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The Dragonfly Sea
From the award-winning author of Dust comes a vibrant, stunning coming-of-age novel about a young woman struggling to find her place in a vast world--a poignant exploration of fate, mortality, love, and loss.
On the island of Pate, off the coast of Kenya, lives solitary, stubborn Ayaana and her mother, Munira. When a sailor named Muhidin, also an outsider, enters their lives, Ayaana finds something she has never had before: a father. But as Ayaaana grows into adulthood, forces of nature and history begin to re-shape her life and the island itself--from a taciturn visitor with a murky past to a sanctuary-seeking religious extremist, from dragonflies to a tsunami, from black-clad kidnappers to cultural emissaries from China. Ayaana ends up embarking on a dramatic ship's journey to the Far East, where she will discover friends and enemies; be seduced by the charming but unreliable scion of a powerful Turkish business family; reclaim her devotion to the sea; and come to find her own tenuous place amid a landscape of beauty and violence and surprising joy. Told with a glorious lyricism and an unerring sense of compassion, The Dragonfly Sea is a transcendent story of adventure, fraught choices, and of the inexorable need for shelter in a dangerous world.
On the island of Pate, off the coast of Kenya, lives solitary, stubborn Ayaana and her mother, Munira. When a sailor named Muhidin, also an outsider, enters their lives, Ayaana finds something she has never had before: a father. But as Ayaaana grows into adulthood, forces of nature and history begin to re-shape her life and the island itself--from a taciturn visitor with a murky past to a sanctuary-seeking religious extremist, from dragonflies to a tsunami, from black-clad kidnappers to cultural emissaries from China. Ayaana ends up embarking on a dramatic ship's journey to the Far East, where she will discover friends and enemies; be seduced by the charming but unreliable scion of a powerful Turkish business family; reclaim her devotion to the sea; and come to find her own tenuous place amid a landscape of beauty and violence and surprising joy. Told with a glorious lyricism and an unerring sense of compassion, The Dragonfly Sea is a transcendent story of adventure, fraught choices, and of the inexorable need for shelter in a dangerous world.
496 pages, Hardcover
First published March 12, 2019
171 people are currently reading
5557 people want to read
About the author
Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor
10 books247 followersYvonne Adhiambo Owuor (born 1968) is a Kenyan writer, who was named "Woman of the Year" by Eve Magazine in Kenya in 2004 for her contribution to the country's literature and arts. She won the 2003 Caine Prize for African Writing for her story "Weight of Whispers", which considers an aristocratic Rwandan refugee in Kenya. The story was originally published in Kwani?, the Kenyan literary magazine set up by Binyavanga Wainaina after he won the Caine Prize the previous year.
Born in Nairobi, Owuor studied English at Jomo Kenyatta University, before taking an MA in TV/Video development at Reading University. She has worked as a screenwriter and was the Executive Director of the Zanzibar International Film Festival from 2003 to 2005. Her short story "Weight of Whispers" was the 2003 winner of the Caine Prize. Her writing has appeared in numerous publications worldwide including Kwani? and McSweeney’s, and her story "The Knife Grinder’s Tale" was made into a short film in 2005.
In 2010, along with Binyavanga Wainaina, she participated in the Chinua Achebe Center's "Pilgrimages" project and travelled to Kinshasa, and intends to produce a book about her experiences.
In 2014, her novel "Dust" received widespread critical recommendations as a vivid and often poetic portrayal of the violent history of Kenya in the second half of the 20th century.'
(from Wikipedia)
Born in Nairobi, Owuor studied English at Jomo Kenyatta University, before taking an MA in TV/Video development at Reading University. She has worked as a screenwriter and was the Executive Director of the Zanzibar International Film Festival from 2003 to 2005. Her short story "Weight of Whispers" was the 2003 winner of the Caine Prize. Her writing has appeared in numerous publications worldwide including Kwani? and McSweeney’s, and her story "The Knife Grinder’s Tale" was made into a short film in 2005.
In 2010, along with Binyavanga Wainaina, she participated in the Chinua Achebe Center's "Pilgrimages" project and travelled to Kinshasa, and intends to produce a book about her experiences.
In 2014, her novel "Dust" received widespread critical recommendations as a vivid and often poetic portrayal of the violent history of Kenya in the second half of the 20th century.'
(from Wikipedia)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 180 reviews
April 15, 2019
Not much has been written about the coastal communities of Kenya in mainstream literature. It’s rare for me, a Kenyan Muslim islander, to read about people who look like me, dress like me, speak like me, who are the driving force in a narrative up until The Dragonfly Sea. I felt so connected to the characters, the spaces, and places that this book quite literally sang to me. What’s even more impressive is that Owuor is neither from the Swahili community nor is she Muslim, but she occupied those spaces with respect, grace and empathy that reflected in her detailed portrayal of life and culture in the islands of the Lamu Archipelago.
Take away the familiarity and let’s judge Dragonfly Sea on purely stylistic elements. The structure is inspired by the ebb and flow of the ocean tides, centered on themes of searching and returning, and all tied up beautifully with a prose that is lush, lyrical and evocative. Owuor will have you rereading sentences (or in my case, reread the entire book) just so you can bask in the sheer beauty of her lyricism. I‘m convinced homegirl wrote this with sea djinns singing by her side, spurring her on.
The Dragonfly Sea addresses some very real issues — the complexity and ambiguity of youth radicalization — how the ‘war on terror’ affected Pate’s quintessential tranquility and lead to innocent fisherfolk kidnapped, tortured and even killed simply because they fit a profile— how the government sacrificed its citizens to satisfy western countries desire for action — China’s grasp of Africa’s resources. All these elements are woven around a delicate coming-of-age family saga sprawling across Pate, Istanbul and Xiamen, with memorable characters who will take you on a merry go round of emotions as you experience their love and losses with them. This is right up there as one of the most absorbing and emotional books I’ve had the honor of reading.
The dragonfly is the insect with the longest migration across open ocean waters. Apt title for a story of journeys, of migrations and perhaps more importantly, of homecomings. Just like the ebb and flow of the ocean, The Dragonfly Sea broke me, and healed me, in waves
Take away the familiarity and let’s judge Dragonfly Sea on purely stylistic elements. The structure is inspired by the ebb and flow of the ocean tides, centered on themes of searching and returning, and all tied up beautifully with a prose that is lush, lyrical and evocative. Owuor will have you rereading sentences (or in my case, reread the entire book) just so you can bask in the sheer beauty of her lyricism. I‘m convinced homegirl wrote this with sea djinns singing by her side, spurring her on.
