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smesnake's review
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
moon_dude's review
challenging
dark
tense
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse and Sexual violence
therazzmatazz13's review against another edition
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
sam_bizar_wilcox's review against another edition
4.0
Dazzling. Ananda Devi's depiction of adolescent angst in the impoverished Troumaron neighborhood in Port-Louis, Mauritius is deeply evocative and alluring. Devi's style is highly lyrical - characters' thoughts are flighty meditations on trauma, inequality, and love. With high language, the mess of emotions is so effectively captured that the depths of teenage despair the titular character faces seem to escape the page. Devi alludes to Rimbaud throughout the novel, and this book really is a season in hell, but a moving and essential account of a city and a coming of age on the outskirts of a typical field of view. Devastating and brutal.
karinlib's review against another edition
4.0
Devi has written a tale of 4 teenagers growing up in Troumaron, a neighborhood of Port Louis, Mauritius. A neighborhood that the tourists don't ever see.
It is the story of poverty from which there is no escape, unless they can somehow fly away. The story is haunting and beautiful, despite the cruelty described, Devi's beautiful prose shines through.
It is the story of poverty from which there is no escape, unless they can somehow fly away. The story is haunting and beautiful, despite the cruelty described, Devi's beautiful prose shines through.
lilirose's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
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? Yes
3.25
Un romanzo a cui calza perfettamente il vecchio adagio "breve ma intenso": infatti è un libro crudo, in cui la brutalità e lo squallore sono talmente assoluti da creare un senso di straniamento nel lettore, se ne resta travolti più che traumatizzati.
E' uno spaccato di vita raccontato a quattro voci, le voci di quattro adolescenti molto diversi fra loro ma accomunati dall'essere nati nel posto sbagliato: un quartiere degradato che li ingloba nella sua miseria e li rende sconfitti in partenza. La cosa che veramente turba durante la lettura non sono i tanti episodi di violenza (che pure non sono facili da mandar giù), ma il fatto che questi ragazzi siano già disillusi a 17 anni, giovani nelle passioni ma vecchi nell'anima: un conflitto interiore che li lacera e che ciascuno cerca di risolvere a modo proprio.
Le vicende raccontate si svolgono nei sobborghi di Port Louis ma sono universali, perché le periferie di disadattati sono uguali dappertutto; anche la trama inizialmente può sembrare sopra le righe ma riflettendoci è solo lo specchio deformato di una realtà malata e abbandonata dalla cosiddetta società "civile".
Avrei valutato molto più positivamente questo libro se non fosse per il grosso problema della scrittura, che spesso si dimentica di essere a servizio della trama e diventa troppo protagonista: ne risulta una prosa artefatta, che non colpisce in profondità perché è solo un esercizio di stile fine a se stesso.
Al netto di questo difetto è comunque un romanzo interessante, che si legge con facilità anche per via delle dimensioni ridotte ma che fa riflettere e ogni tanto (quando l'autrice si lascia andare al puro piacere del raccontare senza lanciarsi in voli pindarici) fa anche emozionare.
E' uno spaccato di vita raccontato a quattro voci, le voci di quattro adolescenti molto diversi fra loro ma accomunati dall'essere nati nel posto sbagliato: un quartiere degradato che li ingloba nella sua miseria e li rende sconfitti in partenza. La cosa che veramente turba durante la lettura non sono i tanti episodi di violenza (che pure non sono facili da mandar giù), ma il fatto che questi ragazzi siano già disillusi a 17 anni, giovani nelle passioni ma vecchi nell'anima: un conflitto interiore che li lacera e che ciascuno cerca di risolvere a modo proprio.
Le vicende raccontate si svolgono nei sobborghi di Port Louis ma sono universali, perché le periferie di disadattati sono uguali dappertutto; anche la trama inizialmente può sembrare sopra le righe ma riflettendoci è solo lo specchio deformato di una realtà malata e abbandonata dalla cosiddetta società "civile".
Avrei valutato molto più positivamente questo libro se non fosse per il grosso problema della scrittura, che spesso si dimentica di essere a servizio della trama e diventa troppo protagonista: ne risulta una prosa artefatta, che non colpisce in profondità perché è solo un esercizio di stile fine a se stesso.
Al netto di questo difetto è comunque un romanzo interessante, che si legge con facilità anche per via delle dimensioni ridotte ma che fa riflettere e ogni tanto (quando l'autrice si lascia andare al puro piacere del raccontare senza lanciarsi in voli pindarici) fa anche emozionare.
hetauuu's review against another edition
4.0
Eve out of Her Ruins is a short novel, basically a novella, but it packs more of a punch than a lot of longer novels. I read it in one sitting, which is rare for me even with short books. This story, however, is one that pulls you tightly in from the first lines and immerses you in the disturbing world of these four teenagers.
The lives of four youngsters, Ève, Sadiq, Savita and Clélio, are a side to Mauritian life that tourists who flock its blue beaches and secluded islands never see. They live in a slum called Troumaron in the outskirts of the capital, Port-Louis. Troumaron is a place described by Sadiq as 'a place where all of the city's sewage and waste flows', and this idea, introduced at the start of the book, is what is reflected by the lives of the four of them. There is nothing glamorous or luxurious. Men are violent, women are oppressed, families are torn, and sexual violence is commonplace. This book had basically all the ingredients to become an overwrought, grotesque, sensationalist novel.
