This was an okay book, but, about a week after reading, I don't really remember all that much about it. I enjoyed reading it, sure, but it certainly didn't stick with me.

The characters were all supremely unlikeable, and Messud does not have the writing ability to pull this off. The whole plot seemed like a great deal of wealthy people whining about their meaningless lives. I personally liked the langauge, and found the imagery to be probably the best written part of the novel, contrary t... (show more)

This was an okay book, but, about a week after reading, I don't really remember all that much about it. I enjoyed reading it, sure, but it certainly didn't stick with me.

The characters were all supremely unlikeable, and Messud does not have the writing ability to pull this off. The whole plot seemed like a great deal of wealthy people whining about their meaningless lives. I personally liked the langauge, and found the imagery to be probably the best written part of the novel, contrary to the opinions of some of those below me.

And I have so much trouble understanding why and how, exactly, it has received so much critical and (seemingly) popular acclaim. It just does not make sense to me. There are so many other books that are better written, more compelling - even with characters as utterly vapid and Messud's are. It just saddens me that so many great books will get overlooked in favor of this generally poorly-written attempt at a novel. (show less)

Mark Mathabane is not a particularly good writer; in fact, he is not really a good writer at all. His sentences are clumsy and overladen with adjectives, and he doesn't have a great sense of pacing or characterization.

But, in this extremely rare case, it does not even matter. The story is disturbing, touching, and heartwarming. It was published while apartheid was still in practice - and I had no idea just how brutal that system was. It was such an important book for its time, but I think... (show more)

Mark Mathabane is not a particularly good writer; in fact, he is not really a good writer at all. His sentences are clumsy and overladen with adjectives, and he doesn't have a great sense of pacing or characterization.

But, in this extremely rare case, it does not even matter. The story is disturbing, touching, and heartwarming. It was published while apartheid was still in practice - and I had no idea just how brutal that system was. It was such an important book for its time, but I think that it is still relevant now. Like I said, the writing is pretty cruddy. And Mathabane has a way of constantly bragging about how smart, resourceful, generous, or good at tennis he may be. But I'm willing to forgive it, this one time. Here is an individual who has an amazing story to share with the world, and while reading it was not a pleasurable experience, it was certainly eye-opening. (show less)