The Dragonfly Sea addresses some very real issues — the complexity and ambiguity of youth radicalization — how the ‘war on terror’ affected Pate’s quintessential tranquility and lead to innocent fisherfolk kidnapped, tortured and even killed simply because they fit a profile— how the government sacrificed its citizens to satisfy western countries desire for action — China’s grasp of Africa’s resources. All these elements are woven around a delicate coming-of-age family saga sprawling across Pate, Istanbul and Xiamen, with memorable characters who will take you on a merry go round of emotions as you experience their love and losses with them. This is right up there as one of the most absorbing and emotional books I’ve had the honor of reading.
The dragonfly is the insect with the longest migration across open ocean waters. Apt title for a story of journeys, of migrations and perhaps more importantly, of homecomings. Just like the ebb and flow of the ocean, The Dragonfly Sea broke me, and healed me, in waves
January 8, 2020
I wanted to love this book so badly, but I had a difficult time with this book. So, this review will be a little different than others I have written.
Let's start with a few of the things I did like. I liked the character, Ayaana. It was beautiful and heartbreaking to watch her grow from a child to a woman. I felt for her as she tried to build a life and find a father-figure. There are so many characters in this book, but the character of Ayaana was the easiest to love.
The plot itself was very interesting and is what drew me to the book in the first place. Who wouldn't want to read a coming-of-age novel about family, fate, and loss? Unfortunately, the writing style made this book difficult to read and was boring for me. The language is very descriptive to the point that it takes away from the story.
Thanks to the publisher for giving me a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
About halfway through the book, we meet a whole group of additional characters which made the book even more confusing. I understand that she is on a journey and that brings the possibility for new characters. It just didn’t seem to click with me and made the story harder to follow.
Overall, I think this book could have been much shorter. If you love to dive deep into flowery prose, then you may love this book. If this does sound interesting to you I would recommend setting aside more time to read it and really enjoy it.
Let's start with a few of the things I did like. I liked the character, Ayaana. It was beautiful and heartbreaking to watch her grow from a child to a woman. I felt for her as she tried to build a life and find a father-figure. There are so many characters in this book, but the character of Ayaana was the easiest to love.
The plot itself was very interesting and is what drew me to the book in the first place. Who wouldn't want to read a coming-of-age novel about family, fate, and loss? Unfortunately, the writing style made this book difficult to read and was boring for me. The language is very descriptive to the point that it takes away from the story.
Thanks to the publisher for giving me a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
About halfway through the book, we meet a whole group of additional characters which made the book even more confusing. I understand that she is on a journey and that brings the possibility for new characters. It just didn’t seem to click with me and made the story harder to follow.
Overall, I think this book could have been much shorter. If you love to dive deep into flowery prose, then you may love this book. If this does sound interesting to you I would recommend setting aside more time to read it and really enjoy it.
July 29, 2019
I really wanted to love this book. It is beautiful and poetic in some parts, but in others it was just winding on and on with no real purpose. The main characters were well defined, but I think the side characters got too much attention - pages and pages of exposition where a few paragraphs would have been enough. The main story about Ayaana coming of age and finding out about her heritage was interesting and engaging, but the terrorism thread felt hastily tacked on, and I don't think it added any value.
I read this book while travelling, and it was a great conversation starter. However, it dragged in parts. The Swahili proverbs at the beginning of every chapter were a nice touch.
I read this book while travelling, and it was a great conversation starter. However, it dragged in parts. The Swahili proverbs at the beginning of every chapter were a nice touch.
March 14, 2019
A distinctly beautiful African voice spoken in island tempo delivering poignant coming of age tale featuring young girl living on Pate, island east of Kenya, with dreams of her father within the dominant theme of the sea.
April 28, 2019
From the start, Owuor gently tilts the reader off balance, with an undertow of clove, eucalyptus and mint, delicate splashes of lime and rosewater, rare sparkles of sea glass and rubies, all infused in lyrical prose, reminiscent of sunlight fractals as viewed from underwater. The sheer sensory differences of the underwater world are a reorienting process. Some readers are impatient for the plot to unfold more quickly (and for the action to develop outside, rather than inside the characters). The Kenyan cultural tradition seems to stipulate that first, you need to be fully immersed and transformed, before you can know.
The author makes it clear that this is a work of introspective character development, and she offers a heavily descriptive deep-dive into themes of love and loss. Words, textures, flavors, and scents, have layered meanings. She writes: "To savor its [a word's] essence . . . you must taste at least three languages on your tongue." This is why the author weaves her native language into the story. By inducing pauses for digesting the unfamiliar words, she invites the reader into a sea-like rhythm of waves.
Owuor teaches us to channel the moon-driven tides of the sea. We become one with the ebb and flow, transformed by the push, pull, weight, grit, and depth. As in nature, we find the balance of the percentage of salty minerals within us, to be the exact proportion found in the ocean itself.
This is a novel to be savored.
The author makes it clear that this is a work of introspective character development, and she offers a heavily descriptive deep-dive into themes of love and loss. Words, textures, flavors, and scents, have layered meanings. She writes: "To savor its [a word's] essence . . . you must taste at least three languages on your tongue." This is why the author weaves her native language into the story. By inducing pauses for digesting the unfamiliar words, she invites the reader into a sea-like rhythm of waves.
Owuor teaches us to channel the moon-driven tides of the sea. We become one with the ebb and flow, transformed by the push, pull, weight, grit, and depth. As in nature, we find the balance of the percentage of salty minerals within us, to be the exact proportion found in the ocean itself.
This is a novel to be savored.
April 20, 2019
I did not like this at all. I was well over 100 pages in before I was at all engaged in the plot. Nearly halfway through, I still didn’t feel very connected to the characters or compelled to keep reading by their stories. While the language is beautiful, the prose keeps the characters at arms length. The tone feels almost reporter-like. This is partly due to how the narrative is weighted. While a description of the sea will go on for pages, a loved one’s sudden and prolonged absence is barely touched on. The near conversion of a child to extreme religion is glossed over, even though it will go on to have major consequences. Time is treated very poorly - Ayaana’s childhood is a sold third of the book, but there is nothing marking her growth, so once she reaches adulthood she hardly feels like it, which makes the plot start to feel implausible. The ship chapters seemed completed incongruent with her story. Also, all those beautiful words became a slog eventually. Instead of giving the characters their own voices, the heavy, overdrawn, rambling diction drags along uniformly - overly descriptive and overly dramatic without any significant dialogue. The narrative talks around the characters and what’s happening to them, instead of to or about them in any meaningful way. Eventually I started skipping entire sections, but felt like I hadn’t missed a beat.
