It was a fascinating read, this story of a family’s breakdown after a mad man casts a prophecy. On one hand it reads like a Greek tragedy, or at least like something based on mythological, folkloric or even biblical traditions. There’s a healthy amount of foreboding, nature-relate metaphors and “you as your own worst enemy” themes. This feeling is re-enforced by the way the story is told by 10-year old Benjamin, looking back on events. It could’ve easily become heavy-handed, but Obioma always threaded on this side of compelling.
On the other hand, there are incredibly sweet and funny moments. Then the whole thing becomes a coming-of-age story of four brothers growing up in a small Nigerian village, getting into scrapes and going on adventures. There was also a satisfying amount of background into the political landscape of Nigeria in the 90s, which I knew nothing about.
The narrator did the book justice (Nigerian accent helped!) and I could clearly hear both the sadness and the joy in his voice. He managed distinctive characters without using lazy falsettos for the women and farcical voices for men. I’m ready to bet he’s a strong contestant for this Audies category.
For those of you who’ve read it: have you noticed the use of formal English and fancy words? “These people greeted our parents (…) with a boisterous effulgence of geniality.” At points I thought it was just the father’s way of speaking, but the narrator does the same. In the story there’s an explanation on how Nigerians use different languages for different purposes, but I can’t help but wonder: was it a deliberate effort by the author to… Write English Literature?
I’m surprised this is a debut novel and I look forward to reading more by Obioma!
***
Other thoughts: The Worm Hole, Shelf Love, Entomology, Becky’s Books, Word By Word (yours?)
Read for Armchair Audies 2016
Literary Fiction & Classics category
8 comments
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April 2, 2016 at 11:08 am
Lisbeth Ekelöf
I just read an interview with him in a Swedish literature magazine. The book sounds really great and it will end up on my to read list.
April 12, 2016 at 12:21 pm
Alex
It’s really worth it! Do you listen to audiobooks? For me it’s the best audiobook of the year so far.
April 5, 2016 at 10:50 am
Charlie (The Worm Hole)
I think the writing was a deliberate effort. I took one of the concepts to be oral storytelling – that it sounds literary and so forth reflects that feeling. Also the way that if Ben was writing about the past, he would sound older than his (10?) years.
April 12, 2016 at 12:23 pm
Alex
Good point! I also think that it also compliments characterization well: his father talked like that to demonstrate his education and it’s believable that Ben got that from him.
April 11, 2016 at 12:59 am
armchairaudies
I have got to give this a listen. Luckily I have one Audible credit left this month… 🙂
April 12, 2016 at 12:23 pm
Alex
I’m feeling it – this year I’ll guess the winner! 🙂
May 9, 2016 at 12:28 am
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