Reviews
The Chibok Girls: The Boko Haram Kidnappings and Islamist Militancy in Nigeria, by Helon Habila
liralen's review
3.0
The Chibok Girls covers, in brief, the events of April 14, 2014, when nearly three hundred girls were kidnapped in Nigeria. The kidnapping spawned a 'bring back our girls' campaign, but as of late 2019 more than a hundred of the kidnapped girls are still missing—in some cases still captive, in others dead.
Habila comes at the events as a reporter, digging into Nigeria's history to explain the rise of Boko Haram. It's a really useful background. That said, the title of the book is misleading: it's not about the girls. It's not even really about the kidnapping. At the very very end of the book, Habila talks about a chance he had to sit down with three of the kidnapped girls, who managed to escape the night of the kidnapping:
I assume that Habila simply didn't have that kind of access—he talks about the hoops he had to jump through just to do the on-the-ground research he was able to do for this book. When he visited Chibok, the town was still under heavy guard and journalists weren't welcome. In some ways Habila was in a good position to write a book about Boko Haram and the Chibok kidnappings (having grown up in Nigeria, he was familiar with the area and the cultures, but he also had outside perspective and resources), but in other ways...perhaps someday one of the girls who escaped later will be in a position to write a book, or a journalist will tell the stories of the girls and their families and as much as can be known of what has become of them. In the meantime...this is useful, but mostly for background.
Habila comes at the events as a reporter, digging into Nigeria's history to explain the rise of Boko Haram. It's a really useful background. That said, the title of the book is misleading: it's not about the girls. It's not even really about the kidnapping. At the very very end of the book, Habila talks about a chance he had to sit down with three of the kidnapped girls, who managed to escape the night of the kidnapping:
There was really nothing new in their story. Except for the particular details, it was the same story I had read in the papers, the same story told by the girls in America in their various interviews. They woke up to sounds of gunfire, they were herded into trucks, and they jumped off and ran into the night. There was nothing more to tell. Surely, their interviewers must tell themselves, there had to be something more some individual act of valor, some unique observation? But there wasn't. The shocking banality of it.
Hauwa, Ladi, and Juliana were ordinary girls, young enough to be my daughters, who had been raised to almost mythic status by their extraordinary experience. The same could even be said about many Boko Haram members, who were ordinary boys in dirty shirts and slippers, shooting at whatever they were told to shoot at by their handlers. ... Hauwa, Ladi, and Juliana were ordinary girls who had taken a leap of faith off that truck and into the night, and that had made the difference between them and those who were taken. Like most things in life, it all came down to chance, opportunity, and desperation. There was no single explanation. (109)And...gosh, my feelings are mixed. On the one hand, no, these three probably have no more story about the day of the kidnapping than they've already told. On the other hand, if a book is indeed meant to be about the girls in question...there are a lot more stories to tell. I knew nothing, going into the book, about the lives of the girls at the girls' secondary school in Chibok—their lives at school or their lives at home, their personalities, their families, anything like that. And...I know nothing more about their lives, having finished the book.
I assume that Habila simply didn't have that kind of access—he talks about the hoops he had to jump through just to do the on-the-ground research he was able to do for this book. When he visited Chibok, the town was still under heavy guard and journalists weren't welcome. In some ways Habila was in a good position to write a book about Boko Haram and the Chibok kidnappings (having grown up in Nigeria, he was familiar with the area and the cultures, but he also had outside perspective and resources), but in other ways...perhaps someday one of the girls who escaped later will be in a position to write a book, or a journalist will tell the stories of the girls and their families and as much as can be known of what has become of them. In the meantime...this is useful, but mostly for background.
ohheyemilyk's review against another edition
5.0
A very quick read and a good glimpse into a story we've mostly heard just over the news. i would have been keen to have even more detail, but I wasn't disappointed by this brief coverage.
sarahrita's review against another edition
5.0
I received a copy of this book free from the publisher via netgalley.com.
A soul wrenching account of the disappearance of the Chibok girls, stolen from their school dorm. This book looks into the effect on the survivors, families affected and the community as well as the events that led to this tragedy.
