Great African Reads discussion

This thread is for discussions of our Jan/Feb 2020 read of Nineveh by Henrietta Rose-Innes - Notice that there may be SPOILERS (Find the no-spoiler thread here)
- Feel free to discuss anything you like about the book here: Here's a few questions to get you started:
How did you like the characters? The plot? The style? The portrayal of characters and their surroundings?

I finished the book yesterday. It's my first read of the year and I loved it.

She is a very gifted writer. Her detailed descriptions and lush prose are very effective in evoking an atmosphere of things (insects, humans, childhood traumas) lurking beneath the surface.

I read the novel as an allegory. I'll be posting my review later today.

I posted my review in my 2020 Rebel African thread. I guess I should post it here, as well.

My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I finally had time to read this. I liked the prose and the way the story flows. I see it as a strange fable somehow equating humans and 'pests' - and I am not sure I liked the conclusion, but it was an interesting read for sure.

Tamara wrote: "I posted my review in my 2020 Rebel African thread. I guess I should post it here, as well.

My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."

Good review Tamara - I very much agree with your thoughts.
I find the books final conclusion a bit depressing... An inescapable order (chaos) of things, that can't be changed, but interesting book!

Anetq wrote: "Good review Tamara - I very much agree with your thoughts.
I find the books final conclusion a bit depressing... An inescapable order (chaos) of things, that can't be changed, but interesting book!.."

Thanks, Anetq.
I'm trying to locate more of her books. But my library doesn't have any more. They're trying to locate some for me through inter-library loan. (I'm in the U.S.) If they can't get any, I may just have to end up buying a couple because I really enjoy her writing.

Just finished this book today. Not sure how to post my review. The author has s great talent for descriptive writing both for the characters and the places. It is a very visual novel with much to contemplate.

I received the book with delay and only got to reading it now. It is surely interesting and well written, I liked the atmosphere brought up through beautiful descriptions of nature and the idea of relocation of pests rather than destroying it, though it is clear that this approach has it's limits. On the other hand, the book is crude and violent, especially in its human relations.

I can feel there is some allegory to broader issues, without really grasping it...

Henrietta Rose-Innes says herself that "it’s a book about the irrepressibility of life, and how it thrives in unexpected ways, whether we welcome it or not", and I can't agree more. Nineveh is a grotesque attempt to master the natural and human environment, a recipee for failure.

This is my review (completely forgot to upload it here):

Nineveh is a story about uninhabitable places. Already at the beginning Katya lives in a house whose cracks in its walls become larger and larger due to works on a construction site across the road. As Katya yearns for a solid place to settle in for good, Nineveh becomes her object of desire, a place to live in that seems to be well-structured and undisturbed by the outside world. But Nineveh is not what it seems and Katya is not the type to inhabit a place...

The novel contains beautiful writing: people and objects are compared to flora and fauna and the characters are well drawn - while reading you can smell Katya and her father!

The first half of the novel is full of implications hinting at secrets in Katya's past (a mother mysteriously vanished, the father gone, too). Also, Nineveh seems to hide mysterious insects.
The second half of the novel, however, had some lengths and fell a bit flat as the answers to the implications were rather commonplace. This is the reason for me to only give it 3.5 stars.
For me personally, the novel reads as an allegory of accepting oneself - it becomes more and more obvious, that there is a strong resemblance between Katya and her father. Though she thinks him unbearable and has also suffered by his behaviour towards her as a child she has a similar behaviour towards other people.

Nineveh being built on swampland is destined to crumble before even being inhabited - the swamp people take over in the end and Katya having accepted her true character can lead a life independent of buildings prone to cracking...

Thank you Orgeluse, for your nice review.

To me it's not the second half but rather the final chapter that was a bit disappointing. I started loving the read from the point she met her father again: the story really started there for me.

Wim wrote: "Thank you Orgeluse, for your nice review.

To me it's not the second half but rather the final chapter that was a bit disappointing. I started loving the read from the point she met her father aga..."

It is always interesting to see the different ways a book is received! I am also curious about her new book (Stone Plant) that she wanted to have published at the end of this year according to an article in the Johannisburg Review back in January.

Orgeluse wrote: "It is always interesting to see the different ways a book is received!

I agree completely because I had a very different reaction to the book. I thought it was brilliant and very well executed. I saw it more as an allegory. Rather than paraphrasing my review, I'll just cite a short excerpt:

Katya concludes although walls and gates may act as a temporary deterrence, they cannot permanently keep out those determined to enter. Similarly, tame landscapes, manicured lawns, and pest control companies cannot indefinitely deter insects and pests. Attempts to relocate or restrict any life form to its designated space is futile. Boundaries of separation are fluid. Movement and flux are inevitable. Something or someone will find a way to burrow into a vacant space so that no space is vacant for long.

Rose-Innes’ prose is lush, rich in detail, and highly effective in evoking an atmosphere of the tumult lurking beneath the surface. Whether it is insects or pests, details of a traumatic childhood, outsiders denied access, or even political movements fermenting underground, sooner or later all will surface in the prohibited space to make their presence felt.

I enjoy Henrietta Rose-Innes novels, but I have difficulty locating them in the U.S. I've read Green Lion, which I also enjoyed. I intend to keep looking for more of her books.