April 20, 2019
The Dragonfly Sea by Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor is a novel that explores the life of a girl living in Pate Island of Lamu Archipelago and her ties with the flowing and ebbing waves of the sea, the nourishing soil and the many people who arrive in Pate never to leave and many others whose stay is ephemeral and unmoored.
The story begins with Ayaana who lives with her mother, the woman with beautifying potions but no husband, and a haunting sensation that is provoked by the absence of a father. However, on the ever-changing and transmuting Pate, nothing is abiding. The arrival of Muhidin transforms Ayaana’s world as she chooses him to be her father, her friend and her teacher. This is not approved by her mother, Munira but there is not much she can do about a bond that is forged immediately and permanently.
We find that soon Ayaana's life is upended when it is discovered that she is the descendant of one of the many traveling on a ship with the 14th century mariner Admiral Zhang He who travels to Africa from China. She is taken to China with the glowing promises of education and a better life that would assimilate her with her ‘own kind.’ What unfolds from this point onwards is the uprooting of a plant that knew where it could bloom only to be buried in an infertile and hostile environment where it starts withering away.
Owuor does a brilliant job of ruminating on what it means to truly belong in a world that inflicts losses upon losses, unrelenting and harsh, what are the limits of human endurance in the face of terror, forced conviction and dehumanising or life’s many impositions that reduce one to mere skin and bones. But Owuor does not limit the scope of her writing by focussing only on the personal. She extends her story to sweep across and abroad, discussing youth-radicalisation, the way colonial and outside forces try to exert control over resources that were never theirs to possess, how lives of the third world are desecrated in the hands of first world politics, and how countries and cultures feed off each other in the guise of meaningless labels.
The book is written in a way that animates everything that is introduced in the story. This might render the book a little challenging for the reader but it wouldn’t be the same if the language were to be fashioned in any other way. I would definitely rate the book as worth a read for representing stories of a people that almost never surface in mainstream literature and for doing it bloody well.
The story begins with Ayaana who lives with her mother, the woman with beautifying potions but no husband, and a haunting sensation that is provoked by the absence of a father. However, on the ever-changing and transmuting Pate, nothing is abiding. The arrival of Muhidin transforms Ayaana’s world as she chooses him to be her father, her friend and her teacher. This is not approved by her mother, Munira but there is not much she can do about a bond that is forged immediately and permanently.
We find that soon Ayaana's life is upended when it is discovered that she is the descendant of one of the many traveling on a ship with the 14th century mariner Admiral Zhang He who travels to Africa from China. She is taken to China with the glowing promises of education and a better life that would assimilate her with her ‘own kind.’ What unfolds from this point onwards is the uprooting of a plant that knew where it could bloom only to be buried in an infertile and hostile environment where it starts withering away.
Owuor does a brilliant job of ruminating on what it means to truly belong in a world that inflicts losses upon losses, unrelenting and harsh, what are the limits of human endurance in the face of terror, forced conviction and dehumanising or life’s many impositions that reduce one to mere skin and bones. But Owuor does not limit the scope of her writing by focussing only on the personal. She extends her story to sweep across and abroad, discussing youth-radicalisation, the way colonial and outside forces try to exert control over resources that were never theirs to possess, how lives of the third world are desecrated in the hands of first world politics, and how countries and cultures feed off each other in the guise of meaningless labels.
The book is written in a way that animates everything that is introduced in the story. This might render the book a little challenging for the reader but it wouldn’t be the same if the language were to be fashioned in any other way. I would definitely rate the book as worth a read for representing stories of a people that almost never surface in mainstream literature and for doing it bloody well.
September 27, 2019
A beautiful and ambitious book that starts and ends on the island of Pate off the coast of Kenya and opens to include China, Turkey, and especially the waters that surround them. The prose is dense and lyrical, but so in service of these fascinating characters and their spiritual and physical journeys that I gave myself over to it. Now I need to read Dust, Owuor's earlier novel, also set in her native Kenya.
April 2, 2019
The Dragonfly Sea is a coming of age story richly steeped in setting. We follow the heroine, Ayaana, across a decade or so and three continents. When I began the book, I had no concept of coastal east Africa, but now I feel as though I could find my way around Pate Island like an old resident. This book is wonderfully vivid.
So why only three stars? I guess I just struggled to connect to the characters. In some ways Ayaana grew more opaque as the story wore on. The characters seemed to speak on riddles and react in hyperbole. As a reader, I also wanted more closure around certain characters. I loved the beginning of this story, but starting with the voyage to China, I kind of struggled to keep in step.
It's a beautiful book, though. I just didn't love it.
I received a free digital ARC of this book through the Penguins First Reads program in exchange for an honest review. :)
So why only three stars? I guess I just struggled to connect to the characters. In some ways Ayaana grew more opaque as the story wore on. The characters seemed to speak on riddles and react in hyperbole. As a reader, I also wanted more closure around certain characters. I loved the beginning of this story, but starting with the voyage to China, I kind of struggled to keep in step.
It's a beautiful book, though. I just didn't love it.
I received a free digital ARC of this book through the Penguins First Reads program in exchange for an honest review. :)
August 8, 2019
This was a 3.5 for me. It took me a good half of this book to fully get into the writing style and the story. The whole cast of characters on Pate was great (except for the rude ones). One character becomes a ceramicist, which was a fun coincidence because I read that part right after making a shitty pot. I felt invested in Ayaana's health and well-being.
I did feel lost in some of the descriptive portions. There were a few sections where I wanted more plot and less pretty language.
I did feel lost in some of the descriptive portions. There were a few sections where I wanted more plot and less pretty language.
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April 26, 2025I actually hated this... which is weird because I thought I didn't care enough about it to hate it... idk. There isn't even something objectively wrong with it. Maybe I need to think about it some more :) (I think I mostly just hated every man in this book with a passion...)
March 4, 2021
On the map she looked at, there was no place marker for Pate Island. No color brown or green to suggest her own existence within the sea. So she wanted to know about places that could be rendered invisible.”
February's prompt for #ReadtheWorld21 (@end.notes and @anovelfamily) is East & Southern Africa. My first book by Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor, a Kenyan writer, and fifth pick.
I discovered this in 2019 through Fifi (@kenyanbibliophile) who had written a very gushing review of it. She, along with the fact that it was set in Kenya, really convinced me to get it quickly. The lavish writing instantly makes an impression. Owuor's language is intensely lyrical, bubbling with metaphor and simmering with imagery, bringing her vibrant setting to life. One can call it ostentatious overwriting, but it fits perfectly.
