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fernandoyataco2311's review against another edition
4.0
Una novela muy interesante que si bien empieza algo lenta, poco a poco te vas adentrando en la vida de Kambili y de Jaja y en las cultura y tradición de Nigeria.
Asi mismo, ofrece un vistazo dd la influencia de la religión católica en países con otras religiones más ancestrales; y es aquí donde se ve afectada la vida de los personajes.
En fin, una novela bastante emotiva por momentos y que me hizo pensar mucho en como dejamos que la religión influya en nuestra vida diaria.
Asi mismo, ofrece un vistazo dd la influencia de la religión católica en países con otras religiones más ancestrales; y es aquí donde se ve afectada la vida de los personajes.
En fin, una novela bastante emotiva por momentos y que me hizo pensar mucho en como dejamos que la religión influya en nuestra vida diaria.
alvsbubble's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
purpleclaymask's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
J'avais déjà lu ce livre il y a 10 ans dans sa version française. Je me rappelle avoir beaucoup aimé ce livre et je voulais donc voir si avec plus d'expériences de vie et peut-etre plus de maturité, mon opinion de ce livre avait changé ou pas. La réponse est NON. 10 ans plus tard, je confirme que ce livre est toujours une pépite.
Il faut reconnaitre que l'histoire est assez simple mais elle est tellement captivante et touche à différents sujets très importants comme l'indoctrination religieuse, la violence domestique, le colonialisme, la politique, etc. de manière nuancée à travers les yeux d'une ado. Cette ado qui est timide et docile au début du récit mais qui va apprendre, petit à petit, à s'exprimer.
Mon opinion du père n'a pas changé. C'est une personne tyrannique et hypocrite et ce qu'il fait subir à sa famille est abominable. Cependant, j'ai bien "aimé" le fait qu'il soit dépeint comme une personne horrible avec des facettes positives. Malgré son intolérance et sa violence, il soutient notamment financièrement la communauté de manière très conséquente et il a le courage de se dresser contre le gouvernement autoritaire avec sa plume. Je trouve que l'auteure a bien décrit pourquoi il s'est comporté de cette manière, sans pour autant excuser ses actes. Je trouve cela assez réaliste car les mauvaises personnes dans la vraie vie ne sont pas méchantes juste pour etre méchantes (sauf exception), il y'a souvent une motivation (qui peut etre tordue) derrière leurs gestes. Cette représentation est un élément que je n'avais pas remarqué la première fois que j'avais lu ce livre.
Il faut reconnaitre que l'histoire est assez simple mais elle est tellement captivante et touche à différents sujets très importants comme l'indoctrination religieuse, la violence domestique, le colonialisme, la politique, etc. de manière nuancée à travers les yeux d'une ado. Cette ado qui est timide et docile au début du récit mais qui va apprendre, petit à petit, à s'exprimer.
Mon opinion du père n'a pas changé. C'est une personne tyrannique et hypocrite et ce qu'il fait subir à sa famille est abominable. Cependant, j'ai bien "aimé" le fait qu'il soit dépeint comme une personne horrible avec des facettes positives. Malgré son intolérance et sa violence, il soutient notamment financièrement la communauté de manière très conséquente et il a le courage de se dresser contre le gouvernement autoritaire avec sa plume. Je trouve que l'auteure a bien décrit pourquoi il s'est comporté de cette manière, sans pour autant excuser ses actes. Je trouve cela assez réaliste car les mauvaises personnes dans la vraie vie ne sont pas méchantes juste pour etre méchantes (sauf exception), il y'a souvent une motivation (qui peut etre tordue) derrière leurs gestes. Cette représentation est un élément que je n'avais pas remarqué la première fois que j'avais lu ce livre.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, and Religious bigotry
whatkarireads's review against another edition
4.0
“We did that often, asking each other questions whose answers we already knew. Perhaps it was so that we would not ask the other questions, the ones whose answers we did not want to know.”
The April selection for the Modern Mrs. Darcy book club begs to be discussed with fellow readers. It is a harrowing story of how a Nigerian family is impacted by turmoil, religion, secrets and expectations. The writing was powerful and vivid. The story was breathtakingly stunning while breaking my heart at the same time. The characters drew me in and demanded my attention until the very end.
The pacing of the book contributed to the beauty. It starts with this slow, steady cadence: a nice adigao. Then the pace is ratcheted up to a brisk presto. A tempo that catches you off guard. Adichie was a master at conducting the story on her own terms and on her own timeline.
The April selection for the Modern Mrs. Darcy book club begs to be discussed with fellow readers. It is a harrowing story of how a Nigerian family is impacted by turmoil, religion, secrets and expectations. The writing was powerful and vivid. The story was breathtakingly stunning while breaking my heart at the same time. The characters drew me in and demanded my attention until the very end.
