Reviews

The Famished Road by Ben Okri

der_schafsmann's review against another edition

adventurous challenging mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Ein Meisterwerk des magischen Realismus. Okri gewährt uns einen Einblick in eine verborgene, unbekannte und von Mythen durchsetzte Welt. Absolut faszinierend und bereichernd. Es wird der Alltag im Chaos gezeigt, bei dem das unbezwingbare Feuer des Chaos aus der irdischen und der Geisterwelt angefacht und unentwegt gefüttert wird. Und im Mittelpunkt Azaro, ein Geisterkind, dass sich trotz aller Unwägbarkeiten entschlossen hat, auf der verletzenden Welt zu bleiben und nicht den lieblichen Stimmen seiner Geisterkind-Geschwister wieder zurück zu folgen in ihre Welt. 
Wir bekommen einen Einblick in das Leben in Nigeria, einem Land voller Mythen, Sagen und Konflikten, die dieses Land zu einem pulsierenden Flecken Erde macht. 

binstonbirchill's review

4.0

First off, I really enjoyed Okri’s prose. In The Famished Road the spirit world and real world Nigeria collide for an entertaining ride but overall it’s not really to my taste as it reads much like a series of connected short stories.

mellanclear's review

challenging inspiring mysterious reflective slow-paced

3.25

robynrussell's review

3.0

Metaphor and allegory central. As an actual narrative this book is dull and far too cyclical to be anything other than frustrating. I had to read this in “college essay brain” to get through it. Though from that lenses it was truly interesting and I probably drove everyone nuts discussing it at book club

infinitelibrary's review

3.0

I couldn't work out if I liked this book or just hated it.

aguaa's review

5.0

oof,, first of all: west african mythology>>>>
second of all: magical realism!!!!!! u got me There
third of all: postcolonialism,, told a different way

yelafeld's review against another edition

challenging slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

sophiemann's review

challenging emotional

4.0

ellestew's review

3.0

Well, I read all the words on the page.

siria's review

3.0

I found this book immensely frustrating—I wanted to love it much more than I did, but despite the beauty of Okri's prose, I read The Famished Road itching for a red pen. At least half of the book could have been edited out, and it would have made for a much stronger novel. I can appreciate what Okri was trying to do with making it so cyclical: the novel is about Azaro, a 'spirit child' who is reborn over and over to the same parents, enduring the same events, paralleling the struggles Africa faces having finally won back its independence. It just didn't work. It all felt muddled and vague, as if Okri hadn't thought through exactly what he wanted to say. I will look out for some of Okri's later writing, to see if he's improved on the glimmers of promise he shows here, but overall this needed half the length and twice the precision.