Owuor expertly looks at belonging and home, the destabilization of migration. She explores religious radicalism, its origins. She examines the repercussions of Chinese neoimperialism in Africa, a theme that Makumbi also touched upon in Manchester Happened. Another important idea is world citizenry, firmament as both womb and tomb. At its core, it is about journeys, mental as well as physical, their metamorphoses. While brilliant, it does drag in places, sometimes drowns in excess, is glacially paced.
July 2, 2019
Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor's The Dragonfly Sea tells the story of our oceanic entanglements. At the heart of the novel is the question “What was the story of a human being within the epic that was the sea?” (p 287), and Owuor explores this through four interrelated avenues: she navigates borders – both personal and national – of belonging to think about the unsettling productivity of migrations and marginalisations; she delves into what she calls “[d]esire: its confusing reach” (p 464), which, in the extreme, leads to various forms of radicalism; she considers the new wave of Chinese imperialism and especially its impact on Africa; and she wonders about cosmopolitanism – understood as a celebration of cultural difference – and its failures, suggesting perhaps that the ocean could be a space for the emerging of a different universal. Owuor's lyrical narrative sometimes gets swirled up in its own currents though, and I think the novel at times drowns in its sprawling globality. The Dragonfly Sea is nevertheless a necessary read, though I think I'd recommend Owuor's first work Dust more.
June 4, 2019
"The dragonfly sea" is a coming of age story about Ayaana.
While the premise about a story of adventure enriched with Kenya culture drawn me at first, I just couldn't get invested in the story. This book is more a character-driven plot - Ayaana is a distinctive character with unique personality and she has something magical. Her journey is exceptional and interesting.
I wanted so much to love this book, however, the writing style didn't work for me. I found the language utterly descriptive to the point that it totally distracted me from the narrative. Except for Ayaana, I didn't feel anything about the other characters and as you are progressing in the reading, the additional characters made the connection even harder.
This book wasn't my cup of tea but it might be a good read for you - the context/setting is beautiful and magical. Ultimately, this novel is challenging and could be shorter -it is a book that you will want to take your time to read.
I DNFed at 200 pages.
[I received a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review]
While the premise about a story of adventure enriched with Kenya culture drawn me at first, I just couldn't get invested in the story. This book is more a character-driven plot - Ayaana is a distinctive character with unique personality and she has something magical. Her journey is exceptional and interesting.
I wanted so much to love this book, however, the writing style didn't work for me. I found the language utterly descriptive to the point that it totally distracted me from the narrative. Except for Ayaana, I didn't feel anything about the other characters and as you are progressing in the reading, the additional characters made the connection even harder.
This book wasn't my cup of tea but it might be a good read for you - the context/setting is beautiful and magical. Ultimately, this novel is challenging and could be shorter -it is a book that you will want to take your time to read.
I DNFed at 200 pages.
[I received a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review]
March 4, 2025
Good control of the plot in this coming of age story.
Don't get me wrong I LOVE reading Yvonne's work (even if I DNF Dust 😭) This was a beautiful book but a difficult writing to get through, in no small part from the barrage of vocabulary and the switching between maybe 3-4, sometimes mid-paragraph. It would be hard to recommend to someone who isn't going to commit to stay the course and finish it.
Don't get me wrong I LOVE reading Yvonne's work (even if I DNF Dust 😭) This was a beautiful book but a difficult writing to get through, in no small part from the barrage of vocabulary and the switching between maybe 3-4, sometimes mid-paragraph. It would be hard to recommend to someone who isn't going to commit to stay the course and finish it.
May 14, 2019
What a beautiful book! Yvonne can really write and I felt totally transported by scents, sights and this expansive story. It did feel a little long in some parts but as a whole it was a wonderfully complex story.
May 23, 2019
3.5 stars: This is a beautifully written, atmospheric coming of age story loosely inspired by real events. I was happy with the story in the end, but I’m not convinced that this novel justifies its 500+ page length.
August 23, 2020
4*
The first part of this book was a bit slow for me, but I am so glad that I stuck with it!
It was incredibly refreshing to read a book close to home, and to learn a lot at the same time. The insight into the coastal communities in Kenya, and their relationship with the ocean was fascinating. Owuor wrote about these communities with great appreciation and respect. The complicated political climate was handled well, with an understanding of neo-colonial forces and and the "war on terror". The impact of these forces on individual characters made for an informative and empathic read.
The journey we were taken on with Ayaana though difficult at times, was truly inspiring. The motif of the dragonflies and the deep connection she had with the ocean was particularly enjoyable. We experienced all that Ayaana did in enchanting and captivating ways. The complexity of the human experience was also captured well, particularly with Munira as a character, as well as her relationship with Ayaana. Of course, Ayaana and her relationship with Muhidin was probably the most gut wrenchingly beautiful of them all.
The reason I rated this book 4*s is because I did find it quite slow at times whilst reading the first 100 pages or so. Perhaps it was intentional whilst depicting Pate Island and Ayaana's childhood, but as a reader, I felt quite lost and confused. However, the rest of the book was totally worth the wait.
This book is very profound and has left me feeling a mixture of emotions. Owuor is a masterful writer with the ability to evoke many complicated emotions. I would recommend this book, especially to those with an affinity towards East Africa.
The first part of this book was a bit slow for me, but I am so glad that I stuck with it!
It was incredibly refreshing to read a book close to home, and to learn a lot at the same time. The insight into the coastal communities in Kenya, and their relationship with the ocean was fascinating. Owuor wrote about these communities with great appreciation and respect. The complicated political climate was handled well, with an understanding of neo-colonial forces and and the "war on terror". The impact of these forces on individual characters made for an informative and empathic read.
The journey we were taken on with Ayaana though difficult at times, was truly inspiring. The motif of the dragonflies and the deep connection she had with the ocean was particularly enjoyable. We experienced all that Ayaana did in enchanting and captivating ways. The complexity of the human experience was also captured well, particularly with Munira as a character, as well as her relationship with Ayaana. Of course, Ayaana and her relationship with Muhidin was probably the most gut wrenchingly beautiful of them all.
The reason I rated this book 4*s is because I did find it quite slow at times whilst reading the first 100 pages or so. Perhaps it was intentional whilst depicting Pate Island and Ayaana's childhood, but as a reader, I felt quite lost and confused. However, the rest of the book was totally worth the wait.
This book is very profound and has left me feeling a mixture of emotions. Owuor is a masterful writer with the ability to evoke many complicated emotions. I would recommend this book, especially to those with an affinity towards East Africa.
