Cornucopia of Stories: Vol I

I can't believe I have been away for so long! I wanted to do this for so long but work coupled with laziness has made the blog suffer. This blog is like a lover that you will always be in love with and no matter how far apart, it will always find its way back! I am a firm believer that African writers are underrated and overlooked especially among African youths, and more should be done to encourage reading of our indigenous books as we have so many amazing storywriters. So I have decided to read more African, especially Nigerian books. I started with some of the nine most popular ones. Enjoy and please leave suggestions below!


Swallow Sefi Atta
    Swallow is written by the same author who wrote Everything Good Will Come, which if you haven't read by the way you are greatly missing and almost makes me disappointed in you. I wanted to reread it and then saw Swallow in its stead. It was a good read, it explores the lives of two friends in Lagos living their everyday lives and the hustle that comes with Lagos living. It expatiates on how that hustle pushes people to do extreme things like swallowing drugs in condoms in order to make ends meet in Lagos. Like they always say Lagos is not for a "suegbe". I really enjoyed reading it so much so that during an interview I went for, the interviewer asked me what book I was currently reading at the moment and I went on about the book, condom and all, its safe to say I didn't get the job. Apart from the Lagos hustle, complacency of relationship is also one of the themes. How we tend to stay with people because we have given them so many years of our lives, bank savings or whatever it may be and we feel we do not deserve better.

I Do Not Come to You by Chance Adaobi Nwaubani
Now after I read this book, I found a way to incorporate the title into my everyday speech. This book made me laugh and in some ways have sympathy for Yahoo boys. The book follows the life of Kingsley who represents most Nigerian youths who have noble dreams of working decent jobs but due to primal nature of humans to survive are pushed to the dark world of swindling the white man. Now if you read this book please let me know what you feel about the ending cause it kinda left me confused.  Like I don't want to ruin it for those who have not read it, but if you have please did he continue??

Everyday is for the Thief  Teju Cole
Now please do not come for me, but this was my least enjoyable book. Maybe I have not gained the literary maturity to appreciate this kind of novel. I did enjoy the exploration of the city of Lagos but I am a character driven person and I found myself searching to know more about the unnamed narrator. There's no contest about it, Teju Cole is an amazing author and his descriptive analysis is so vivid, it feels like you are walking the streets of Lagos with this stranger whose name you did not know. If you ever want to know more about Lagos and some of its history, I recommend this.

Open City Teju Cole
Similar writing style to the previous one but set in New York instead. There was more character exploration of the protagonist but not so much that finishing the book you feel like you truly know Julius . It did make me realize that rape could be committed without the perpetrator even remembering, and how the victim would always carry the burden all their lives. It did not fully explore the topic as I would have liked but it sure made me want to listen and read the classics like Tchaikovsky.

Ghana Must Go Taiye Selasi
This book deserves a standing ovation. I was jealous, sympathetic, angry and in love with every character. So beautifully written, that I started to see the gray in a black and white situation. It explores the life of a migrant Ghanian-Nigerian family in American and the fraility of life migrants experience. I think I enjoyed the book so much because I could see myself in them, as a Nigerian immigrant myself, I fear failure more than anything. The impeding fear of not being the best looms over migrants as we constantly feel the pressure to validate our presence in a foreign land. One word, beautiful!

The Secret Lives of the Four Wives (The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives) Lola Shoneyin
First of all, Lola is freaking awesome and also Wole Soyinka's daughter in law, so of course he must have read it and enjoyed it. One thing I extremely loved about this book is how easy it was to read. So enjoyable and funny without jeopardizing the very important message of the book. The book beautifully and expertly manifests the strength, insecurities and self-flagellation women go through. One of the best books I have ever had the pleasure to read.

One of my favorite lines from the book:
"Don't think I can't see the challenges ahead of me... Men will hurt and ridicule me but I won't let them hold me back. I will remain in the land of the living. I am back now and the world is spread before me like an egg cracked open."


The Fishermen Chigozie Obioma
This book was one of the Librarian picks at my library and I can definitely see why. It follows the lives of four brothers in Akure and how a prophecy impacts their lives. In short juju is real! I'm kidding, it was a tremendous book. I gave it to my aunt who grew up in Akure to read and she truly loved it. It is definitely one of my favorites and Chigozie is truly a magical storywriter! Grab your copy now!!!

The Thing Around Your Neck Chimamanda Adiche
What's my list without the lady of the hour, Ms Adiche! In the light of honesty, I did not like Adiche a whole lot when I read Purple Hibiscus and Half of a Yellow Sun. Granted I read them when I was 12 and 13 respectively and most likely did not have the maturity to appreciate her style of concluding her novels, but it was more because she always left me hanging. I never felt complete at the end but now that I am in my 20s, I see what a great talent she is and what all the fuss is about. Personally, this is my favorite work of hers. It is a collection of amazing stories that truly hits home. My favorites were the title story, "The Arrangers of Marriage", "On Monday of Last Week" and "The Shivering."

An excerpt from The Thing Around Your Neck
“At night, something would wrap itself around your neck, something that very nearly choked you before you fell asleep..."

“The thing that nearly choked you before you fell asleep, started to loosen, to let go.”


Americanah Chimamanda Adiche
If you have not read this book them where in the world have you been. If you want a glimpse into what life is as a Nigerian in America, this is a good place to start. It is so accurate, except of course I wish my love life was half as exciting as Ifemelus'. I saw myself in Ifemelu, I saw myself hating her and also being disgusted and irritated by her. That to me is what makes a book, when you don't just have one feeling towards a character but a plethora of emotions. This is definitely a must read, I am sure this book is available almost everywhere!
  Some of my favorite lines.

“Dear Non-American Black, when you make the choice to come to America, you become black. Stop arguing. Stop saying I'm Jamaican or I'm Ghanaian. America doesn't care.”  

“She rested her head against his and felt, for the first time, what she would often feel with him: a self-affection. He made her like herself.''


I hope you enjoyed this and if you have any novel suggestions, holler! My next nine is on my Good Reads. Remember, keep your feet to the ground and keep reaching for the stars!

Seunla


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