As the Crow Flies is a love story of some sorts. The story is a cascade of individual stories capable of standing on their own as shown by one thread which was published under the title Betrayal in the Opening Spaces edited by Yvonne Vera.

The story opens with a woman whose husband also has a wife. Initially, she was happy; her heart was filled with joy. Then things began to change and she was not happy anymore. There was a detachment, somewhat. And she applied for a divorce. The coming of this woman, from abroad, to meet this man interspersed several sections of the story. Thus, as if the story is diverting from some course, which it always did, then suddenly the woman at an airport comes up.

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Poetic but I struggled to find the thread between these stories that would have made this more satisfying for me.

The short stories left me yearning for more...great writing skills. I connected well with the various characters in the different stories. The theme of loss and yearning was pronounced

The book flows with interconnected love stories. The author presents the reader with some of the idiosyncracies of western life and African life. The stories appear to be in a form of poetry with little theme of humanity, egoism and love. There's a lot to appreciate from this and recommendable.

Veronique Tadjo nimbly sweeps from one anonymous experience of love, loss, loneliness, suffering, grief, and desire to another, creating a moving and meaningful examination of humanity itself.

This book feels like a collection of fragmented disjointed memories. I can't say I truly know what it was about. Perhaps about forgetting someone you loved who did not love you back. The one memory that stayed with me is where she talks about an old begger who beat a child to death so he could continue to have a begging monopoly.

Not much is said about Ivory Coast.

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This work was originally written in French - as Veronique Tadjo is Ivorian (from Côte d'Ivoire- Francophone West African nation). Wangui wa Goro (who also translated Ngugi wa Thiong'o's novel - Matigari, which I loved) displayed her fantastic powers and translated this work of art as well. I'm grateful to wa Goro, because without her superb skills of interpreting and transforming this work into English, some of us would really be missing out on some awesome texts.

But I have to admit - this novella is not for everyone. Some readers may not appreciate the format of this book. Its made up of several (interconnected) stories, poems, observations... However, I believe writers would LOVE the heartfelt, lyrical anecdotes Tadjo spills onto these pages. Its actually really hard to review this book since it touches on a lot of different things: like desire, homesickness, (unrequited) love, immigration, poverty, privilege - almost any, and everything that can be felt and observed is portrayed in this book.
It took me a while to finish this (over a month), thanks to school work. But I'm glad I stuck with this and finished it despite the discombobulated format which can be seen as confusing, YET wonderful at the same time.

Y'all be sleeping on the African Writers Series books. Yes, most books in this series may be printed in (silly) small fonts; yes, books in this series may have awful book cover art. But they will always be true African classics :)

MORE ON africanbookaddict.com soon! Plus, some lovely quotes from this book.

Short prose pieces come together to form or just suggest narratives about life and love in multiple places. Well written.

A set of short, some very short, stories about love. Told in poetic prose that was too elegiac for me to enjoy.

most of the poems didn't resonate with me — I would say it's a case of a specific taste — but there were definitely some gems!

As the Crow flies- wanders and soars just like the bird.
The story is told in bits and pieces and you experience different settings, people and emotions and you are left with the task of making meaning of it- and seeing how they are all connected.
It's a beautiful read.

Award: 4 stars
Reason: It feels more lyrical as you read it and you cannot help but wonder when you will connect the dots as you are carried away by the pieces you read.