April 6, 2019
Stunning. One of the things I loved most about Dust was how Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor captured the essence of the aridity of the central Kenyan drylands in her prose. In The Dragonfly Sea, she does the same for the sea. The writing is mesmerizing, as are the characters and her weaving together of their stories. The regular back-and-forth motions of flashbacks that each lead forward through time to connect to the present give the book a cadence like the movements of waves. I did find some elements of the plot a little contrived (e.g., the relationship with Koray and its outcome), but that's forgivable. As a whole, this exploration of one woman's life plumbed beautifully and deeply many different facets of how humans struggle with longing, belonging, grief, place, and meaning. I also appreciated learning, through the perspectives of the Pate Island characters, how worldwide movements centered around terrorism and globalization are likely affecting the day-to-day lives of East Africans, whether it is the US "war on terror" leading to innocent people being kidnapped and tortured under fabricated accusations of terrorism to satisfy foreign governments' desires for action, or the increasing, creeping grasp of China for African lands, waters, and resources. Owuor has an incredible gift for weaving these stories with language that makes even the melancholy aspects profound and beautiful.
April 16, 2019
A story on love and loss, and on becoming.
I loved this gentle book set on the island of Pate off my home country Kenya’s coast. It’s a tiny island,usually overlooked by the rest of the world but this book was able to capture and entrance me. Now I want to visit Pate.
I fell in love with Ayana and her journey to womanhood. From the shores of Pate to the classes in China to finally freeing herself in Turkey and to her beautiful return home, and evolved and refined version of herself.
I particularly enjoyed that the book addressed some of the rising social issues not only prevalent along the Kenyan coast but in the world, one of which being the radicalization of young people by terror groups, and the ripple effects this has on specific communities in the country.
And love. Not just romantic love, but the love so pure and real between Muhidin and Ayaana. It brought me to tears each time. Her heart beat for him, and his beat for her.
Yvonne demonstrates her superior writing style with words that flow like the ocean. She’s a powerful writer and this is a powerful book. I love every bit in every page.
PS- I also really want to have Halwa and get Rose water thanks to this book.
I loved this gentle book set on the island of Pate off my home country Kenya’s coast. It’s a tiny island,usually overlooked by the rest of the world but this book was able to capture and entrance me. Now I want to visit Pate.
I fell in love with Ayana and her journey to womanhood. From the shores of Pate to the classes in China to finally freeing herself in Turkey and to her beautiful return home, and evolved and refined version of herself.
I particularly enjoyed that the book addressed some of the rising social issues not only prevalent along the Kenyan coast but in the world, one of which being the radicalization of young people by terror groups, and the ripple effects this has on specific communities in the country.
And love. Not just romantic love, but the love so pure and real between Muhidin and Ayaana. It brought me to tears each time. Her heart beat for him, and his beat for her.
Yvonne demonstrates her superior writing style with words that flow like the ocean. She’s a powerful writer and this is a powerful book. I love every bit in every page.
PS- I also really want to have Halwa and get Rose water thanks to this book.
February 2, 2022
The Dragonfly embarks on a migration of mythical proportions crossing the large expanse of the Indian Ocean on a journey home that is fraught with danger and uncertainty, just like the journey Ayaana must undertake to find her way home.
This book narrates the story of Ayaana and her mother, Munira who live in a coastal Island community in Kenya, where their lives though seemingly still are always at a risk of being swept away with the incessant waves.
The unique setting of the story and the unusual plot interested me initially and the smooth dreamlike prose added to its appeal until I realized that the story wasn’t progressing at a steady pace and pages and pages of flowery language were just making me lose patience.
The characters are Muslims, to the extent that having Muslim names and attire-to-match goes but as is usually the norm with Muslim representation in many books here’s where the buck stops.
The setting is of a Muslim community where almost everyone has a problem with an unwed mother living alone with her young child but seemingly no one is either bothered or just doesn’t know that in Islam *spoiler* a marriage between a stepmother and her stepchild is prohibited *spoiler*
Also, midway I felt like the story lost its focus and was just all over the place and though I appreciated the coastal setting I did not enjoy the story.
⭐️⭐️
“Being human is a rare art; it is not given to all equally.”
This book narrates the story of Ayaana and her mother, Munira who live in a coastal Island community in Kenya, where their lives though seemingly still are always at a risk of being swept away with the incessant waves.
The unique setting of the story and the unusual plot interested me initially and the smooth dreamlike prose added to its appeal until I realized that the story wasn’t progressing at a steady pace and pages and pages of flowery language were just making me lose patience.
The characters are Muslims, to the extent that having Muslim names and attire-to-match goes but as is usually the norm with Muslim representation in many books here’s where the buck stops.
The setting is of a Muslim community where almost everyone has a problem with an unwed mother living alone with her young child but seemingly no one is either bothered or just doesn’t know that in Islam *spoiler* a marriage between a stepmother and her stepchild is prohibited *spoiler*
Also, midway I felt like the story lost its focus and was just all over the place and though I appreciated the coastal setting I did not enjoy the story.
⭐️⭐️
“Being human is a rare art; it is not given to all equally.”
September 25, 2022
I was so excited to read this. To finally read a book set in Kenya. However, this book felt lacking and pretentious just like Taiye Selasi's Ghana Must Go. Like it was written to fill a void, but ended up just creating a bigger hole. The author wrote about the Muslim coastal community of Kenya. A girl named Ayaana struggles not knowing who her father is. Her mother is somewhat ostracized by her community for having a daughter out of wedlock, but manages to carve a living as a beautician. As a little girl Ayaana comes across Muhidin and forms a very sweet and special relationship with him. He teaches her about the ocean and life. She wants him to be her father. Much of the first third of the book focuses on this relationship. Then we are suddenly thrust to the rise of radical Islam and how it influences Kenya's coastal community. Furthermore, DNA tests allege that Ayaana has Chinese ancestry and she receives a scholarship to study in Xiamen. The second third of the book focuses on the boat ride from Kenya to Xiamen and especially the captain Lai Jin. He was such an unbelievable character. Apparently, he is half Japanese and half Uyghur but he didn't display any conflicting feelings about his identity, even in a country like China. I really couldn't take him seriously. I don't know which language the people on the boat used to communicate to each other - English or Mandarin. I couldn't believe the relationship that formed between Lai Jin and Ayaana, even though at the end of the book I accepted it. I didn't like how the German translation of the book named the Chinese capital "Beijing" instead of "Peking." I also noticed a Chinese language mistake (xiansheng coming before the name, when in fact it should come after the name in Chinese). During the last third of the book, we are suddenly introduced to Koray, the Turkish son of a wealthy family, who desperately wants to own Ayaana but is so rude to her. Her trip to Istanbul was just crazy and unbelievable. The author just blazes through Ayaana's China experience, where she quickly picks up Mandarin but is so homesick. I feel like she must have gone through so many cultural shocks which the author chose to ignore so blatantly. It's horrible. All in all, this book isn't great. It is literally all over the place and tells a story that I failed to see any universal message. Ion the one hand, it wants to criticize the rise of radical Islam and China, on the other hand it wants to emphasize the beauty of the ocean. In both it fails. The flowery language didn't go hand in hand with the terrible things happening in the story. Overall, this is a weak book.
