Reviews

The Scent of Burnt Flowers by Blitz Bazawule

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megreads379's review against another edition

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medium-paced

4.0

itsmeamethyst's review against another edition

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4.0

Blitz Bazawule is world renowned but not yet a household name. He is a painter, a musician (under the name, Blitz the Ambassador), was co-director on Beyonce's Black Is King, and is directing the forthcoming musical movie adaptation of Alice Walker's The Color Purple among many other accolades and talents.

I didn't know any of that before reading this book, and this made me want to learn more about him. His goal as an artist is to connect the diaspora in a tangible way, and he does just that in this debut novel. While incorporating traditional mythology with social and political issues, this story moves in time and memory between 1960's Philadelphia and West Africa, during the presidency of Ghana's former president Dr. Kwame Nkrumah. It has romance and suspense, and almost feels like a story that would have been in [b:Love in Colour: Mythical Tales from Around the World, Retold|51102251|Love in Colour Mythical Tales from Around the World, Retold|Bolu Babalola|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1612113029l/51102251._SY75_.jpg|71815960].

What kept it from being a traditional romance, however, is the lack of a happy ending. I hope it's not a spoiler to say that it ends on a cliff-hanger. It was an enjoyable read, and I learned more about the history of Ghanaian politics and how it intersects with and compares to American politics. I was also interested in seeing how the story would progress and if I could predict the ending (I was partially right, partially wrong).

Thank you to Ballatine Books - an imprint of Random House, NetGalley, and especially Blitz Bazawule for the opportunity to review an early copy before it's release on June 28, 2022.

w8godot32's review against another edition

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4.0

Nighttime Alabama in the 1960’s. Melvin and his fiancée stopped to eat at Otto’s. The place is not listed in the Green Book, the “Negro motorist’s bible” spelling out the safe roadside cafes, hotels, and gas stations for black people. As a result of taking a chance he ended up defending himself against a mob and killing a white man. Stick around for a trial? Seriously? No… it was time to flee that crime scene…to Ghana. A volatile third world country promised better odds of survival for an innocent couple than the United States. At the height of America’s 1960’s civil rights movement the escape is to what once was the biggest slave trading center in West Africa.

Melvin had a good friend in college from Africa. This man, Kwame Nkrumah, has risen to the presidency of Ghana. Melvin figured Kwame owed him and could provide his only escape. There are a few complications: not only is Melvin being tracked by an obsessed FBI agent, Kwame is supressing a revolution and assassination attempts before he is even aware that Melvin is in the picture.

We have Melvin’s fiancée, Bernadette. He has convinced her she is just as likely to be prosecuted and must run with him. She loves him but it is dawning on her that Melvin is not the man she thought he was. His irrational jealousy, his quick temper and his rush to drunkenness are undermining their relationship. The man we see at the onset of the story is losing his luster.

A triangle develops with the appearance of a musician, Kwesi Kwayson. He is hugely popular in Ghana and is scheduled to perform for the president. Melvin and Bernadette, posing as a minister and wife, convince Kwesi to take them across the country to the concert. As Melvin begins diminishing in Bernadette’s eyes, she and Kwesi try in vain to resist the attraction swelling between them.

There is magic here, too. Drawing from the fireside stories of author Blitz Bazawule’s grandmother, we see visions of maternal mermaids and magical guitars spouting flower petals as the magic fills the air… and, of course, love is only intensified under these spells.

The flight from the CIA, the dangerous trek through Ghana for the president’s help, the revolutionary intrigue and the romantic turmoil all propel us to an unpredictable conclusion. In “The Scent of Burnt Flowers” we can not turn pages fast enough to see where this all takes us.

Thank you Random House Publishing Group, Ballantine Books and NetGalley for the advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review. #TheScentofBurntFlowers #NetGalley

teresarosereads's review against another edition

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tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I have to say this novel was incredibly gripping! I was very invested in Mel’s and Bernadette’s escape plan and whether they were going to succeed or not. When the book starting switching between snippets of the couple and then of the FBI agent following them I was even more glued to the page. I couldn’t wait to find out how it would all end. However, the ending took a turn that was disappointing for me. I didn’t care much about what was happening with the government and president of Ghana and that seemed to be the main focus of the last part of the book. I wish the main couple had remained the focus throughout. Also, the magical realism aspects felt a bit out of place for me and I kept thinking that they would come together by the end of the novel but I was left unsatisfied.