Genre: Fiction, Cultral (Africa), Contemporary
Overall the book had an intriguing narrative, however, it was written in a way and a style that I have never read before, which is not a criticism - merely an observation. The author clearly wanted to explore the cultural familial structure and routine of the main characters. The bond and link between family members was most certainly prevalent and therefore this over-arched much of the context of the narrative. At points it was a difficult read as the author, trying to examine each individual character, would achieve this by dedicating specific chapters to each of them and using strong and obvious metaphors to do so.
There also seemed to be an oxymoronic way of looking at psychological conditions within this book, where the underlying message was pretty clear, in order to receive the care and treatment you need you need to be a part of a strong family unit that can look after you and take care of you; this can be seen in two instances, one with the mother and the other with the 'madman' - two very different and contrasting cases, stories and treatments (or lack of).
As a whole I liked the way I was introduced into a new culture and the lives of these individuals, but at certain points I did struggle to read this book, I had to take it in chunks, hence the reason for my 3/5 star rating for it. If I am honest I do not think I will read this book a second time.
Overall the book had an intriguing narrative, however, it was written in a way and a style that I have never read before, which is not a criticism - merely an observation. The author clearly wanted to explore the cultural familial structure and routine of the main characters. The bond and link between family members was most certainly prevalent and therefore this over-arched much of the context of the narrative. At points it was a difficult read as the author, trying to examine each individual character, would achieve this by dedicating specific chapters to each of them and using strong and obvious metaphors to do so.
There also seemed to be an oxymoronic way of looking at psychological conditions within this book, where the underlying message was pretty clear, in order to receive the care and treatment you need you need to be a part of a strong family unit that can look after you and take care of you; this can be seen in two instances, one with the mother and the other with the 'madman' - two very different and contrasting cases, stories and treatments (or lack of).
As a whole I liked the way I was introduced into a new culture and the lives of these individuals, but at certain points I did struggle to read this book, I had to take it in chunks, hence the reason for my 3/5 star rating for it. If I am honest I do not think I will read this book a second time.
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