Blunted on Reality is the first book by indie author, Chinedu Achebe. It is set around the time of Barack Obama’s election in 2008 as the first black president of the USA. It is the story of Obi, a Nigerian man in his late 20s soon to be 30 and his challenges with love, career, family and friends.
This is Mukoma wa Ngugi’s second book and the sequel to his first book, Nairobi Heat. I read Nairobi Heat last year and really enjoyed it. So, I was very excited to read Black Star Nairobi. I started this book with great expectations and let me tell you, it didn’t disappoint. I was engaged and on the edge from beginning to end. This book was so well written, and the characters (already well established in the first book) were developed enough to refresh the memory of those who read book one and also to help those reading for the first time to understand what exactly is going on.
Antagonist is Natasha Hussein or Natasha Wilson, a half Russian and half Sudanese professor of Islamic studies who despised her last name because of Saddam Hussein so changed it to her Scottish step father’s surname, Wilson. Natasha is doing a research on the life of the Muslim leader, Imam Shamil, who led the anti-Russian resistance in the Caucasian War. As luck may have it, her star student, Osama Raja, who is called Oz or Ossie to hide bearing the same name as Osama bin Laden, is a descendant of Shamil. Oz invited Natasha to his house to meet his actress mother, Malak who confirmed the connection to Shamil and even showed her the sword Shamil fought with.
The Opposite House tells the story of Maja, a black Cuban living in London with her family and boyfriend, and Yemaya who lives in Somewherehouse, which has two doors that lead to London and Lagos. This book focuses on immigration, culture, searching for truth and discovering oneself.
And After Many Days shares the story of a Nigerian family in anguish after the disappearance of their elder son, Paul. Initially, they had hope, assuming they will find him in few days especially after alerting the police and news media. But days go by, months and even years yet there was no trace of him. To help the reader in understanding the circumstances that led to his disappearance, the narrator takes us back to the family’s past.
This is the second book in the Inspector Darko Dawson mystery series. When a decomposed body is found in the muddy water of Agbogbloshie, Inspector Dawson is called to solve the mystery murder. While still investigating another murder happens which leads him to speculate the two murders are related. Further investigation with the assistance of his detective sergeant, Chikata reveals that a serial killer, who targets street children of Accra is on the loose.
This is the first book in the Inspector Darko Dawson crime series. It is set in Ketanu, a small rural town in Ghana. The book brings to light an old Ghanaian tradition called “trokosi” where young girls are offered to the fetish priest as wives in order to atone for the sin committed by a member of their families.
Foreign Gods, Inc. was set in two places – New York City and Utonki, a village in eastern part of Nigeria. The book told the story of Ikechukwu Uzondu, Ike for short, a Nigerian cab driver based in NYC who thought stealing his village’s war deity, Ngene will solve his financial problems. It also briefly told the story of Stanton, an arrogant and violent British missionary who landed in Utonki with the hope of destroying Ngene, but things went terribly wrong for him.
Beloved told the story of Sethe, a slave woman who ran away from Sweet Home, a plantation in Kentucky and moved into 124 on Bluestone Road in Ohio. Her mother-in-law (Baby Suggs), her two sons (Buglar and Howard), and her two daughters (one named Denver) lived in the house with her.
Home is a novel about two siblings Frank and Cee who grew up very poor with a mean old grandmother, indifferent grandfather and parents. While growing up, Frank was basically responsible for his sister, Cee. He took her everywhere or rather she followed him everywhere and protected her. Eventually, he enlisted in the military and left home. Home told the story mostly from Frank’s point of view. We got to find out about Frank’s experience in the military, his inner/mental struggles, his failed marriage, his return home, his experience with racism, and his fight to rescue his sister from a psycho doctor.
Linda's Book Review 