This book really harkened back to the epic novels of trauma and tribulations and humanity of Rohinton Mistry and Michael Ondaatje. The story, about the war in Sierra Leone told through the connections of various parties and they live and relate to one another in the post-conflict society as it rebuilds itself, weaves a rich tapestry of lives and personalities and scenarios. This book was excellent. Everyone was so well written, no one was all good or bad. I was extremely fond of many people, and invested in all of them. Bad choices seemed to be human choices, and even things I hated, I could understand. The book intensified into a crescendo of past and current crises that made it harder and harder to put down. Im so glad it was written by a Sierra Leonian, she was able to tell the story of her place and her people in an honest and complex way, and call out the racism of aid workers so spectacularly. Many of the coincidences were maybe a bit too coincidental, but the book was so good I’m able to overlook it. I’ll check out her newer works for sure.

The book is beautifully written. The author has employed an interesting outlook on trying to exhibit the characters’ feelings/ emotions. The best part for me in the book was realizing that Nenebah and Mamakay were one and the same person, just outstanding!

ah the memory of love, the memory of pain Wonderful book, subtle, sober and powerful
thank you mrs forna!

Beautiful in its depiction of the scars that both war and love can leave on people. All of the characters are intriguing and wonderfully drawn. Forna gives great descriptions of the settings. But keeps them short so as to focus on her characters: their loves, their hopes, their dreams, their weaknesses, their betrayals, their despair.

I feel a little sorry at giving this such a low rating, because the author clearly worked hard on this and it can't be easy to craft a story around such a horrible time in history. But ultimately, the rating reflects my reading experience, and this wasn't a good one at all.

First, the book is sloooooow. The amount of tedious detail is actually mind-numbing at times.

None of the three main characters are likable, ranging from conniving and manipulative to selfish to jealous. And not compellingly unlikable (I love me some unreliable narrators and well-written villains!) - they were just characters that I resented spending my time on.

Worst of all in my mind is that the women of this book appear to be far more interesting characters, but they exist solely to be set pieces in the narrative of the three men. They're there to provoke jealousy, be desired, prompt scholarly interest, and die in various ways.

I'm glad the book is over, and I'm not really glad I read it, but at least it filled a Popsugar prompt for me.

I loved the characters in this book, along with the setting and writing style. That's all I need for a wonderful escape that is hard to put down!