Hi Eric, thanks for the review! Probably Conde's most well-known book is "I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem." This may be a good place to start with her. Be well.
I have read Maryse Conde’s Segu and I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem and I though both were great books. Segu opened the largely under-explored theme of the effects of Muslim invasion of African cultures in an epic manner while Tituba was about the notorious Salem witch-hunt, focusing on the fate of the eponymous heroine. Thank you for introducing Conde’s new book which I was looking forward to …
Can`t wait for your review on Time Shelter which I have nearly finished - I am finding it absolutely spellbinding! I was in doubt about the Gospel novel and have now decided to wait and see if it gets to the shortlist.
I totally agree with your view. I kept reading it because I wanted to see where the H. Is this thing going. The last chapter left me more confused as to why was it even a part of this story. I give it a 3 out of 5 with a bold ?. If you can explain any thoughts on the closeing I would appreciate it, for I feel it was a waste of my time
The title caught my attention and reminded me of José Saramago's book. Your review is very much in line with the review in the Financial Times... which has made me less reluctant to read it since I have so many other great books on my 'to read list' 😅 (About it being her last novel, it is because she is legally blind and the book was thought up and written in her mind and then dictated to her husband.)
I tried this when it first came out in France and gave up about a third of the way in because I was so bored and so baffled about why anyone would follow Pascal. So I was a bit surprised that it was longlisted. I have over the past decades read a lot of Conde which I really enjoyed when I was reading it (good while now so don’t know how I would find it now) - Segou, Crossing the Mangroves … It’s a bit of a shame if this is the book that everyone will read.
Fair enough! I reckon I'll be more interested in the subjects of those earlier books so hopefully other people will give them a try to rather than just reading this.
I had similar feelings about this book and this was also my first time meeting Condé on the page. I do think her backlist is likely to be very impressive.
Thank you for a great review. Do you think that the fact that she dictated the book rather than wrote it herself had any bearing on the issues you raised? It’s almost like she went back to the oral tradition of story telling and that must affect the story itself?
Thank you. That's an interesting point. It might be her process of writing and editing the book might have been different if she'd typed it out herself.
I was just thinking that the process of imagining a world filled with characters and with a narrative line would be very different if you were holding it in your head vs being able to plot outlines and have notes. There are also interesting studies on the neurological effects of writing by hand vs typing on a computer. These were done mostly with children learning to write, but it certainly raises questions about the effects on all of us. I know that if I really want to remember something there is no substitute to hand writing!
pls excuse the double post: with respect to Magical Realism, more emphasis should be placed on Realism - which is often morose to the point of depressing - than on Magical. The most important Western works of Magical Realism are hagiographies that present testimony of miracles performed by a saint. In modern MR, the magic is useful to assuage the pain that is often the reality of ordinary people, like for example Zola's mining families in Germinal. Reading about those sad lives one naturally hopes for some impossible goodness to change the course of the misery.
Yeah, it might be best to start with one of her others first before reading this. There have been other reviews that were more positive about it though so you might like it more than me.
Oh, yikes. Just got this from the library today and after this wonderfully thoughtful review (as always, Eric!) this doesn't sound like it's for me. Although, yes, that author photo is fantastic!
Sounds to me like a literary parody of “Lamb” by Christopher Moore, which is in itself a (hilarious) parody of the New Testament. Hmm 🤔 Great review, Erik!
ofc idk but possibly bc. "cast the first stone" was said to stop a stoning of a woman accused of an adultery-like offence, which if I understand the context you presented would be a bit mysterious in that situation
Possibly, but like I said there are lots of other authors they could have given an honourable mention to as well. I doubt it will make the shortlist though.
This is a disappointment. I had been looking forward to reading this one. I’ve read only one book from this year’s longlist so far and did not enjoy it at all. I hope this is not a theme for the whole list.
Hi Eric, thanks for the review! Probably Conde's most well-known book is "I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem." This may be a good place to start with her. Be well.
Great, thank you!
I have read Maryse Conde’s Segu and I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem and I though both were great books. Segu opened the largely under-explored theme of the effects of Muslim invasion of African cultures in an epic manner while Tituba was about the notorious Salem witch-hunt, focusing on the fate of the eponymous heroine. Thank you for introducing Conde’s new book which I was looking forward to …
Thank you, I’ll hopefully get to reading those at some point
Thank you, Eric. I always appreciate your reviews.
I'm working on "Time Shelter" which I am really enjoying.
Thank you! And that's good - I'm really looking forward to reading that.
Can`t wait for your review on Time Shelter which I have nearly finished - I am finding it absolutely spellbinding! I was in doubt about the Gospel novel and have now decided to wait and see if it gets to the shortlist.
i hope you do this for each book on the list...it was really interesting to me.
