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Simone Atangana Bekono

Författare till Confrontaties

9+ verk 62 medlemmar 7 recensioner

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Verk av Simone Atangana Bekono

Confrontaties (2020) — Författare — 36 exemplar
Zo hoog de zon stond (2022) 10 exemplar
Hoe de eerste vonken zichtbaar waren (2017) — Författare — 7 exemplar
Marshmallow (2024) 1 exemplar
Salomés Zorn (2023) 1 exemplar
Vlucht/Dans/Vondst 1 exemplar

Associerade verk

Zonnegloren (2022) — Bidragsgivare — 42 exemplar

Taggad

Allmänna fakta

Vedertaget namn
Atangana Bekono, Simone
Namn enligt folkbokföringen
Atangana Bekono, Simone
Födelsedag
1991
Kön
female
Nationalitet
Nederland
Land (för karta)
The Netherlands
Bostadsorter
Dongen, Noord-Brabant, Nederland

Medlemmar

Recensioner

3.75⭐️

“Here the idea persists that if you admit that you’ve done something wrong and then show remorse because you’ve had a difficult childhood, or a trauma, or are different from the rest, you will rehabilitate better. That’s a word I find really ridiculous, rehabilitate. As if there’s such a thing as a possibility that you could ‘return to a former condition.’ That’s what it says in the dictionary. Return to a former condition. As if time allows, as if time pauses and will wait for you while you get your shit in order. Time does what it wants and you fight against it.”

Confrontations by Simone Atangana Bekono (translated by Suzanne Heukensfeldt Jansen) revolves around sixteen-year-old Salomé Atabong, daughter of a Cameroonian father and a Dutch mother, living in the Netherlands sentenced to six months in juvenile detention for a violent act, the details of which are gradually revealed. The narrative follows Salome as she comes to terms with the consequences of act of the violence she committed, her resistance to being “rehabilitated”, her equations with her family members, and her friction with the psychologist she perceives as racist on account of insensitive remarks made while a participant in a reality show some years. Complicating matters further for her are her father’s terminal diagnosis and the treatment meted out to her and her fellow detainees by the authorities of “the Donut” as they refer to the detention facility.

With sparse yet poetic prose, sharp writing, and complex characters, this novel is an intense read. The author does a remarkable job of depicting Salomé’s complexity and confusion. Her underlying anger toward the world around her is palpable, as is her pain. In the course of her journey of self-exploration, Salome ponders over the circumstances that led her to act the way she did, attempting to analyze her motivations, her sense of self-worth and her plans for the future. The story touches upon themes such as racism and racial identity, societal expectations and stereotyping, bullying and violence, detention and rehabilitation of minors and terminal illness, among others. The narrative is a tad disjointed and constantly switches between past and present (often abruptly), which takes a bit of time to get used to but overall, I found this to be a powerful, thought-provoking read.

Many thanks to Bloomsbury USA for the digital review copy via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.
… (mer)
 
Flaggad
srms.reads | 4 andra recensioner | Mar 25, 2024 |
Het lezen van dit boek voelt vooral in het begin ongemakkelijk, een auteur met een donkere huidskleur schrijft dat ze in de gevangenis zit. Ik betrap me er op dat mijn eerste gedachte is dat dit geen onlogische combinatie is. Maar gaandeweg wordt je door het verhaal meegesleept. De hoofdpersoon verteld over haar vader, moeder en zus en andere familie. Ze verteld over Kameroen. En beetje bij beetje krijg je meer te horen over de reden waarom ze in de gevangenis zit. En dat alles wordt afgewisseld met de ervaring die de hoofdpersoon heeft in de gevangenis. En je begint haar woede ten opzichte van de reclassering te begrijpen. Daardoor werd ik gegrepen door dit verhaal ondanks dat het onderwerp ver van mij af ligt.… (mer)
 
Flaggad
Pieter_Goldhoorn | 4 andra recensioner | Jan 22, 2024 |
Other than her name seems to suggest Simone Atangana Bekono is a Dutch writer who grew up in the Netherlands. She is one of the most promising new talents, who has already won several prizes for her new poetry and prose work. Her first novel was short-listed for the most prestigious literary proze in the Netherlands, the Libris Literatuurprijs, in 2021.

Zo hoog de zon stond is a short novel. It has an immediate, gripping start. As the simple storty enfolds, there is a dwindling confusion, which is central to the story. Dream-like states and alternative states of reality are pack and parcel of fiction throughout literary history. Still, Atangana Bekono approach seems totally original and new, as her story seems to be set in a virtual reality, although this is never explicitly stated.

What makes this short novel so great is that she catches just the right tone to make the excitement, or even addictive attraction to virtual reality real, almost tangible. The novel also catches the tension between of the gap between reality of growing up or living in the Netherlands and a seemingly more glamorous reality elsewhere, although once again there might no be such a gap, all is subtle suggestion.

This was my first reading of a work by Simone Atangana Bekono and I will certainly read more.
… (mer)
 
Flaggad
edwinbcn | 1 annan recension | Aug 12, 2023 |
Kunstenares Sonny voelt zich totaal mislukt na op een aantal plaatsen in het buitenland te hebben gewerkt. Ze gaat terug naar haar geboorteplaats in Brabant, waar ook haar vroegere vriendin Myrthe blijkt te verblijven. Sonny gaat op de uitnodiging van Myrthe in om te komen logeren, maar ondanks alle drank, hapjes, jointjes, het zwembad en de wonderlijke onzichtbare schoonmaak van al hun uitspattingen, wordt de logeerpartij geen succes. Sonny lijkt te verdwijnen...
 
Flaggad
wannabook08 | 1 annan recension | Sep 24, 2022 |

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Statistik

Verk
9
Även av
1
Medlemmar
62
Popularitet
#271,094
Betyg
3.0
Recensioner
7
ISBN
13
Språk
3

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