The In-Between World of Vikram Lall by M.G. Vassanji

This epic story looked promising. I was excited to read about the racial conflicts in Africa in the 1950s and 60s; a part of history I don’t know much about. I hoped that the story would pull me into a world so completely different from my own.

Unfortunately, I just wasn’t able to connect with the story. The writing style was clear and the descriptive vignettes were beautiful, but I just couldn’t get into the ‘meat’ of the story.

I was very disappointed that I only made it halfway through this book. I enjoy historically based novels and the cultural knowledge that can be gleaned from them. Also, while written in the past tense, at the end of each chapter Vassanji jumps to a paragraph or two in the present tense. I would have really loved to see how the past and present lives of Vik came together, but I couldn’t keep my head in the book.

Maybe at some point in the future I’ll give this one another shot. I guess it just wasn’t the book for me at this moment in time.