I think it took me about 350 pages before finally getting sucked into the story.
But when I finally got into to it, I finally found all the details fascinating. The story gets moving, full of action, stories, unique fiction, persona and lore. This is definitely something that should be read by all that love fantasy.
I usually drop fiction that hits me with too much magic up front, but this was so foreign, irreverent, and unpredictable that it kept me curious. Having finished it I really feel like I've spent time in an alien world. I'm not sure I like or understand all of it, but the exposure forced my mind to broaden somehow.
Review of 'Black Leopard, Red Wolf' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
2019 - I feel like I may upgrade my opinion of this one after it's had some time to sink in.
2022 - Yup. Reread this in anticipation of reading the sequel and definitely liked it more the second time around. There's quite a bit about the story that's deliberately opaque (i.e. the identity of the boy the main characters all seek), or runs off along tangents (i.e. I hope the business with Tracker's wolf eye has some relevance in the sequel), and piecing all that together while also acclimating to the idiosyncrasies of the author and the narrator (for example, James likes long conversations between pairs of characters where the speakers alternate without ever identifying who is saying which line of dialog) sort of made me bounce off it the first time. Much better the second time around, armed with familiarity.
Review of 'Black Leopard, Red Wolf' on 'Storygraph'
No rating
I’m uncomfortable with the sheer number of descriptions of things that somehow involve people’s bodies in a sexual manner even when nothing sexual is even happening. It felt like everything was couched in terms of a male/female binary. The thing that made me stop was one character’s casual description of circumcision and female genital mutilation as equivalent and positive things to do to children’s bodies. It’s possible that the overall stance of the book doesn’t condone this (authors are not their characters, after all), but I’m too distressed to read more and find out.
I’m uncomfortable with the sheer number of descriptions of things that somehow involve people’s bodies in a sexual manner even when nothing sexual is even happening. It felt like everything was couched in terms of a male/female binary. The thing that made me stop was one character’s casual description of circumcision and female genital mutilation as equivalent and positive things to do to children’s bodies. It’s possible that the overall stance of the book doesn’t condone this (authors are not their characters, after all), but I’m too distressed to read more and find out.
Review of 'Black Leopard, Red Wolf' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
I honestly don't know what to think about this book. At first, I found it confusing. Then a while in I got into its groove and enjoyed it. Then found it a confusing again. The language can be hard to follow sometimes, which can be disjointing given that it seems to want to sort of be an adventure/action type thing and does at times flow in such a way, but then it constantly morphs and plays in other more complicated ways. Definitely worth reading and grappling with but I'm not sure it lived up to the critical praise for me. But maybe I missed something and need to reread it to really get it? Not sure.
Review of 'Black Leopard, Red Wolf' on 'Goodreads'
No rating
DNF
Nope! Couldn't do it. Got about 120 pages in and just couldn't get over the misogyny, graphic sex, domestic violence, and disturbing fixation on genital mutilation. I don't like the style of writing which makes it difficult to figure out what is actually happening.
Review of 'Black Leopard, Red Wolf' on 'Goodreads'
1 star
The opening chapter contains detailed reference to sexual assaults of such horrific depravity I dropped the book and went to research it again because HOW was this the buzzed about “modern day mythology” new “Lord of the Rings” I’d seen it called??
From what I’ve read in reviews this is just the tip of the iceberg for an onslaught of lovingly described dehumanizing torture and assault entirely unnecessary to the plot and so so SO not for me.
Review of 'Black Leopard, Red Wolf' on 'Goodreads'
No rating
DNF. Wasn't for me, at least not in my current state of mind-- extremely graphic and surprisingly difficult to follow, despite being intriguing. May revisit later.
Review of 'Black Leopard, Red Wolf' on 'Goodreads'
1 star
Pretentious meandering prose and constant sexual violence.
Disappointing, as I was looking forward to African myth and got patois nonsense instead. After a genuine attempt and 250 pages, I am going to give up on this book.
Review of 'Black Leopard, Red Wolf' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
Black Leopard, Red Wolf is a meandering novel, weaving together many elements of African mythology. You may have seen it described as epic fantasy, but's epic in the way The Odyssey is, and not like A Game of Thrones.
Tracker starts the story with an introduction to his past. I am still not sure if this is referring to female genital mutilation or not, or is Tracker intersex? He talks about how it was left too late to have the woman cut from him, that he will also carry her inside him. He also finds out that his father, who he hated, was not his father. Instead he is his grandfather's son. Yeah, it was a bit confusing at the start!
So Tracker is known to have a nose, he can find anyone. He is hired to find a boy. He bands together with a group of mercenaries, including a …
Black Leopard, Red Wolf is a meandering novel, weaving together many elements of African mythology. You may have seen it described as epic fantasy, but's epic in the way The Odyssey is, and not like A Game of Thrones.
Tracker starts the story with an introduction to his past. I am still not sure if this is referring to female genital mutilation or not, or is Tracker intersex? He talks about how it was left too late to have the woman cut from him, that he will also carry her inside him. He also finds out that his father, who he hated, was not his father. Instead he is his grandfather's son. Yeah, it was a bit confusing at the start!
So Tracker is known to have a nose, he can find anyone. He is hired to find a boy. He bands together with a group of mercenaries, including a shapeshifter called Leopard. His travels take him all over this alternate Africa, befriending mingi children (children who have been rejected by their families due to strange defects; a girl made of smoke, giraffe boy, another whose body is ball-like). He goes to strange lands and meets all sorts of dangerous creatures.
It's very much in the tradition of oral storytelling, with lots of tangents and various stories, with the loose central plot being there to hold them together. I am not sure this is my kind of thing. I enjoyed many of the stories, but found there was just too much going on. I had read that Marlon James did a lot of research for this book and I fear he didn't want to leave anything out. I personally would have liked a collection of stories based on African myths rather than feeling a bit confused about how they all fit together.
I did really like the sad character of Sadogo. An ogre of sorts, his people are hated as the human women they impregnate then die in childbirth due to the size of the baby. He feels guilt at his very existence. He was read so sad in the audiobook, I couldn't help but feel sorry for him.
There's a lot of casual reference to rape and child abuse, and it's swept away all a bit quickly for me to accept it being there. At a few points, it seems like it is going to handle it with a bit more sensitivity, but due to the sheer scale of the story, there's just not time. Also, I find literary descriptions of sexual acts a bit absurd. There is "seed" all over the place.
There will be plenty of people who think this is an amazing piece of work. I am glad I gave Marlon James a try, but I fear his style is just not for me.
Listening Notes Dion Graham did a fantastic job of narrating this mammoth audiobook (24 hours of it!). I do not believe I would have had the patience to finish it in print, but his performance was entertaining and suited the story.