“Black Mamba Boy” by Nadifa Mohamed (Somalia) Book Club Favourite of Season 16 Review Readers enjoyed this story describing it as somewhat similar to a tale where the hero is faced with many difficulties on his journey, but who also meets lots of kind people along the way. They warmed to the protagonist from the start and enjoyed following him as he grows from a young boy in … Continue reading Black Mamba Boy
“Malinche” by Laura Esquivel (Mexico) Review There were mixed reactions from readers about this book. Some liked it while others found it tedious. Those who liked it enjoyed the historical characters and the descriptive passages about the customs and ways of life of the Indian peoples. They also liked the relationship between Malinalli and her grandmother, which they described as tender. They felt it was in … Continue reading Malinche
“Irma Voth” by Miriam Toews (Canada) Review This book was one of the four selected titles for our Summer Reading Group 2012 Nicola chose the novel “Irma Voth” by Miriam Toews (Canada) as her Coup de Cœur Summer 2012. Set in Mexico in a Mennonite community, the story is narrated by 19-year-old Irma who not only gets married, but also takes a job with a … Continue reading Irma Voth
“The Icarus Girl” by Helen Oyeyemi (Nigeria) Review Readers found this book an easy read and they finished it quickly. However, few of them enjoyed it and one reader said she found it boring. Some felt that it lacked content and that it was repetitive. On the other hand, a couple of readers thought it was a multi-layered story, touching on topics as diverse as … Continue reading The Icarus Girl
“Living in the Maniototo” by Janet Frame (New Zealand) Book Club Favourite of Season 15 Review Readers found this book most interesting both from the point of view of the story as well as the style of writing. They thought that there was an incredible use of language, which required their full attention, and they liked the clever interspersing of poems. Some readers didn’t like … Continue reading Living in the Maniototo
“Oryx and Crake” by Margaret Atwood (Canada) Review Although readers found the story bleak and a bit too close to current reality, they really enjoyed it thanks to the wonderful language and superb writing. They found the story fluid and well paced, with a good plot that kept their interest going. Everyone sympathised with Jimmy who they described as a likeable albeit flawed character. On … Continue reading Oryx and Crake
“Death as a Side Effect” by Ana Maria Shua (Argentina) Review Readers had varying opinions on this book with some of them loving it while others found it unrelentingly bleak. One thing they all agreed upon was that it was extremely well written and that the translator, Andrea G. Labinger, had done an excellent job rendering this. Most readers found the depiction of the dystopian … Continue reading Death as a Side Effect
“The God of Small Things” by Arundhati Roy (India) Review For those who were reading this book for the first time, they said it took them a while to get into the story as they found the timeline unnecessarily confusing at the beginning. Readers, for whom it was the second or third read, said they enjoyed it more each time describing it as an amazingly … Continue reading The God of Small Things
Nicola's Book Club 