Reviews

2.5 stars.

Black Moses was yet another of my Man Booker International Prize 2017 Longlist reads, and I can quite understand why this didn't make the shortlist. Although it is an enjoyable and easy read for the most part, there were issues I had with it and overall it didn't really leave much of a mark on me.

It follows young Moses (whose full name is far too long to type), as he tries to get by in the orphanage he's grown up in as it's taken over by an overtly political director, before making his escape to join a gang of young boys on the streets of the Congolese port town Pointe-Noire.

I don't really have much to say about this book to be fair. If I attempted to go into detail about this book, I would be at risk of spoiling it, and I don't like to do that as you all probably know. What I will say is that I found the pacing of this book very odd, and actually detrimental to my enjoyment of it overall. The book is only 199 pages, and the first 100 pages are solely focused on Moses's time at the orphanage. After that, the rest of his story (and life essentially up until the age of 40) are crammed into the remaining pages. I found I couldn't keep up with the passage of time, and felt like this made the story feel very rushed and confusing at points. I also found that a lot of Moses's character was lost in the second half of the book, and that he became less clear in his motivations and less likeable.

Overall I wouldn't say this was a bad read, it was entertaining and quick to get through, but I wouldn't pick it up again and I wouldn't rave about it by any means.

michellelouise's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark funny informative sad tense slow-paced

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

3.5

celiatois's review against another edition

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adventurous dark 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

eva_dx's review against another edition

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2.5

This book was just fine. I was interested in the first half, especially since I don't know that much about the Republic of Congo's history, so the setting was really interesting to me. I didn't feel connected to the main character though. The longer the book went on, the more it lost me. The ending was also very anticlimactic.

shaniquekee's review against another edition

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4.0

If it weren't so hilariously written it would be so sad. Black Moses tells of the exploits and escapades of Moses, a young orphan in Congo who spends his early childhood in an orphanage and then later lives on the streets of the city. We hear of the ridiculously power hungry manager of the orphanage, the struggles and triumphs of street life, and the challenges of an unstable existence. Moses is simultaneously entirely believable and completely inconceivable as a character, and his life often has a laugh to keep from crying feel to it.

tomkipp's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny reflective fast-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? Yes

3.75

njw13's review against another edition

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challenging funny reflective medium-paced

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

3.0

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