Review: She Would Be King

This is a September 2018 release given to me at Book Expo America. It is a nonfiction, so not really my usual fair. That being said -spoilers ahead.

Title: She Would Be King

Author: Wayétu Moore

Stars: ★★★

This book starts out with a cat being beaten to death and gets darker from there. Moore gives no gentling lens to slavery, superstition, or the less than subtle social violence among women in a society which otherwise diminishes them.

I had some issues getting into the narrator. With the wind coming in and out of the story, Moore takes the book solidly into speculative fiction; however, I don’t think Moore succeeded in maintaining the balance within the narrative. A more successful try would be Death in The Book Thief. My main issue with the wind comes with its interactions with June Dey toward the end of the book.

I would not reread this book. It gave me a bit of a headache frankly. Three stars comes not from enjoyment but realization that though this book isn’t my cup of tea, it isn’t objectively bad. It was, however, oversold to me. Beware the overly marketed book.

Buy Link:

Amazon