May 5, 2019
I thought this was a story about the desperation of wanting to escape, to run. And once gone from that place, the urgent desire to return overwhelms . It's also about people lost to history, to other lands or seas, to other people or causes. Meanwhile those left behind fan their numbing desire to retrieve those who left or who disappeared.
This book has many beautiful passages, sentences that are nearly perfect. But I was impatient reading it. The pacing, especially in the first 200 pages, was slow. There was a relieving uptick when she got on a ship and headed to China. Then there was a quirky plunge till the 482nd page. With the pacing, I wondered how many story threads were here and how many needed to be ripped out. I concluded that a lot less words and on fewer pages would have made this a tighter and more satisfying experience.
An editor and a few staff at the house should have reined in this debut book. I'll keep an eye out for this author's future work; there's a lot of good to come.
A few favorite quotes:
Seeking roses, borrowing roses, scents that bled tenderness. Munira's heart-gaze sough beauty as a desiccated soul craves water. Yearning for loveliness, she built color until the greens became the greens they were created to be. She trusted scent; it was for her an unfiltered presence, and therefore truth. She tended flowers and herbs, tugging and caressing at excesses until the plants revealed their essential core in perfect aromas that evoked a particular way of seeing...
The stupefied man watched her carefully. She had materialized from nothing. She shifted shape. She leaked. She flowed in multiple directions with unexpected consequences for him....
Hurrying footsteps on the steel deck. They pulled away from each other. He quickly adjusted his clothes and hers. She stared into the pitiless moment, its facelessness, the way it scalded the deep-withins...
...She had thought she might give herself a break from falling as she learned to cycle. She needed to escape from the invasion of pictograms in her dreams. She wanted to watch people. She wanted to look back without averting her eyes. She wanted to extend her hosts the same courtesy they extended her. She needed the sense of eyes looking back at her.
This book has many beautiful passages, sentences that are nearly perfect. But I was impatient reading it. The pacing, especially in the first 200 pages, was slow. There was a relieving uptick when she got on a ship and headed to China. Then there was a quirky plunge till the 482nd page. With the pacing, I wondered how many story threads were here and how many needed to be ripped out. I concluded that a lot less words and on fewer pages would have made this a tighter and more satisfying experience.
An editor and a few staff at the house should have reined in this debut book. I'll keep an eye out for this author's future work; there's a lot of good to come.
A few favorite quotes:
Seeking roses, borrowing roses, scents that bled tenderness. Munira's heart-gaze sough beauty as a desiccated soul craves water. Yearning for loveliness, she built color until the greens became the greens they were created to be. She trusted scent; it was for her an unfiltered presence, and therefore truth. She tended flowers and herbs, tugging and caressing at excesses until the plants revealed their essential core in perfect aromas that evoked a particular way of seeing...
The stupefied man watched her carefully. She had materialized from nothing. She shifted shape. She leaked. She flowed in multiple directions with unexpected consequences for him....
Hurrying footsteps on the steel deck. They pulled away from each other. He quickly adjusted his clothes and hers. She stared into the pitiless moment, its facelessness, the way it scalded the deep-withins...
...She had thought she might give herself a break from falling as she learned to cycle. She needed to escape from the invasion of pictograms in her dreams. She wanted to watch people. She wanted to look back without averting her eyes. She wanted to extend her hosts the same courtesy they extended her. She needed the sense of eyes looking back at her.
March 7, 2019
I loved this book. Such beautiful prose and with the most beautiful story. I felt entranced by not only Ayaana’s life journey but by all of the other vivid supporting characters as well. The descriptive language brought everything to life in a way only stories can. This book is very well-written and stays consistent in terms of pace. I’d definitely recommend this book, especially if you like books to immerse yourself in and take time to enjoy. Thanks to First to Read and Penguin Random House for letting me read this early in exchange for an honest review.
April 24, 2025
Очень необычное, красивое и лиричное чтение! Но… Сказать по правде, не все сюжетные повороты показались мне логичными и понятными. Хотя, с учётом того, что автор — кенийка, можно списать это на разный культурный код и восприятие мира.
Это личная история девочки Аяны, которая разворачивается на фоне не очень положительных последствий глобализации для крошечного, но очень живописного острова Пате. Все тяготы жизни незаконнорожденного ребёнка выпали на долю этой храброй и любопытной девчушки, а также её своевольной и несгибаемой матери. Чем меньше общество, тем больше желание осуждать всех тех, кто преступил мораль и социальные нормы.
Аяна всё равно растёт в любви, так как у неё появился названный отец, моряк Мухиддин, который учит её всему тому, что знает сам. Здесь постепенно в сюжет вплетается линия о том, как после терракта 11 сентября начались гонения на всех мусульман. Мне эта часть совершенно не понравилась. Не потому, что я испытываю какую-то нетерпимость и неприязнь, упаси боже, нет, просто как-то слишком искусственно это подано в книге. Я не смогла посочувствовать.
Дальше было путешествие и жизнь Аяны в Китае, поездка в Турцию с нелюбимым мужчиной и наконец, странная встреча с любимым.
Конечно, сложно отрицать мелодичность и прекрасный язык праествования. За это, как мне думается, роман и получает такие высокие оценки. Но! Лучшее — враг хорошего. Мне показалось, что книга перегружена метафоричностью. Желание автора объять необъятное сыграло плохую шутку и роман воспринимается достаточно тяжеловесно, что не идёт на пользу подобного рода литературе. Но здесь сугубо моё личное принятие данной книги в данный момент моей жизни. Допускаю, что если бы я читала её в другое время, оценка была бы выше.
Это личная история девочки Аяны, которая разворачивается на фоне не очень положительных последствий глобализации для крошечного, но очень живописного острова Пате. Все тяготы жизни незаконнорожденного ребёнка выпали на долю этой храброй и любопытной девчушки, а также её своевольной и несгибаемой матери. Чем меньше общество, тем больше желание осуждать всех тех, кто преступил мораль и социальные нормы.
