Reviews

Crossing the Mangrove by Maryse Condé

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randiymkje's review

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mysterious reflective medium-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

3.75

karinlib's review

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4.0

The main character, Francis Sancher is dead. Sancher is an outsider to the small village of Riviäre au Sel in Guadeloupe (in the Lesser Antilles). Many of the villagers have gathered at the wake to remember him for different reasons. Some reviled him, others loved him. Yet this book isn't about the murder of Sancher it is the lives of the villagers.

It took me a while to get used to this style of Conde's writing, but then I got caught up in it, and could wait to see what she would say about the next character. In the end, I am very glad I read this book. I think it will be one of those books that I will need to read again.

leah_bennett's review

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful mysterious 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

5.0

nisanatreads's review against another edition

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challenging dark 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? Yes

5.0

The novel begins with the murder of Francis Sancher, a handsome stranger, just outside Riviere au Sel, the village in Guadeloupe where he had recently made his home. A polarising figure, his death doesn't come as a surprise, especially as he had always predicted a violent death for himself. Each chapter focuses on a different person connected to the village and to Francis, revealing another layer of the story. In this way we get to know not only the murder victim, but all the possible suspects.

First of all, I loved the fact that this novel is about a man being murdered (there are far too many stories that focus on and sexualise femicide) and at the same time manages to broaden the narrative to include mostly female characters of the village. Most chapters tell the story from the point of view of a woman in Sancher's life, which is particularly poignant because so much of the story focuses on women not being able to control the narrative because stories are made up or distorted.

Then there's the very prominent theme of female desire and mother-daughter relationships. Loveless marriages and sexual assault also come up. It sounds horrible, but it's actually a very powerful read because these women have persevered and carried on for generations. Sancher's role in their lives takes on many different guises - he himself could be named as the perpetrator of many crimes - which is why he's such a fascinating victim.

There's no easy answer to any of the questions Condé asks. What she does do is paint a detailed picture of Caribbean culture and community that will stay with you. It's a thought-provoking book with many insights into Creole and Caribbean culture.

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yesenianavaa's review

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4.0

This is my second time reading this story, I read it in 2016. It seemed a little less interesting and more difficult this second time to read, but I still enjoyed it. I had written a paper about this book when I first read it and I still connected with a lot of the topics that i mentioned. Francis Sancher provided for many people the idea of freedom and escape. No one really knew much about him and even those that had a "intimate" relationship with him spoke about how he kept them at a distance. The novel is separated into two parts and is separated by the patriarchs of the two families. To many people Francis gave them purpose or value. We see colorism and how Mira with her light skin is simultaneously seen more beautiful cause of it and is reviled because of it. Most of the chapters end with the characters leaving physically or mentally. A lot of them are under unfortunate circumstances and they use Francis' death as the catalyst to impose change into their lives. We explore desire in a lot of the women: sexual desire. Lack of love is a common motif we see between mothers and daughters, daughters and fathers. The story ends with a chapter led by Xantippe. throughout the book many of the characters are scared of him and his intense black skin. He continues to haunt Francis even during his dreams. It is understood that Francis' family is from Guadeloupe and that somewhere down the line they owned slaves and a plantation. Francis understands that his death is necessary to complete the cycle of curses on his family from this atrocity. Through this we explore slavery and the legacy of how it impacts and defines the history of a race of people and a country.

luanndie's review

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4.0

Interesante descripción de la vida de una comunidad a través de la muerte de uno de sus miembros. Cada capítulo está contado desde un punto de vista diferente y nos explica la relación del personaje con el muerto. Por supuesto, disfruté mucho con la parte de las historias individuales y como las vidas de los personajes se van mezclando e influyendo, además de que la idea de reflejar la vida usando como excusa una muerte siempre me ha interesado.

Como siempre, tuve problemas con la parte más mística o espiritual de la historia, porque esos elementos no van nada conmigo y aunque entiendo que eso es una característica de este tipo de literatura, simplemente no puedo digerirlos. Por eso, se lleva 4 estrellas.