Hi all, Today, I am going to very briefly review a few of the books that I read in 2013. I think I read more Nigerian books this year than I have all my life - put together - hence four Nigerian books and one American.
1. Half of a yellow Sun: With this book, Chimamanda Adichie solidified her previously semi solid status as the new undisputed queen of Nigerian literature. Usually, when a book is that long, it has the ability to very easily become boring, especially for me. I find a lot of things boring. You've written a great book if your readers cannot forget your characters, and she did that very well. I have a crush on 'Kainene' as a matter of fact.
2. The Great Ponds: Elechi Amadi is Elechi Amadi and he will always be. He writes the way he wants to write and I think that's cool. I have a problem though, with the way this book ended, and to be candid, I did not find it extremely appealing - the whole package. Maybe that's because of the setting, I am not really entirely cool with the whole village thing, However, I thought it was a nice story, a very important story.
3. The Joys of Motherhood: I finished this book today. I thought it was nice. Buchi Emecheta's appealing writing made a book I would have found boring, quite interesting. I also did not like the way it ended, I didn't think she needed to die. I don't know what the writer wanted to achieve with Nnu Ego death at the end. The book would still have made sense if she did not die.
4. The Concubine - I read The Great Ponds before I read The Concubine so I knew what to expect. I must say I feel that The Concubine is up there among the top books I've ever read, not just because of the way it was written, but also, because of the story. As a writer, you can't go wrong with a good story. Big ups to Elechi Amadi.
5. The Brethren: I started reading John Grisham's works late last year, he's a genius and The Brethren has to be the best novel I read all year - and believe me, I read lots. It's a classic definition of two different stories colliding and then walking hand in hand, like a confluence. And, it ended very well too; you can choose the future of the brethren that is preferable to you. It does not get better than that.
Till next time,, Keep dreaming!!
2 comments:
I have to admit, I've never read a book by an Nigerian author, not easy to find in the book stores or libraries around here. Thanks for sharing, Bomi! Which one would you recommend most for someone who has read mostly European / U.S. literature so far?
Ah! Nigeria has great writers.I'll recommend 'purple hibiscus' by chimamanda Adichie' It has a general theme that you could appreciate. half of a yellow sun is about d nigerian civil war.
You could nigerian books online too. readily on amazon kindle. and thanks for stopping by.
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