And yet, it never became one. Devi, a Mauritian herself, writes about the lives of these four in a way that is both extremely lyrical and extremely hard-hitting. She, at no point in the story, gorges over the violence, rape, murder, domestic violence and societal oppression rampant in the slum. Instead, she writes about it in a way that is very matter-of-fact, and that is where the impact of the prose lies. Her poetic writing style creates a disturbing and emotive contrast with what the characters are going through, as the beautiful writing mixes in with some of the darkest, if not the absolute darkest, scenes I have read all year. That, in turn, reminds the readers that what happens to these characters happens in real life. No amount of lyrical writing about their experiences, no amount of beautiful words is ever going to undo the pain, damage and trauma. In just 146 pages, Devi brings these characters close to the reader and also opens the reader's eyes to the horrors of the real world.
In crafting her characters, Devi has managed to give them all a strong and distinctive voice. In a short book where the PoV constantly changes between the four, it would be easy to fail at this and make some of the characters less individual than others. That does not happen here. Their personalities and ways of coping with their situations come through in a variety of ways and they all have distinct personalities. Ève and Savita have their love story, Clélio battles with longing for his brother and a desire to kill, Saqid is obsessed with Rimbaud and Ève to the point of no return. Devi takes these characteristics central to the four of them, uses them as foundation, and builds their personalities into many directions from that. Even in a short novel she manages not to fall into the trap of crafting one-dimensional characters who rely on one or two trait. In doing that, she manages to make these people feel fully human. As a reader, you believe these characters to be real. You feel disgust at some of their actions and grief and empathy at other actions. There is no perfection in real life, so there is no perfection here. It's our world, take it or leave it.
The short length of the novel means that there is nothing unnecessary here. Devi has kept the book concise, every page and word being not just beautiful, but a vital ingredient in keeping the story flowing and moving. The novel is divided into two parts, separated by a pivotal moment in the plot that was so painful that I had to take a moment to gather myself before continuing. To be able to make your readers care about what happens to your characters in such a short amount of time is a true feat of talent and showcases how Devi's characters aren't cardboard cut-outs that can be replaced. Although the novel is concise and steers away from unnecessary sidetracks and passages, it also doesn't, at least for me, leave a feeling of unfinished business. These characters will continue to live on with me beyond the last page, but the book itself never felt rushed. Devi's story for the pages was complete at the end, without leaving anything important out. The rest is for the readers to keep imagining in their minds.
The lives of four youngsters, Ève, Sadiq, Savita and Clélio, are a side to Mauritian life that tourists who flock its blue beaches and secluded islands never see. They live in a slum called Troumaron in the outskirts of the capital, Port-Louis. Troumaron is a place described by Sadiq as 'a place where all of the city's sewage and waste flows', and this idea, introduced at the start of the book, is what is reflected by the lives of the four of them. There is nothing glamorous or luxurious. Men are violent, women are oppressed, families are torn, and sexual violence is commonplace. This book had basically all the ingredients to become an overwrought, grotesque, sensationalist novel.
And yet, it never became one. Devi, a Mauritian herself, writes about the lives of these four in a way that is both extremely lyrical and extremely hard-hitting. She, at no point in the story, gorges over the violence, rape, murder, domestic violence and societal oppression rampant in the slum. Instead, she writes about it in a way that is very matter-of-fact, and that is where the impact of the prose lies. Her poetic writing style creates a disturbing and emotive contrast with what the characters are going through, as the beautiful writing mixes in with some of the darkest, if not the absolute darkest, scenes I have read all year. That, in turn, reminds the readers that what happens to these characters happens in real life. No amount of lyrical writing about their experiences, no amount of beautiful words is ever going to undo the pain, damage and trauma. In just 146 pages, Devi brings these characters close to the reader and also opens the reader's eyes to the horrors of the real world.
In crafting her characters, Devi has managed to give them all a strong and distinctive voice. In a short book where the PoV constantly changes between the four, it would be easy to fail at this and make some of the characters less individual than others. That does not happen here. Their personalities and ways of coping with their situations come through in a variety of ways and they all have distinct personalities. Ève and Savita have their love story, Clélio battles with longing for his brother and a desire to kill, Saqid is obsessed with Rimbaud and Ève to the point of no return. Devi takes these characteristics central to the four of them, uses them as foundation, and builds their personalities into many directions from that. Even in a short novel she manages not to fall into the trap of crafting one-dimensional characters who rely on one or two trait. In doing that, she manages to make these people feel fully human. As a reader, you believe these characters to be real. You feel disgust at some of their actions and grief and empathy at other actions. There is no perfection in real life, so there is no perfection here. It's our world, take it or leave it.
The short length of the novel means that there is nothing unnecessary here. Devi has kept the book concise, every page and word being not just beautiful, but a vital ingredient in keeping the story flowing and moving. The novel is divided into two parts, separated by a pivotal moment in the plot that was so painful that I had to take a moment to gather myself before continuing. To be able to make your readers care about what happens to your characters in such a short amount of time is a true feat of talent and showcases how Devi's characters aren't cardboard cut-outs that can be replaced. Although the novel is concise and steers away from unnecessary sidetracks and passages, it also doesn't, at least for me, leave a feeling of unfinished business. These characters will continue to live on with me beyond the last page, but the book itself never felt rushed. Devi's story for the pages was complete at the end, without leaving anything important out. The rest is for the readers to keep imagining in their minds.
kmcguinness's review against another edition
5.0
such a devastating, poignant text detailing love, relationships, immense anger, gender and class differences