A soul wrenching account of the disappearance of the Chibok girls, stolen from their school dorm. This book looks into the effect on the survivors, families affected and the community as well as the events that led to this tragedy.
thatothernigeriangirl's review against another edition
4.0
A brilliant and brave book! 4 stars (only because I didn’t like the occasional interjection of history lessons with the account)
This is my first Habila and I can’t wait to read his fiction to determine which style I like best.
This book contained historical lessons on the Boko Haram and it also highlights the discrimination faced by northern Christians in Nigeria, both from the Muslim indigenes (who treat them as second class citizens) and southerners (who ascribe the north to just “Hausa/Fulani” and Muslim thereby zeroing our their existence)
More importantly, the book tells the tale of how ordinary school girls in town of Chibok came to be known as The Chibok Girls.
I highly recommend this book.
This is my first Habila and I can’t wait to read his fiction to determine which style I like best.
This book contained historical lessons on the Boko Haram and it also highlights the discrimination faced by northern Christians in Nigeria, both from the Muslim indigenes (who treat them as second class citizens) and southerners (who ascribe the north to just “Hausa/Fulani” and Muslim thereby zeroing our their existence)
More importantly, the book tells the tale of how ordinary school girls in town of Chibok came to be known as The Chibok Girls.
I highly recommend this book.
lanko's review against another edition
5.0
Does a pretty good job explaining key facts about the fight of Nigeria against Boko Haram and how the country and its people are affected by it.
Personal reports, interviews and links to other sources of material regarding the issue. Some reports are pretty bleak, like the father who lost his mind and wandered alone in the forest after his daughter.
Received this book from NetGalley, so thanks to them too.
Personal reports, interviews and links to other sources of material regarding the issue. Some reports are pretty bleak, like the father who lost his mind and wandered alone in the forest after his daughter.
Received this book from NetGalley, so thanks to them too.
skre's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
3.75
A good book written in the style of on the ground reporting, really liked the writing but the ending, as others mention, is obviously empty and rather banal as the author himself would believe.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Kidnapping, Hate crime, Murder, Death, and Death of parent
Minor: Rape
libscigrl's review against another edition
2.0
Other than through the media, I did not know much about the story of the Boko Haram kidnapping of over 250 girls in Chibook, Nigeria. I had hopes that this book would help with some of the details, but was left wanting more...a LOT more.
The author shares his own journey to Chibook, which is informative- the scary checkpoints, the kids carrying weapons and wearing fatigues, the bumpy truck rides. He finds a few people to interview that were present the night of the kidnapping, but doesn't go in to detail- this is what a wanted. Instead, we get more or less a "I heard noise, I looked, the girls were gone" clip. He also finds a girl to interview, but even that didn't provide anything other than "i jumped off the truck and ran".
The author spends more time talking about the politics that lead to the kidnapping, which are certainly interesting and informative. There is hardly any mention whatsoever of where the girls are now (either speculatively or truthfully) or what is being done to save them, or what Boko Haram is up to these days.
Overall this book left me with more questions than I had to begin with.
Thanks NetGalley for the free copy to review.
The author shares his own journey to Chibook, which is informative- the scary checkpoints, the kids carrying weapons and wearing fatigues, the bumpy truck rides. He finds a few people to interview that were present the night of the kidnapping, but doesn't go in to detail- this is what a wanted. Instead, we get more or less a "I heard noise, I looked, the girls were gone" clip. He also finds a girl to interview, but even that didn't provide anything other than "i jumped off the truck and ran".
The author spends more time talking about the politics that lead to the kidnapping, which are certainly interesting and informative. There is hardly any mention whatsoever of where the girls are now (either speculatively or truthfully) or what is being done to save them, or what Boko Haram is up to these days.
Overall this book left me with more questions than I had to begin with.
Thanks NetGalley for the free copy to review.
rachelannekass's review against another edition
3.0
Such an informational and emotional book. Check out my full review here: http://basicbookblog.com/the-chibok-girls-by-helon-habila/