nadia's Reviews (587)

I listened to this almost in one go while cleaning my flat. This is definitely perfect for a read-in-one-sitting kinda thing.

While the book sustained my interest enough, and definitely presented me with a lot to think about, especially since there were a handful of scenarios and life experiences that I could directly relate to, I was hoping for more based on what I'd been hearing from others.

It just didn't excite me much, and most of the ideas presented didn't seem new, but I can definitely appreciate that it was well written and I will still pay attention to whatever Natasha Brown releases next! 

Maybe I'd have enjoyed this more if I'd read it in print.

The narrative voice in this one didn't work for me! The writing felt very flat and simple, almost as if the book was written for a far younger audience, though this is definitely a book for adults, based on the subject matter.

Still, there was value in me having read this! It's the first book I've read set in the Solomon Islands and I took the opportunity to learn more about the political and environmental issues there.

This was a gripping, fast-paced read, on an incredibly gruesome subject. It was awesome having the book set across London and Nigeria, both places I'm tied to. It was also great to have the main character of a detective novel be a brave Black British Nigerian woman! 😍

I would have taken a book 50-100 pages longer! It felt like everything wrapped up rather quickly and conveniently and I had several things I wanted some more elaboration on!

This book took me right to the bustling, unforgiving underbelly of Lagos, focusing on the relationship of two boys, one brought up on the streets, and the other seemingly from a different tier of society, yet his memory loss prevents us from knowing the full story from the get-go.

The Street-Hawker's Apprentice is packed with Yoruba and phonetically-written dialogue. Coming from a Yoruba family, I found this setting close to my heart and the book super immersive, though given even I struggled with a few (tiny) things, maybe it'll be less of a smooth read for people unfamiliar with the language or culture. Don't worry though! Often translations are placed immediately after or will be implied by the attached prose.

If you love books about survival, hustling, friendship, corruption, class divides and more, then this is one for you. And chapter-to-chapter, the use of perspective shifts is used in a way that I really enjoy!

(If I were you, I'd avoid the blurb of this one, especially the first paragraph. It's not a big deal, but reading it removes the chance of enjoying a little 'a-ha' moment towards the end.)

This was such a fun book to read. I could see it all playing out in my head like I was watching a film — this should be a film!! — and I chuckled out loud, even in public, several times!

Some things seemed a little bit repetitive or unnecessary — take the main character's obsession with a certain part of his wife's body... — but then again this is satire, so I guess being over the top is part of that?

Obviously, anything set in Nigeria has a soft spot for me!

This is definitely the most fun, funny, and entertaining of the 15 Jacaranda books I've read so far and I'll be surprised if any of the remaining 5 beat it on that respect.

This isn't a book to pick up if you're looking for a lot of plot and don't want to just read about characters, their day-to-day lives, and their relationships with others. Over the last few years, I've learnt that I don't mind it one bit, and I enjoyed the writing in this one and my interest was sustained the whole way through. I mainly ended up wishing that there'd been a little more character development and growth, especially from our protagonist, and more nuance in the arc of the focal relationship.

I honestly felt like I was watching a gritty London drama about teens on a rough estate. I had seen via the back of the book that it was a modern retelling of a classic, so I had an inkling of where it was going to go, but that didn't take away from the suspense or intrigue. The story was also interspersed with meditations about life and the human condition, which added to the emotional impact of the book.

One big downside was that it seemed as if this book had not been proofread at all! In general, there have been a lot of typos and errors in the #Twentyin2020 Jacaranda collection, but this one was by far the worst in terms of consistency throughout. It took away from the immersive experience!

This is the first book ever (definitely as an adult) that has made me cry proper tears! What an emotional ride, that was. Loved all of the messages about what sort of person to be and the importance of kindness that were baked in. The voices of the characters just felt so real also. I don't really read middle grade but I'll certainly be looking out for more!

This was an entertaining read for sure! However, I didn't care for most of the characters and there were a couple of scenarios or phrases that were problematic and didn't add to the story. In fact, they took away from the story! Loved, as always, the use of things like newspaper clippings, pamphlets, etc., to create a more immersive experience!

This is a rich, complex, fascinating book. I've never read anything like it.

Discussing themes of history and how it's recorded, academic research and gatekeeping, luxury, art, culture, aesthetics, identity, and more, immersed with stories of historical Black queer characters, this book is packed with things to reflect on.

von Reinhold employs a particular storytelling device that I absolutely love, and it only serves to enhance the themes explored.

Whilst I really liked and appreciated this book, and I was intrigued the whole way, my enjoyment was hampered by me being a little bit too confused relatively often at what was happening. Given one of the topics of the book, I do wonder whether this was intentional on the part of the author — and if so, very clever and meta — or if the style wasn't wholly for me.

Either way, if you want to be challenged and the themes listed above sound right up your alley, then this is one for you. This is an incredible book for discussion, especially if you can get all of the interests and perspectives featured in Lote represented in your group!