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The Furrows
The Furrows: A Novel | Namwali Serpell
8 posts | 10 read | 9 to read
How do you grieve an absence? A brilliantly inventive novel about loss and belonging, from the award-winning author of The Old Drift. ONE OF THE MOST ANTICIPATED BOOKS OF 2022Vulture, Lit Hub, Electric Lit, BookPage I dont want to tell you what happened. I want to tell you how it felt. Cassandra Williams is twelve; her little brother, Wayne, is seven. One day, when theyre alone together, there is an accident and Wayne is lost forever. His body is never recovered. The missing boy cleaves the family with doubt. Their father leaves, starts another family elsewhere. But their mother cant give up hope and launches an organization dedicated to missing children. As C grows older, she sees her brother everywhere: in bistros, airplane aisles, subway cars. Here is her brothers face, the light in his eyes, the way he seems to recognize her, too. But it cant be, of course. Or can it? Then one day, in another accident, C meets a man both mysterious and familiar, a man who is also searching for someone and for his own place in the world. His name is Wayne. Namwali Serpells remarkable new novel captures the uncanny experience of grief, the way the past breaks over the present like waves in the sea. The Furrows is a bold exploration of memory and mourning that twists unexpectedly into a story of mistaken identity, double consciousness, and the wishfuland sometimes willfullonging for reunion with those weve lost.
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review
Singout
The Furrows: A Novel | Namwali Serpell
Bailedbailed

Another bail…I really liked Serpell‘s The Old Drift, but this one was just too vague for me. I connected with the narrator initially, and different versions of her painful experience, but not how she continued to process it later.

10 likes1 comment
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mjtwo
The Furrows: A Novel | Namwali Serpell
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Pickpick

30 Apr-3 May 23 (audiobook)
Soft pick. I really enjoyed the first part, which told how Cassandra‘s younger brother drowned while alone with her at the beach and the devastating impact this has on her and her family. The grief, guilt and blame were palpable. Less successful for me were the following sections dealing with mistaken identity and the industry of grief. I particularly disliked the sections in the audio where two narrators read.

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Jilly6183
The Furrows: A Novel | Namwali Serpell
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Mehso-so

The writing was excellent but the story was too abstract for my taste.

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Pinta
The Furrows: A Novel | Namwali Serpell
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^^ p83 TIME “It erupts. It turns over. Shocks. Revolutions. Cycles.” Narrative mimics this, restarting the story of Wayne‘s accident over & over. Shocking again.

I wish Serpell would have kept this groove going, this skipping the needle back, warping. Such a beautifully unreliable narrative that suddenly wants to make sense. And mother figure Charlotte is turned two-dimensional—so much unexplored here in persistence, denial, brutal hope.

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Pinta
The Furrows: A Novel | Namwali Serpell
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Pickpick

Funhouse mirrors. Cassandra‘s grief & guilt over accidental death of younger brother have her retelling the story every which way. Wish Serpell retained the sibling focus & left more unresolved. P 98 “The world is never what you think it is. It can turn over and expose itself to be the exact opposite.” Refrain: “I don‘t want to tell you what happened. I want to tell you how it felt.” Loops. Vigil Aunties. Bay Area portrait. Ambiguous loss. 2022

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Chelsea.Poole
The Furrows: A Novel | Namwali Serpell
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Pickpick

A unique experience in grief, over a lifetime. After the loss of her 7 year old brother, Cassandra‘s life (12 years old) is forever changed and through this immense loss is the lens in which she views the world, as she becomes an adult. Others come into her life and she is repeatedly reminded of Wayne, her brother who was lost to her and her family much too young. Perspectives change and readers are privy to another view of events. #nyttopten2022

72 likes1 stack add
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HeatherBookNerd
The Furrows: A Novel | Namwali Serpell
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Bailedbailed

I was over halfway done with this and had no interest at all in finishing it. Just not my thing I guess.

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parasolofdoom
The Furrows: A Novel | Namwali Serpell
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Pickpick

Deep dive into long term and often messy grief. 4/5 stars, recommended for your Fall reading list