The pacing of the book contributed to the beauty. It starts with this slow, steady cadence: a nice adigao. Then the pace is ratcheted up to a brisk presto. A tempo that catches you off guard. Adichie was a master at conducting the story on her own terms and on her own timeline.
abba_d's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
slow-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? It's complicated
4.0
Very painful and frustrating book. Abuse is something hard to describe and this book while telling this story took away so much of me that I had to pause in my reading not to explode. The book itself is abusing if you want my opinion on the matter.
readwithbeth_'s review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
theresabiv82's review against another edition
3.0
BOOK CLUB I found this book very difficult to stay focused on. I started with a paper book and couldn’t make myself pick it back up so I had to get the audiobook. And even with the audiobook I found myself losing focus and having to rewind what I missed. Anyway, it was very depressing and sad, and made me so angry at the abuse Kambili and her family faced and the very narrow worldview she had all because her father was a fanatical religious zealot. But whose fault is that? Likely the “missionaries” that imposed their white Catholic beliefs on desperate Africans. I wasn’t a fan of the prose.
superglamfab's review against another edition
5.0
Adichie is one of my favorite authors. Her characters are real. He plots take you directly to wherever they are. Could not recommend enough, I’m so mad I finished it already.
anistasiabelle's review against another edition
4.0
I think it’s so important to read books from other perspectives and life experiences. If you haven’t watched Ms. Adichie’s The Danger of a Single Story TED Talk on YouTube, go watch it now. It’s lovely.
All of us remember that moment or age when everything changed. It’s different for everyone, but there comes a point in everyone’s life when our perceptions of the world expand beyond what we knew to be true as children and we realize that the world is such a bigger place than we have come to understand growing up. We realize there are different ways of seeing the world and that other people in the world experience life vastly differently from ourselves. What do we do with this information, and how does it shape who we become as people?
This story is of a father’s ironclad (and abusive - trigger warning) grip on his family, told from the perspective of Kambili, an incredibly sheltered teenage girl living in Nigeria, who comes to realize throughout the novel that the way her immediate family lives is not the way everyone lives.
At first, you don’t even realize how bad it actually is inside her home. She knows her father has strict rules, but is so sheltered from the outside world that she doesn’t know everyone doesn’t live this way. She doesn’t laugh, she barely smiles and finds difficulty speaking words at first.
She’s allowed finally to spend a few weeks in her Auntie’s home and she’s shocked to discover her cousins’ outspokenness, open mouth laughing and totally different way of living.
I loved the relationship between Kambili and her brother, Jaja. They have entire conversations with each other without saying a word, and they’re such fierce allies in this controlling world they live in. I loved watching Kambili and Jaja expand their worlds and develop as characters.
This isn’t an action-packed book. It’s a book of family, resiliency, and quiet strength.
Minor spoiler: much of the abuse is described “behind closed doors” at the beginning and you see the result of it later - black eye, broken finger, etc. - but later in the novel it is much more intense.
I listened to the audiobook, and I must say the reader was good but the recording was not. I’m not sure if the issue was this was it was recorded so long ago and they’ve improved or what. I won’t say more if you’re planning to listen because I won’t want to trigger it to but you if you don’t hear it, but for me it was very distracting.
If you can handle it, I highly recommend this novel if it’s something you’re interested in. Wonderful! I’ll read more from Adichie for sure (this is my second of hers and I liked Americanah too).
All of us remember that moment or age when everything changed. It’s different for everyone, but there comes a point in everyone’s life when our perceptions of the world expand beyond what we knew to be true as children and we realize that the world is such a bigger place than we have come to understand growing up. We realize there are different ways of seeing the world and that other people in the world experience life vastly differently from ourselves. What do we do with this information, and how does it shape who we become as people?
This story is of a father’s ironclad (and abusive - trigger warning) grip on his family, told from the perspective of Kambili, an incredibly sheltered teenage girl living in Nigeria, who comes to realize throughout the novel that the way her immediate family lives is not the way everyone lives.
At first, you don’t even realize how bad it actually is inside her home. She knows her father has strict rules, but is so sheltered from the outside world that she doesn’t know everyone doesn’t live this way. She doesn’t laugh, she barely smiles and finds difficulty speaking words at first.
She’s allowed finally to spend a few weeks in her Auntie’s home and she’s shocked to discover her cousins’ outspokenness, open mouth laughing and totally different way of living.
I loved the relationship between Kambili and her brother, Jaja. They have entire conversations with each other without saying a word, and they’re such fierce allies in this controlling world they live in. I loved watching Kambili and Jaja expand their worlds and develop as characters.
This isn’t an action-packed book. It’s a book of family, resiliency, and quiet strength.
Minor spoiler: much of the abuse is described “behind closed doors” at the beginning and you see the result of it later - black eye, broken finger, etc. - but later in the novel it is much more intense.
I listened to the audiobook, and I must say the reader was good but the recording was not. I’m not sure if the issue was this was it was recorded so long ago and they’ve improved or what. I won’t say more if you’re planning to listen because I won’t want to trigger it to but you if you don’t hear it, but for me it was very distracting.
If you can handle it, I highly recommend this novel if it’s something you’re interested in. Wonderful! I’ll read more from Adichie for sure (this is my second of hers and I liked Americanah too).