Reviews

The Wondrous and Tragic Life of Ivan and Ivana by Maryse Condé

Only show reviews with written explanations

tsehai's review

Go to review page

dark informative reflective 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? It's complicated

3.0

manaledi's review against another edition

Go to review page

DNF. This, like [b:Silence is My Mother Tongue|40938216|Silence is My Mother Tongue|Sulaiman Addonia|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1532458086l/40938216._SY75_.jpg|63830229], which I also DNF'd recently, is qualitatively a good book, with an interesting story, interesting characters, interesting setting, but in both cases I just can't get past the incestuous sibling relationship as a central plot point.

mysticat's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

wamannabanana's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional inspiring reflective 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

gigisxm's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

I'm so conflicted with this book. It was beautifully written and translated but the sexual subject matter was so difficult to stomach. The main characters were beautifully complex for a 3rd party account but the main topic of radicalisation was over shadowed by the gratuitous incest and the more i think about it I think it must have been intentional but i can't figure out why.

I haven't been this mad at the so called 'heroes' in a long time.

This book leaves me with more questions than answers but in a good way that will have me trying to get to other levels of meaning for quite some time. We need to have a chat Mme Condé, you got some splaining to do.

Do not select this one as your first Condé read.