thatone2112's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
crystal_reading's review against another edition
4.0
This is an emotion filled ride. Ben and his family of through so much following a prophecy. The idea that believing that you know the future can affect the future is definitely an interesting one to ponder. The relationships between the brothers was interesting to see. I am not sure what I was expecting, but this much heavier than I was anticipating. The writing brought me right into the scenes. I think this author will be one to watch.
tinytoulmin32's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.0
remlacreme's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
katebull's review against another edition
5.0
Oh boy. It was great. Sucked me in and spat me back out.
amakaazie's review against another edition
4.0
I’m not sure how to review this book. I was confused a lot and had to re-read a few pages just to understand the narrative because of the many flashbacks. The ending is still unclear to me but I guess that was what the author was going for. I don’t think it worked for me.
However, the storyline is very original and actually shows extreme imagination by this author. It is a tale of a close knit family living in Akure Western Nigeria. A madman(mentally unwell) man who is believed to have spiritual powers by the village, prophesies that death would happen in the family. The entire novel is based on how that prophesy ruins the family and the closeness they shared. It had some very lovely bits which actually made me reminisce. I oscillated between hating and loving this book multiple times . In a strange way,this shows the talent of this author. It takes a good book to bring out those emotions in a reader. So I’ll recommend to anyone who wants a bit of African literature mixed with sorrow.
However, the storyline is very original and actually shows extreme imagination by this author. It is a tale of a close knit family living in Akure Western Nigeria. A madman(mentally unwell) man who is believed to have spiritual powers by the village, prophesies that death would happen in the family. The entire novel is based on how that prophesy ruins the family and the closeness they shared. It had some very lovely bits which actually made me reminisce. I oscillated between hating and loving this book multiple times . In a strange way,this shows the talent of this author. It takes a good book to bring out those emotions in a reader. So I’ll recommend to anyone who wants a bit of African literature mixed with sorrow.
jhowleywells's review against another edition
dark
funny
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
rach_reads_books's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
dllh's review against another edition
3.0
I liked the glimpse this one gave me of another culture, but it wasn't nearly as big or important a book to me as was Half of a Yellow Sun, which offered not only the look at another culture but greater beauty, tragedy, and richness than this one did.
jamrock's review against another edition
5.0
I'm going all out five stars here because I have been on a long reading arc of Nigerian fiction and absolutely salivate over anything Igbo-centric. The story is pretty good and not even magical-realism in my opinion. The amount of Nigerian mythology, historical fiction, proverbs and social systems makes it an insightful read but when you get to the ending and understand the relationship to the beginning, all the feels.
Hilariously I am reading Things Fall Apart alongside this and there was a total spoiler in this book as one of the brothers read it and nicely summarised the ending. What's the chances?!
Hilariously I am reading Things Fall Apart alongside this and there was a total spoiler in this book as one of the brothers read it and nicely summarised the ending. What's the chances?!