Book 2: Memoirs of a Porcupine by Alain Mabanckou

This story was set in the mind of a 42-year-old porcupine. Well, sort of. The porcupine’s mind was reflecting on his life as the “harmful double” of a human being in a Congolese village. His master or double, Kibandi was initiated by his father at a young age of 11. Kibandi’s initiation marked the beginning of his "masterhood" of his animal double. Together, they killed several dozen human beings in Kibandi’s lifetime. Kibandi ordered and his double executed the killings.The descriptions of the killings were intense so perhaps its not surprising that the porcupine needed a soul cleansing through confession to the poor baobab tree. Throughout the book, the reflective porcupine confides in the tree for what seemed to me like a really long time. I often found the details of the porcupine’s adventures unnerving so if you get easily creeped out, beware. I wonder if my impression of the book is a bit clouded by my own superstitions or my fear of animals but let it be known that Alain Mbanckou’s “Memoirs of a Porcupine” only exacerbated my animal phobia.

Overall, a well written book. I believe it must take incredible literary talent to write a story from an animal’s perspective. And, to write a story with only comma’s as punctuation i.e. not a single period within or between chapters throughout the entire book! While I think that's mighty impressive, I also think parts of this period-less book sometimes read like a never ending rant. That said, I may check out one of his other books provided it's not so scary. Stay tuned.


Rating: 3 bows

Alain Mbanckou’s “Memoirs of a Porcupine” is available on Amazon.

Click here to purchase

Book 1: Tomorrow Died Yesterday by Chimeka Garricks

Chimeka Garricks is genius. If I didn’t have 19 other books to read, I’ll read  Tomorrow Died Yesterday over one more time! What I appreciated the most about this book is that it was not predictable. I couldn’t anticipate the suspense as I flipped the pages and that was captivating and very refreshing. Also, the emotions in this book were palpable: I grimaced, laughed out loud, blushed, and almost cried.

The book is divided into different time periods and goes something like: present, past, present, past. At each time period, the story is told by one of the four main characters: Kaniye, Tubo, Amaibi and Doye (two female characters are introduced later on). All four boys grew up together on Asiama Island, in the Nigerian Niger Delta region, in the 1970’s. On the surface, it seems like just another story about the wretched political corruption in the Niger Delta region, but it was anything but.  Don’t get me wrong, the book explores the violent conflict in the Niger Delta but it also tells the story of the real victims. The story begins in the present introducing us to the four friends, now adults “thriving” in their various walks of life. Then, the author effortlessly weaves in their childhood in Asiama, opening the reader to the history of the characters, and the impact of society, family and friendship in shaping the persons they have become. When we come back to the present, we have a richer and better informed view of who the characters really are. I find that such a window into the characters past really drew me in, creating a peculiar sense of intimacy with the characters. I was particularly intrigued by how the writer portrays the vulnerability, warmth and sometimes cruelty that can go hand in hand with friendship, even friendship amongst children.

Fast-forward to the present, I thoroughly enjoyed reading the love story between Kaniye and Deola. Kaniye seems like quite the special guy--sensitive, charming, funny and above all, knows how to treat a woman’s taste buds! Naturally, I paid special attention to the food throughout the story. Boy, I would do just about anything to try Aunty Eno’s edikang-ikong soup and Kaniye’s native soup.

Every single Nigerian should read this book. Nollywood (Nigerian Hollywood) should make a movie out of this so that people who don’t read will have no excuse. Prior to reading this, my knowledge of the situation in the Niger Delta was quite limited. At the end of the story, I am considerably more informed about the struggle in the Niger Delta. Knowledge is power--we cannot fix a problem that we don’t understand. When you read this book, I believe you will empathize with Doye when he says

“ There is no future for the children of the Niger Delta. Their tomorrow is already dead. It died yesterday.” 

But, you will also share Amaibi’s hope for a better tomorrow and be inspired to fight the right battle with the right weapon. On that note, I’ll leave you with Amaibi’s wise counsel: 

"We need to change the way we do things. We need to stop fighting the wrong battles. Our people must drop their arms and get off the streets and creeks. The war will not be won there. The war will be won in lecture halls as we expand the minds of our young people.”

Rating: 5 full bows

Tomorrow Died Yesterday is only $2.99 on Amazon. Click here to purchase.

The Challenge

New year. Many goals. Same love affair with food. Revived appetite for literature.

I am incredibly blessed to be stepping into 2013 with so much joy and energy. Sometimes, I just want to sing out loud and skip all the way home. Ever feel like that? Well, I have decided to channel all this energy into another one of my hobbies: reading! As a science student in high school, my schedule did not really allow me to take literature classes but I worked it out with the teachers so I could have access to all the poetry and prose I could lay my hands on! I remember memorizing so many lines out of Wole Soyinka's "Lion and the Jewel", I could have recited the entire book in my sleep.

Over the years, my love for literature has only grown. I can't say I always have a book in hand, but I find time to read. In efforts to be more intentional about reading, I enrolled in a literature and medicine course last fall and have been exposed to some very fine medical essays, many of which were written by patients and healthcare providers. I only have two more classes to go and I was looking for the next cool thing to do outside of work when I stumbled upon a blog of African literature. I'm African and I wasn't exposed to nearly enough African literature growing up so you can imagine the excitement when I stumbled upon this treasure of a website. Perhaps, much of the joy also stems from the fact that I am away from home and books about home certainly remind me of many fond memories of the motherland.

My goal is to read 20 novels by African authors in the next 6 months and this blog will keep me accountable. I will not only read the books but I will also rate them and provide a short review. I hope you won't just cheer me on from the sideline but that you'll be inspired to explore African literature in your free time as well!

Happy New Year and Happy Reading!