Ghana Must Go

Taiye Selasi's Ghana Must Go is the poignant story of the Sai's, a Nigerian-Ghanaian family living in a wealthy neighborhood in Boston, US. Kweku Sai is a well respected "General Surgeon without equal, a knife-wielding artist."All was well until Kweku was unfairly laid off at the hospital. Unable to bear the shame, he abandons his wife and four children and moves to Ghana where he dies barefoot in his own garden.
Tackling questions of loss, regret, survival, the book goes on to tell the story of the Sai's family, how they cope and grapple with life in the absence of their father.

I wanted to love this book but I couldn't. While Selasi's writing was colorful and poetic, the plot left me wanting more. The book was a drag for me and I was desperate for it to end.

Rating: 2 bows

London Life Lagos Living

I first came across this book on Bellanaija  and was immediately charmed by the short documentary. In London Life Lagos Living Bobo Omotayo compiles several short stories, or private musings as he calls it, about life in Lagos. The author talks about love, politics, religion, fashion, music, lifestyle, domestic violence, tradition and more. I like how he gave voice to some of the questions I have wondered about..In one chapter, he questions Lagosians for their overuse of "Hello darling." I'm no Lagosian but I have a lot of Lagosian friends who suddenly started to darling (or darl or dear or honey) me in recent years.  No judgement but I too, wondered where this all came from. The jury is still out on this one. To make matters worse, I have also found myself "dearing" people in response. It was awkward at first but I think I'm beginning to get a hang of it. What is a girl to do?

Some chapters, though funny, seemed a little far-fetched for me. For instance, one chapter on dating chastises Lagos girls for their "behavioral patters" and he raises the following questions:

"Why do ladies play the high maintenance card yet don't want to be seen as a gold-digger? Why would you ask a man what's his seat number on a plane that you are not even on? Why would you suggest going shopping with him to see the type of stores he enters? Why would you struggle to get a table at the Nobu although you are unfamiliar with its cuisine?"

Maybe I just have yet to encounter these scenarios/human beings because when I did a little poll of friends I was told that these things do happen :O.
Overall, I enjoyed his writing--it was light hearted and quite entertaining. The photographs and pop-art illustrations were eclectic and added flavor to the stories. It would certainly make for a great coffee table book once I get that coffee table.

This book isn't available yet on Amazon but let's hope it pops up soon enough.

Rating: 3.5 bows