited and retold in other chapters. It has a really cool effect of unwrapping layers of what happened, but it can get confusing to track, mentally.
A study of imperialism, biology, science, and ultimately, the human condition, including failings, flaws, protests, triumphs, and quiet indignities. So much of it is breathtakingly good. Serpell is quite the wordsmith, especially during the swarm interludes, when she gets to pull out her broad, sweeping commentary and literary devices that her characters would not use.
An enjoyable book - balances the horrifying with the warm and the absurd. In an interview, the author discusses that Americans know very little about Zambian history and culture, and while reading this, I realized that was true for me as well - I am familiar with a few countries in the region, but I had no particular associations with Zambia in my mind, neither positive nor negative.
The audiobook is very well narrated, especially the reader of the Swarm interludes, listening to him is magical, but I might recommend physically reading it if you might need assistance tracking who is who. Episodes mentioned in one chapter get consistently revisited and retold in other chapters. It has a really cool effect of unwrapping layers of what happened, but it can get confusing to track, mentally.