Reviews

Tropic of Violence: A Novel by Nathacha Appanah

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crimsonlilies's review against another edition

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challenging sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

elisecabbage's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

mariest's review against another edition

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5.0

Marie est infirmière de nuit sur l’Ile de Mayotte. Sa vie bascule le jour ou une jeune clandestine lui confit son nourrisson et s’enfuit de l’hôpital. Marie, qui a tenté pendant plusieurs mois d’avoir un enfant avec son mari, Cham, et qui vit aujourd’hui seule, décide d’adopter l’enfant. Le petit Moïse vit paisiblement aux côtés de Marie et de leur chien Bosco jusqu’au jour où Marie décède brutalement. Sous le choc de cette mort inattendue, Moïse, qui a une dizaine d’année, décide de quitter sa maison pour rejoindre une bande de jeunes garçons des rues.

Nathacha Appanah nous raconte la descente aux enfers de Moïse qui a connu jusque là une vie trop protégée. Les protagonistes du roman se relaient pour raconter son parcours ; chacun tente de sonder l’âme de cet enfant secret, mutique et imprévisible que certain croit possédé. Nathacha Appanah parvient à faire plonger le lecteur dans l’ambiance de « Gaza », une favela de Mayotte, où se mêlent les odeurs d’essence, de crasse et de misère. L’auteur livre un récit poignant où chaque mot, chaque attitude, semble pouvoir faire basculer l’histoire dans une violence animale.

helenecats's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Do you know where Mayotte is? If I tell you it's close to Madagascar, you probably imagine a small, vibrant island, with gorgeous vegetation, beaches, tropical fruit and sun all year round.

Pick up this book. It shows you the impact of colonisation, of poverty, of a lack of or inadequate education. Of trying to raise a child of a different skin colour and culture, in a small cocoon. Of what happens when that bubble burst suddenly when that child is still young, and when he goes to the nearby slum and becomes perpetually hungry and scared.

Thank you again @independent_wombat for picking this book as part of the #readtheworld challenge on Bookstagram. Weirdly, one day after reading her review, I spotted this book in a small café in Essaouira, Morocco. (Saha kfé) The owner insisted that I take it for free.

This book swallowed me, and spat me out a day later. I had tears streaming down my face by the end, even though I was on a beautiful sunny Moroccan beach. Shocking, brutal, sad, moving, extremely well-written, in short, a must read. Some passages are really upsetting, but it is a necessary read to understand the situation in Mayotte, and many other places where the very rich live alongside the very poor. It contains violence of many kinds. It starts, continues and ends with death. It has so much despair, hatred, cruelty - please check the trigger warnings.

I think this book affected me even more because I read it in my native language. After all, Mayotte is a French territory. The kwassa kwassa boats are coming to the island's shore, full of refugees from nearby countries, but there are also several white characters in this story… Trying to make a difference and causing many problems in the process; others blatantly exploiting their privilege.

This is not non-fiction, though. The writing style is poetic, lyrical, and I reread many of its sentences. I thoroughly recommend.

smokeyshouse's review against another edition

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challenging dark informative sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

I was initially drawn to the book because the author is Mauritian, and the book was set on the French island of Mayotte, near the Comoros. The story was bleak and depressing, about the many undocumented immigrants to Mayotte from the Comoros, and the huge population of children who live there with no parents or family.

koohzad's review against another edition

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3.0

رمانی که داستان آن در جزیره مایوت، یکی از سرزمین‌های فرادریایی فرانسه، می‌گذرد. و اینکه چگونه استعمار، تنها ثروت و دارایی و غرور و سرزمین یک ملت را نابود می‌کند، بلکه روح آن ملت را هم از بین می‌ببرد. پیشنهاد می‌کنم این رمان را حتما مطالعه کنید.