A review by its_kievan
Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James

challenging dark mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

My copy of this book has rave reviews from, among others, the New York Times, the Guardian, Lousie Erdrich, and Salman Rushdie, describing it as "gripping", "extraordinary", and "a miracle". I think if they had asked me instead I would have described Black Leopard, Red Wolf as "boring", "shit", and "weirdly obsessed with incest". I might have explained that reading this book was a frustrating slog, that the supposedly artistic prose just made everything impossible to understand, or that between this and Tade Thompson's Rosewater I'm starting to wonder where all this "award-winning African SFF" is getting its awards from. But hey, nobody asked me.
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