Reviews

Abeng by Michelle Cliff

koraliedw's review against another edition

challenging 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? Yes

4.75

jennyrpotter's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective slow-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? It's complicated

4.0

applejay99's review against another edition

2.0

True rating: 2.5 stars. This book was alright. I had to read this for a class; otherwise, I wouldn't have finished it because of how boring part one is. I think it provides a lot of useful background information about Jamaica, but honestly, it could've been cut down to about a quarter of the length that it is. The second part is a little better, and it finally introduced narrative elements to keep the reader's attention. Any time that Cliff was actually telling the story, it was really interesting and meaningful. The third part was the best of the three, and I actually thoroughly enjoyed it. It had a fairly cohesive narrative that was interesting and very introspective. I wish the whole thing was more like part three.

I'm not a stranger to the uncommon format of this book--each chapter is made up of sections that are anywhere from a couple of paragraphs to a few pages. The sections are not really related and jump back and forth between plot, character development, history, and background information. I normally wouldn't mind this format, but in all honesty, it was mind-numbingly boring. Any time that she wasn't writing the actual plot/story (which didn't start until part two), I could barely pay attention because it just wasn't information that was all that interesting. I appreciate that this novel is semi-autobiographical, so maybe this info was important to the author? But I really think it could have been cut down to a shorter length and still have the book mean the same thing. It's a lot of setup for a not-all-that-satisfying ending. If it had been more of a novella or short story, maybe I would've liked it better. I really wanted to like this book more because the ending was genuinely good, but the majority of the book was just so dull to read that it kind of cancelled out the quality of the ending.

xoxobunny's review against another edition

emotional reflective tense fast-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

4.0

The transparency about girlhood is extremely beloved to me and even though I have lived. a. completely different life then Clare I found a lot of relatable moments. read for class but still loved

eviewilliams29's review against another edition

adventurous emotional informative inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.5

divyareads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense 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? Yes

4.0

ilovetoreadsomuch1234's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful informative reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

raethereviewer's review against another edition

3.5

I read this for my thesis since my focus is Caribbean literature. I enjoyed the first half of it, especially when we get the back and forth between history and Clare's present moment but as the story continued, I felt like some of this became a bit too convoluted, especially with the later character introductions. I think this book grapples with a lot of pressing issues that are still very relevant today but I wasn't as engaged in the second half.

natsafan18's review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-paced

3.0

This novel is a powerful telling of the life of a teen girl living in Jamaica in 1958 - telling Clare's coming of age story as well as Jamaica's coming of age story with gaining independence.

This is a novel that I read for one of my classes that focuses on literature from the Caribbean, so this was the first time that I've ever read a book from this part of the world, so I thought it was a really powerful and gripping story. I will admit that it did start out kind of slow, but it ultimately turned into something raw and real. I really liked it!

themillennialjareads's review against another edition

5.0

I need to reread this before I read book two (No Telephone To Heaven)