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A review by reading_rainbow_with_chris
Walking on Cowrie Shells: Stories by Nana Nkweti
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.75
“Walking on Cowrie Shells” by Nana Nkweti
An adopted teenage girl makes a startling choice for her fortunes. A wife considers her pregnancy as her mother prays for it. A zombie outbreak and a PR spin. Nana Nkweti sharpens these and other stories with a Cameroonian point of view, often embedding it in American culture.
This collection of stories was an interesting experience to read, Nkweti’s writing unlike any I have read before. The content of each story was fresh and engaging, but at times the words she packed into her writing make it feel cluttered, jarring both visually and sonically. But perhaps this is intentional, as this collection does have stories where Nkweti has pulled back a bit more. Even when the reading was difficult, the Cameroonian perspective beveled the difficulty with a uniqueness that was engaging and haunting. My favorites include “It Takes a Village Some Say,” “The Devil is a Liar,” and “Dance the Fiya Dance.”
All in all, this is less an enjoyable read and more a challenging, thought-provoking one. I do think this is a great collection of stories; Nkweti’s writing style may not be my personal favorite, but I do think her point of view is exceptionally unique and I’ll look or more from her on that basis alone.
An adopted teenage girl makes a startling choice for her fortunes. A wife considers her pregnancy as her mother prays for it. A zombie outbreak and a PR spin. Nana Nkweti sharpens these and other stories with a Cameroonian point of view, often embedding it in American culture.
This collection of stories was an interesting experience to read, Nkweti’s writing unlike any I have read before. The content of each story was fresh and engaging, but at times the words she packed into her writing make it feel cluttered, jarring both visually and sonically. But perhaps this is intentional, as this collection does have stories where Nkweti has pulled back a bit more. Even when the reading was difficult, the Cameroonian perspective beveled the difficulty with a uniqueness that was engaging and haunting. My favorites include “It Takes a Village Some Say,” “The Devil is a Liar,” and “Dance the Fiya Dance.”
All in all, this is less an enjoyable read and more a challenging, thought-provoking one. I do think this is a great collection of stories; Nkweti’s writing style may not be my personal favorite, but I do think her point of view is exceptionally unique and I’ll look or more from her on that basis alone.