Presented in tense, terse fragments of scenes ... Power and resistance, right and wrong: Saar eradicates these binaries by exploring the edges and corners of his characters’ morality ... Saar’s prose soars as the six split off from one another, forge ahead and then come back together in more tender moments—all the while trying desperately to express their freedom ... The honest, nuanced correspondence between the mothers of the executed adulterers—a space they’ve made to process unimaginable pain—strengthens a novel that concerns itself with finding freedom where there seems to be none.
In this unforgettable novel, Sarr—through the meticulous translation of Alexia Trigo—creates the Brotherhood, a radical organization led by the unforgiving police chief Abdel Karim ... The book opens with the public execution of two young lovers who committed adultery. Sarr masterfully limns the grim scene ... [a] cat and mouse game propels the plot to warp speed ... Sarr rewards the reader with a powerful dénouement ... Sarr...display[s] uncanny abilities to transport the reader into the lives of oppressed groups...showing just how unfair and cruel life has been for some of them.
... harrowing ... Haunting philosophical questions demonstrate Sarr’s powers, and his story succeeds in speaking to both the reader’s head and heart. This introduces a vital new voice to American readers.