Аяна всё равно растёт в любви, так как у неё появился названный отец, моряк Мухиддин, который учит её всему тому, что знает сам. Здесь постепенно в сюжет вплетается линия о том, как после терракта 11 сентября начались гонения на всех мусульман. Мне эта часть совершенно не понравилась. Не потому, что я испытываю какую-то нетерпимость и неприязнь, упаси боже, нет, просто как-то слишком искусственно это подано в книге. Я не смогла посочувствовать.
Дальше было путешествие и жизнь Аяны в Китае, поездка в Турцию с нелюбимым мужчиной и наконец, странная встреча с любимым.
Конечно, сложно отрицать мелодичность и прекрасный язык праествования. За это, как мне думается, роман и получает такие высокие оценки. Но! Лучшее — враг хорошего. Мне показалось, что книга перегружена метафоричностью. Желание автора объять необъятное сыграло плохую шутку и роман воспринимается достаточно тяжеловесно, что не идёт на пользу подобного рода литературе. Но здесь сугубо моё личное принятие данной книги в данный момент моей жизни. Допускаю, что если бы я читала её в другое время, оценка была бы выше.
January 5, 2020
It's early in the year, and there are a lot of exciting releases due out soon, but this could easily be the best book I read in 2020. It's a masterful, multilayered, multicultural story that spans the Indian ocean, the connections between Africa and Asia, and generations of history and assumptions. Very few in the West know about, let alone understand, the connection between East Africa and China. Nor do Westerners understand how colonialism, in all its forms, diminishes the colonized–from the American well for drinking water that only produced salt water, to low quality Chinese roads, and ambitious plans for turning Kenya's islands into coal mines and trading ports.
In back of all this is the sea: the Indian Ocean, which takes and restores. This really is a book about loss and overcoming loss, about growing up and defining yourself under perhaps the worst possible conditions. And it's about being broken, and building something new out of that brokenness.
The writing is beautiful, careful, and detailed. It makes me think of Kamila Shamsie in the depth and sensitivity with which Owuor explores multiple cultures and their interactions. Owuor's first novel, Dust, is haunting and unforgettable. The Dragonfly Sea is easily on a par; and we can only wait to see what she will do next.
In back of all this is the sea: the Indian Ocean, which takes and restores. This really is a book about loss and overcoming loss, about growing up and defining yourself under perhaps the worst possible conditions. And it's about being broken, and building something new out of that brokenness.
The writing is beautiful, careful, and detailed. It makes me think of Kamila Shamsie in the depth and sensitivity with which Owuor explores multiple cultures and their interactions. Owuor's first novel, Dust, is haunting and unforgettable. The Dragonfly Sea is easily on a par; and we can only wait to see what she will do next.
Read
November 5, 2019~Between religion and my black skin there shall be a sky's distance until the day I hear the Call to Atonement.~
~To savour its essence. To do that, you must taste at least three languages on your tongue.~
~In the world, English has the biggest ears.~
~When the tide has risen, it also falls.~
~The ocean is an old country.~
~Stories are malleable within a person's feelings: they can be squeezed to acquire the shape of truth.~
~Ayaana discovered that "nowhere" was also an inhabited space.~
~Destinations are ephemeral. Nothing lasts, only the voices of the heart and gut count.~
~They sing because life is a dragonfly: flutter, shine, fly, die.~
~He turned his story into water and soil.~
April 18, 2019
Talk about a book that was unnecessarily way too long! The writing style was sometimes choppy and then over descriptive. Not one person had a “normal” conversation in this book-every thought, conversation was deep and full of angst. And you would think Murnia would warn her daughter about being gullible falling for smooth talking men who take advantage of naive females (Anaaya’s real father and Koray storylines).
October 23, 2020
Gleich zu Beginn: Bei diesem Buch möchte ich nicht ausschließen, dass ich es irgendwann nochmal beginne und dann vielleicht sogar fertig lese. Sollte das der Fall sein, werde ich natürlich nochmal eine Rezension schreiben und posten und die dann auch auf allen Plattformen aktualisieren. Nur im Moment gibt mir dieses Buch leider nichts. Ich habe es wirklich probiert und zugelassen, dass sich mein Rezensionsplan verschiebt, aber ich komm und komm mit diesem Buch leider einfach nicht weiter. Deswegen habe ich dann doch beschlossen, dieses Buch erstmal zur Seite zu legen.
Ich wollte dieses Buch unbedingt mögen. Auf Lovelybooks hat dieser Roman eine durchschnittliche Bewertung von 5 Sternen und auf Goodreads immer noch 4 Sterne. Und das war auch schon so, als ich das Buch angefragt habe. Das Cover ist wunderschön und der Klappentext hört sich großartig an. So wunderbar kreativ, wirklich spannend. Allerdings beginnt mit dem Klappentext schon mein erstes Problem. Ich habe über hundert Seiten gelesen und bisher ist noch nichts passiert, das nicht schon im Klappentext erklärt wurde. So entstand dann leider auch keine Spannung. Ich weiß doch schon was passieren wird! Und ich bin jetzt gerade erst bei den religiösen Extremisten, die Zuflucht auf der Insel suchen. Also ist erst die Hälfte des Klappentexts passiert. Muss das wirklich sein? Da kommt meiner Meinung nach einfach wirklich keine Spannung auf und warum sollte ich dieses Buch denn noch lesen, wenn im Klappentext eh schon alles erklärt wird.
Eine Sachen an diesem Buch fand ich gut. Zum Beispiel mochte ich die Figur von Ayaana. Ayaana war die ganze Handlung über, bis zu dem Punkt, an dem ich gelesen habe, noch ein kleines Mädchen. Sie ist ein uneheliches Kind und sie und ihre Mutter sind im Dorf daher auch nicht wirklich angesehen. Die Mutter kann gar nicht auf den Markt gehen, ohne Opfer von Gerüchten zu werden und Ayaana kann keinen Tag in der Schule verbringen, ohne verspottet zu werden. Kein Wunder, dass sie irgendwann einfach nicht mehr will. Stattdessen verbringt sie ihre Tage bei dem Matrosen Muhidin, der für sie zu einem Lehrer und zu einer Vaterfigur wird. Ziemlich süß, ich weiß. Allerdings ist das mit Gerüchten ein Teufelskreis. Egal was du tust oder nicht tust - es wird immer schlimmer. Und ein kleines Mädchen, das ihre Tage bei einem fremden Mann statt in der Schule verbringt - das ist natürlich Futter für jeden Klatsch und Tratsch!