I’m going to try to! We’ll see how much reading I can get done.
Bummer!!! Was looking forward to this one! Thanks for the review!
Some others have been more positive about it so it could just be me. 😕
I totally agree with your view. I kept reading it because I wanted to see where the H. Is this thing going. The last chapter left me more confused as to why was it even a part of this story. I give it a 3 out of 5 with a bold ?. If you can explain any thoughts on the closeing I would appreciate it, for I feel it was a waste of my time
The title caught my attention and reminded me of José Saramago's book. Your review is very much in line with the review in the Financial Times... which has made me less reluctant to read it since I have so many other great books on my 'to read list' 😅 (About it being her last novel, it is because she is legally blind and the book was thought up and written in her mind and then dictated to her husband.)
She actually dedicated it to Jose Saramago
I tried this when it first came out in France and gave up about a third of the way in because I was so bored and so baffled about why anyone would follow Pascal. So I was a bit surprised that it was longlisted. I have over the past decades read a lot of Conde which I really enjoyed when I was reading it (good while now so don’t know how I would find it now) - Segou, Crossing the Mangroves … It’s a bit of a shame if this is the book that everyone will read.
Fair enough! I reckon I'll be more interested in the subjects of those earlier books so hopefully other people will give them a try to rather than just reading this.
I had similar feelings about this book and this was also my first time meeting Condé on the page. I do think her backlist is likely to be very impressive.
Yeah, it might be a downside of listing an author for a prize when the book being highlighted isn’t necessarily their best
Interesting review! I have never read anything by Conde either
Thank you 😊📚
Great read prefer other books by her. I’m nearing the end of longlist four more to read
Wow, you're racing through them! 📚
Thank you for a great review.
Do you think that the fact that she dictated the book rather than wrote it herself had any bearing on the issues you raised?
It’s almost like she went back to the oral tradition of story telling and that must affect the story itself?
Thank you. That's an interesting point. It might be her process of writing and editing the book might have been different if she'd typed it out herself.
I was just thinking that the process of imagining a world filled with characters and with a narrative line would be very different if you were holding it in your head vs being able to plot outlines and have notes.
There are also interesting studies on the neurological effects of writing by hand vs typing on a computer. These were done mostly with children learning to write, but it certainly raises questions about the effects on all of us. I know that if I really want to remember something there is no substitute to hand writing!
Well… this sounds dire… can’t… can’t wait to read this now 😅
Haha, I'd be keen to hear your take.
Another miss for me! I’m happy for your review again!🇨🇦
Thanks!
pls excuse the double post: with respect to Magical Realism, more emphasis should be placed on Realism - which is often morose to the point of depressing - than on Magical. The most important Western works of Magical Realism are hagiographies that present testimony of miracles performed by a saint. In modern MR, the magic is useful to assuage the pain that is often the reality of ordinary people, like for example Zola's mining families in Germinal. Reading about those sad lives one naturally hopes for some impossible goodness to change the course of the misery.
What a shame. I’ve been wanting to read Conde for a while, but I might try a different one.
Thanks for the review 👍🏻
Yeah, it might be best to start with one of her others first before reading this. There have been other reviews that were more positive about it though so you might like it more than me.
This doesn't appeal to me at all, but Conde's work overall does intrigue me.
Oh, yikes. Just got this from the library today and after this wonderfully thoughtful review (as always, Eric!) this doesn't sound like it's for me. Although, yes, that author photo is fantastic!
You never know! Give it a try and see how you get on with it before returning it to the library. 😊
Sounds to me like a literary parody of “Lamb” by Christopher Moore, which is in itself a (hilarious) parody of the New Testament. Hmm 🤔 Great review, Erik!
The Lamb is so much fun.
Oh I've not heard of that.
ofc idk but possibly bc. "cast the first stone" was said to stop a stoning of a woman accused of an adultery-like offence, which if I understand the context you presented would be a bit mysterious in that situation
Yes possibly but if so it's presented in a confusing way.
This to me is more of a honorary nomination.
Possibly, but like I said there are lots of other authors they could have given an honourable mention to as well. I doubt it will make the shortlist though.
@@EricKarlAnderson I hope not. The Birthday Party was a disappointment too.
@@AnnNovella I'm reading that now and really enjoying it so far.
Just keep spittin' out your real views on these books.
Thank you! 😊📚
I think I have heard enough.
This is a disappointment. I had been looking forward to reading this one. I’ve read only one book from this year’s longlist so far and did not enjoy it at all. I hope this is not a theme for the whole list.
Some others have been more positive about this novel so it could just be me.
Thank you for the review…definitely not interested in this book!
😊📚