From the outset, the novel establishes the dreadful gravity of this decision. On page 39, an elder observes, “When the gods want to bring down a man’s house, they set in motion a chain of events that lead to his downfall.” Yet as the narrative unfolds, Patrice emerges not merely as a victim of metaphysical forces, but of rigid standards of masculinity that leave him unable to retreat without feeling emasculated. To admit fault, in his mind, would be to embrace weakness.
Book Review
Every age has a depression of its time which is found in the artistic integrity…
As Biodun Shobanjo turns 81, we commemorate the milestone with a return to Toni Kan’s…
he “Great Woman of the Lake” reverenced in Silence Besieges You! conjures up Uhamiri, the Oguta Lake deity central to Flora Nwapa’s seminal novel Efuru. Incidentally, Nwakuche is Nwapa’s son, and poems like Transformation and My Mother Forever suggest an ongoing conversation with her memory and legacy.
Umukoro blends an authentic voice with emotional honesty, inviting readers into a world that feels both relatable and transformative. The characters wrestle with identity, change, and belonging in ways that resonate deeply.
In a novel that seems to suggest that some endings are nothing but mere beginnings, when Eniiyi emerges from Ebun’s birth canal, there is little doubt that she bears an uncanny resemblance to the recently deceased.
David Szalay is the recent winner of the Booker Prize, an honour he received at…
Food is the unifying theme here, but categorizing Anyadu’s writing style into one genre can be a challenging undertaking seeing as his range spans comedy, folklore, and the Gothic. Not only is Anyadu’s literary palate diverse, he deploys multiple points of view in the manner of a seasoned chef deciding which cooking technique would maximise an ingredient’s flavour.
Through their entangled stories, Theft becomes more than a tale of love or parental betrayal. It is a sociological portrait of Zanzibar and, by extension, Africa’s coastal societies, where the residues of colonialism still shape personal destinies. The novel situates individual choices within the larger machinery of economic transformation, cultural expectation, and historical memory.
What distinguishes A Blitz in the Haze is Yerima’s deft modulation of tone. She writes with restraint, allowing her story to unfold with patient rhythm rather than melodrama. The novel is, at once, a moving exhibition of human frailty and resilience.
While traditionally targeted at children, picture books can be enjoyed by adults too, and this is no exception. For the millennials, Miss Zuri is likely to jolt them with a dose of nostalgia as she echoes Ms. Frizzle, the eccentric teacher from the popular nineties children’s television series, The Magic School Bus
The plot of this novel is driven by deliberate withholding of information. A reader can tell that the narrator is keeping something vital and the desire to find out what is being hidden ensures the pages are continually flipped. Instances like this add to the book’s allure. For instance, later in Esther’s letters to Amina, when things have fallen apart, we gain more clarity, a clarity well-fleshened out in Iyanifa’s perspective.