Eines meiner Hauptprobleme war der Schreibstil. Er war wirklich nicht schlecht - aber anstrengend. Die Autorin beschreibt einfach alles! Den Mond, den Strand, Ayaanas Gefühle und Assoziationen, die Hintergrundgeschichte von verschiedenen Figuren,... Über ein paar Seiten kann das ja wirklich schön sein. Aber bei fast 500 Seiten? Das war mir einfach zu viel!
Mein Fazit? Vielleicht versuche ich es irgendwann nochmal mit diesem Buch. Im Moment ist es aber nichts für mich.
Ich wollte dieses Buch unbedingt mögen. Auf Lovelybooks hat dieser Roman eine durchschnittliche Bewertung von 5 Sternen und auf Goodreads immer noch 4 Sterne. Und das war auch schon so, als ich das Buch angefragt habe. Das Cover ist wunderschön und der Klappentext hört sich großartig an. So wunderbar kreativ, wirklich spannend. Allerdings beginnt mit dem Klappentext schon mein erstes Problem. Ich habe über hundert Seiten gelesen und bisher ist noch nichts passiert, das nicht schon im Klappentext erklärt wurde. So entstand dann leider auch keine Spannung. Ich weiß doch schon was passieren wird! Und ich bin jetzt gerade erst bei den religiösen Extremisten, die Zuflucht auf der Insel suchen. Also ist erst die Hälfte des Klappentexts passiert. Muss das wirklich sein? Da kommt meiner Meinung nach einfach wirklich keine Spannung auf und warum sollte ich dieses Buch denn noch lesen, wenn im Klappentext eh schon alles erklärt wird.
Eine Sachen an diesem Buch fand ich gut. Zum Beispiel mochte ich die Figur von Ayaana. Ayaana war die ganze Handlung über, bis zu dem Punkt, an dem ich gelesen habe, noch ein kleines Mädchen. Sie ist ein uneheliches Kind und sie und ihre Mutter sind im Dorf daher auch nicht wirklich angesehen. Die Mutter kann gar nicht auf den Markt gehen, ohne Opfer von Gerüchten zu werden und Ayaana kann keinen Tag in der Schule verbringen, ohne verspottet zu werden. Kein Wunder, dass sie irgendwann einfach nicht mehr will. Stattdessen verbringt sie ihre Tage bei dem Matrosen Muhidin, der für sie zu einem Lehrer und zu einer Vaterfigur wird. Ziemlich süß, ich weiß. Allerdings ist das mit Gerüchten ein Teufelskreis. Egal was du tust oder nicht tust - es wird immer schlimmer. Und ein kleines Mädchen, das ihre Tage bei einem fremden Mann statt in der Schule verbringt - das ist natürlich Futter für jeden Klatsch und Tratsch!
Eines meiner Hauptprobleme war der Schreibstil. Er war wirklich nicht schlecht - aber anstrengend. Die Autorin beschreibt einfach alles! Den Mond, den Strand, Ayaanas Gefühle und Assoziationen, die Hintergrundgeschichte von verschiedenen Figuren,... Über ein paar Seiten kann das ja wirklich schön sein. Aber bei fast 500 Seiten? Das war mir einfach zu viel!
Mein Fazit? Vielleicht versuche ich es irgendwann nochmal mit diesem Buch. Im Moment ist es aber nichts für mich.
September 9, 2022
Non è stata una mia scelta leggere questo libro, ma sono comunque dovuta arrivare alla fine siccome era un libro per l'università. Personalmente, se fosse stata una lettura "di piacere", lo avrei abbandonato dopo poche pagine.
Sfortunatamente, il libro ha una narrazione molto molto lenta che non fa appassionare il lettore alla lettura, se non in alcune parti. Inizialmente, la storia mi aveva intrigato perché si parlava del rapporto tra questa bambina, Ayaana e suo padre, Muhidin, che però non era geneticamente suo padre, ma bensì un uomo che lei ha scelto come padre. Il concetto è estremamente interessante e il loro rapporto davvero bellissimo e intrigante. Poi, però, la storia ha preso una piega che non mi ha più interessato troppo. Alcune parti erano noiosissime, altre non ho ancora capito dove volessero andare a parare.
I personaggi sono stati "strani" per me, partendo dalla madre della protagonista: sfortunatamente in un momento, verso la fine, mi è venuto un po' da ridere per una cosa che è successa. Ayaana è sicuramente un personaggio più interessante, ma mi è quasi sembrato di non conoscerla alla fine del libro.
Infine, di tematiche ce ne sono davvero molte in questo libro, però mi è sembrato che alcune non fossero abbastanza approfondite (Koray, per esempio!). La più bella tematica è sicuramente stata quella del rapporto tra padre e figlia ma anche lo strano rapporto che i personaggi hanno con il mare. E' un rapporto che può sembrare ovvio siccome il libro è ambientato sempre vicino al mare, ma questo elemento porta sia fortuna che sfortuna ai protagonisti. Fa loro capire sia la sua bellezza che la sua pericolosità.
Sfortunatamente, il libro ha una narrazione molto molto lenta che non fa appassionare il lettore alla lettura, se non in alcune parti. Inizialmente, la storia mi aveva intrigato perché si parlava del rapporto tra questa bambina, Ayaana e suo padre, Muhidin, che però non era geneticamente suo padre, ma bensì un uomo che lei ha scelto come padre. Il concetto è estremamente interessante e il loro rapporto davvero bellissimo e intrigante. Poi, però, la storia ha preso una piega che non mi ha più interessato troppo. Alcune parti erano noiosissime, altre non ho ancora capito dove volessero andare a parare.
I personaggi sono stati "strani" per me, partendo dalla madre della protagonista: sfortunatamente in un momento, verso la fine, mi è venuto un po' da ridere per una cosa che è successa. Ayaana è sicuramente un personaggio più interessante, ma mi è quasi sembrato di non conoscerla alla fine del libro.
Infine, di tematiche ce ne sono davvero molte in questo libro, però mi è sembrato che alcune non fossero abbastanza approfondite (Koray, per esempio!). La più bella tematica è sicuramente stata quella del rapporto tra padre e figlia ma anche lo strano rapporto che i personaggi hanno con il mare. E' un rapporto che può sembrare ovvio siccome il libro è ambientato sempre vicino al mare, ma questo elemento porta sia fortuna che sfortuna ai protagonisti. Fa loro capire sia la sua bellezza che la sua pericolosità.
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