A flow of stories from different characters grappling with grief in tragic ways. The writing is incredible, but I’m not in a place where I can offer any star rating on such difficult topics. Some of the stories I admit were so difficult, I didn’t read them as fully as they deserved.

An engaging memoir with reflections on growing up, what it means to be a man, South African culture, and family relationships. While I didn’t connect with much of the concepts of manhood, everything else was really moving.  Ndaba Mandela‘s relationship with his grandfather reminded me a lot of my own. He was able to capture the spirit of his family, as well as bring incredible stories of Nelson Mandelas leadership to life again though the page.

Everything I read so far in this book points to abolition, so it caused too much cognitive dissonance to hear the author train cops individually and seemingly expect systemic results from that. I would love to read more about generational trauma, but this is not the book for me.

Library loan ran out. An interesting beginning, I hope I can return to it when I have more time. 

“By the way, I hope I didn’t cause any awkwardness when I mentioned the incident with the soldier, or the checkpoint, or when I reveal that we are living under occupation here. Gunshots and military vehicle sirens, and sometimes the sound of helicopters, warplanes, and shelling, the subsequent wail of ambulances; not only do these noises precede breaking news reports, but now they have to compete with the dog’s barking, too.”

Haunting and clear, the repetition in certain scenes would put me into a meditative trance until the next development shocked me out of it. Incredible and devastating. 

I loved the setting, and the way C Pam Zhang wrote about food truly made me hungry. However, the relationship with Aida dragged and didn’t feel real. The pacing felt off, and since I didn’t see the chef as actually being in love, the end of the book seemed wrong. I loved the flashbacks and reflections, and as someone who was separated from loved ones because of border closures, the longing and pain that caused in the story was very real. However, I wish less time was spend with Aida and the Boss, or on the mountain in general, and more was spent exploring how normal people managed to survive.

Absolutely breathtaking. Every character was so fully developed, it was painful to finish reading and say goodbye. The only criticism I have is that I wanted more, especially from the side characters who we don’t get to follow for as long. I loved them all. 

 “When I go back to the places of the past, nothing is there anymore, as if I have made the whole thing up.” 
I swear I wrote a review when I finished this, but now I can't find it. I remember being frustrated by the modern timeline and wanted more from the Civil War story. The themes of grief were touching, but the story didn't come together fully for me.

An interesting concept, but the execution fell flat for me. I didn’t like the humor, and there were too many plot holes to really connect with the setting. The ending was abrupt. By the last page, I felt like I needed an explanation about how the obsession with sex connected to the other themes. The treatment of Akash was also confusing - the other characters were so language-obsessed, was their refusal to see her as a woman an example of their prejudice? Or is the author just transphobic? 

Raw and powerful. The Female of the Species and Aleppo will stay with me a long time.