Reviews by Andrea (28)

Andrea 2024-01-10 The Ink Black Heart

A very Entertaining Read - Once You Get the Hang of It

The Ink Black Heart

I honestly felt that this book didn't need to be as long as it was, that it needn't have so many characters, and that it was written by someone with only the most cursory understanding of games and gaming. In this sense, it wasn't completely believable - a close-knit gaming community for an iconic game all living within a few kilometers of one another and all with real-life relationships (this does not happen) - it was nevertheless worth reading. The in-game chats are the hardest, until you learn to read them consecutively while understanding that they occur in parallel. Enjoyed it all the same and (although this is what you do with books by definition) found it to be a page-turner. Should have been a bit shorter though: a bit too much about too little.

Andrea 2024-01-10 Dance on the Red-Brown Earth

History is a series of snapshots: whose land "belongs" to who?

Dance on the Red-Brown Earth

I'll confess to speed-reading this one. Yes, the whites took land that belonged to the Xhosas, but who did the Xhosas take it from? After all, they were migrants too. At the same time, I enjoyed the way it wove in the story of admixture between whites and Xhosas that certainly occurred and has been historically recognised - although its history goes back even further than this. Land and land grabs are a part of history no matter where in the world you may be, and before the one, there is another and another, and another. I think the book misses this point. It has a slight odour of white guilt, and although that's probably deserved, it fails to acknowledge that the Xhosa took the land from the Khoisan before that. And before that, heaven knows... No nation is without guilt

Andrea 2024-01-10 The Romantic

More than one book should hold

The Romantic

I read this book, and I finished it. Coming from a person who hasn't read novels in decades, I suppose that's a thumbs up. The Romantic covers an age of exploration, discovery and artistry, and its main character does it all. And that sums up my problem with it. It's a story that could easily, and more realistically, be about at least six different people. Good? Certainly not a bad read, but too much for one book about one person. Entertaining? Sure. But if it were mine, it would be read once and then donated to a charity bookshop.

Andrea 2024-01-10 Anxious People

I want to own this book

Anxious People

"Anxious People" charmed me from the first page. It's funny, sad, ludicrous and beautiful rolled into one. I laughed. I cried. And in the end, I was doing both at once. If I could read it six times, I would: an absolutely beautiful story told with warmth and a deep understanding of human nature.

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