bardo's review
3.0
And After Many Days What? A boys goes missing suddenly and this throws the family into the past. Looking in the past for each individual of the family brings different events that could have given them some clue as to where their boy has gone.
Pro:
-As the family tried to understand the disappearance each one tells stories of the past. Each story makes the family more dynamic and deeper as you get to know them. You see how there is a contrast to the marriage and how this shaped their children. With each story a different side of Paul is revealed.
Con:
- It seems that the book is majority of retelling the past. Some stories seem unrelated to the disappearance of Paul. At times i wanted to shake the book and ask why are you telling me this!? It felt like a lot of reminiscing to me and not enough of the present on what they where feeling, how they where getting along or the plan to try and find him.
- The plot was pretty slow and i grew tired of the story quickly. Maybe it was because i expected more movement with a missing person. Some drama, ups and downs; this could be my fault of having different expectations than what the book really was.
Quotes:
-These quiet ones they are the ones who surprise you
- Just because they believe in a different fairy tale from you doesn't make them evil.
A copy was provided from First To Read and publisher for an honest review
-
Pro:
-As the family tried to understand the disappearance each one tells stories of the past. Each story makes the family more dynamic and deeper as you get to know them. You see how there is a contrast to the marriage and how this shaped their children. With each story a different side of Paul is revealed.
Con:
- It seems that the book is majority of retelling the past. Some stories seem unrelated to the disappearance of Paul. At times i wanted to shake the book and ask why are you telling me this!? It felt like a lot of reminiscing to me and not enough of the present on what they where feeling, how they where getting along or the plan to try and find him.
- The plot was pretty slow and i grew tired of the story quickly. Maybe it was because i expected more movement with a missing person. Some drama, ups and downs; this could be my fault of having different expectations than what the book really was.
Quotes:
-These quiet ones they are the ones who surprise you
- Just because they believe in a different fairy tale from you doesn't make them evil.
A copy was provided from First To Read and publisher for an honest review
-
analyticali's review
4.0
This is the kind of book that makes you remember all the ways a story can be told. Seen through the eyes of the youngest of three siblings, a boy always being reminded that he needs to be obedient, the narrative unfolds in moments at home with family, preparing for big events, and on drives to and from places. It captures all of the real life moments and anxieties that happen in between the big scenes depicted in blockbuster movies, television shows, or news stores.
Best of all, through constantly shifting tenses and tone, the story has a richness of language that pulls the reader along.
Best of all, through constantly shifting tenses and tone, the story has a richness of language that pulls the reader along.
mxballin's review
5.0
This understated yet devastating story of a Nigerian family quietly roars as political and economic criticism. His use of personal tragedy to illustrate the impacts of national turmoil is masterful and never overwhelming. Though Ile's focus on the Utu family restricts the amount of explanation of Nigeria's history he is able to give, I never felt lost or like I was left out due to my lack of familiarity.
I'm excited to search out his previously published short fiction, and am looking forward to reading his work in the future.
I'm excited to search out his previously published short fiction, and am looking forward to reading his work in the future.
emmavenetis's review
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
2.75
geminipenguin's review
1.0
I tried my best to get into this but even with him disappearing the narrative was jumbled and I just couldn’t get into it enough to care.
balletbookworm's review
4.0
Closer to a 3.75 star rating. I really liked the book's construction and how the reader kept getting bits and pieces of how the Utu family is connected or not connected to the political upheaval in Nigeria in the 1990s and whether Paul's disappearance is connected to those events. I wished, though, that Ile also included one or two chapters set between Ajie being brought home from school by his mother and the final epilogue-like three sections. I would have liked to see how Ajie and Bibi were impacted by the loss of their older brother as they finished school and went to college rather than see an end product at the end of the book.
As I was reading, I was reminded of Stewart O'Nan's [b:Songs for the Missing|3247408|Songs for the Missing|Stewart O'Nan|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347318899s/3247408.jpg|3282191] in subject. The settings are quite different, obviously, but the way the "missing" child is presented within the family's life and how the families are both disrupted was similar.
As I was reading, I was reminded of Stewart O'Nan's [b:Songs for the Missing|3247408|Songs for the Missing|Stewart O'Nan|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347318899s/3247408.jpg|3282191] in subject. The settings are quite different, obviously, but the way the "missing" child is presented within the family's life and how the families are both disrupted was similar.
williamd's review
2.0
Not sure I quite got the point of this one. There's a family, they go through some mostly ordinary life stuff, one or two people die... That's about it.
expendablemudge's review
5.0
Rating: 4.5 stars of five, rounded up because DAMN
My painful memories made this a tough review to write. I want to stress that my deep delight in the author's writing talent is the one idea you should take away from my review, live now at Expendable Mudge Muses Aloud.
#ReadingIsResistance to repression and to corporatism co-opting the state to the detriment of the people. A four-plus star read, a beautiful example of writing, a Nigerian author whose work we all need to watch. Amazing things are coming from Jowhor Ile.
My painful memories made this a tough review to write. I want to stress that my deep delight in the author's writing talent is the one idea you should take away from my review, live now at Expendable Mudge Muses Aloud.
#ReadingIsResistance to repression and to corporatism co-opting the state to the detriment of the people. A four-plus star read, a beautiful example of writing, a Nigerian author whose work we all need to watch. Amazing things are coming from Jowhor Ile.