Reviews

The Old Drift by Namwali Serpell

camillehkiel's review against another edition

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3.0

tried to do a lot in one book, would have been an AMAZING trilogy!! just needed more time and space. very interesting though!

ellathelibrarian's review against another edition

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4.0

Such a richly detailed read, loved every minute!

oxnard_montalvo's review against another edition

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Super detailed with really good dialogue, but ultimately I was waiting for something to *happen*. Particularly towards the end of the book. Like this toy helicopter that was described across several pages, it never managed to achieve lift off.

tricia1960's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

sasinshort's review against another edition

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emotional reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

madmart17's review against another edition

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Oof. This was hard. I was looking forward to some sort of epic family convergence story, but the structure of the book made it all feel very disconnected and heartless to me. If you’re going to have section dedicated to each character, I would rather have the story be told exclusively from their perspective. I was unmotivated to finish and confused when I did pick it up. 

reiding's review against another edition

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challenging hopeful slow-paced
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

lellowgreen's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

ktaylorhurley's review against another edition

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4.0

I don't know how to rate this book. It was ambitious-- both in the writing and in the reading. It was, at times, bizarre. But it was also a glimpse into a country and people I know nothing about. I want to seek out interviews she's done. I want to understand it better.

marshal_ray's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75