Reviews

The Famished Road by Ben Okri

whynotcherries's review

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

lelia_t's review

4.0

I was thrown off by this book at first because I was waiting for a plot line to emerge. It’s more like a recurring chaos of fights, carnival, and forays into a transrational realm. But then I realized that if we’re looking at life through the wide-open eyes of a spirit child, that’s what we should expect to see. Azaro isn’t labeling and categorizing, so the reader has to simply accept at face value that the misshapen beggars are allies (maybe), threats (maybe), spirits (maybe) and Madame Koto is a fecund goddess and death bringer (maybe?). Azaro is a reluctant sojourner on earth, but he’s learning to embrace "the earth's life and contradictions." He’s not searching for answers, but witnessing the mystery, so we aren’t really going - or arriving - anywhere in particular, yet it’s a beautiful, life-affirming story.

amorphousbl0b's review

challenging mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse

Moderate: Violence

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Child death, and Colonisation

ahanyok's review

emotional mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

yasemin2's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

Zamanı bilmediğimiz, masalla gerçekliğin iç içe geçtiği yoğun bir anlatımla başlıyor kitap. Yavaş yavaş zaman algımız otururken, ki çoğunlukla bağımsızlık sonrası dönem, dönüşen bir ülkede peri-çocuk olan Azaro’nun hayattaki mücadelesini takip ediyoruz. Azaro, yoksullukla baş etmeye çalışırken bir türlü bağını koparamadığı paranormal dünyadaki varlıklar çoğu zaman işini daha da zorlaştırıyor. Yazar Okri’nin fantastik/ masalsı dünyayı oluşturma şeklini beğendim; döngüsel olay tekrarlarının, küçük bir çevrede yaşanan derin yoksulluk anlatımını güçlendirdiğini düşünüyorum. Her ne kadar bu tekrarlara eşlik eden yavaş ritim yer yer dikkati dağıtsa da bir çocuğun gözünden takip ettiğimiz hikayede zamanın yavaş akması bana yerinde bir tercih gibi geldi.Kurgusunu bir arkadaşa anlatmanın bile zor olduğu kitaplardan biri; fakat bence Okri kullandığı teknik ve kitabın yavaş ritmiyle bunun altından kalkmayı başarmış. 

wemmyogunyankin's review

4.0

A beautiful book with the most ethereal of characters... and I still feel as though I have a lot of questions and I’m unsure of how to gauge my comfort with that.

gothmeadowlark's review

emotional hopeful mysterious medium-paced

5.0

bailey_bea's review

5.0

"The spirit-child is an unwilling adventurer into chaos and sunlight, into the dreams of the living and the dead. Things that are not ready, not willing to be born or to become, things for which adequate preparations have not been made to sustain their momentous births, things that are not resolved, things bound up with failure and with fear of being, they all keep recurring, keep coming back, and in themselves partake of the spirt-child's condition."

The Famished Road is an unbelievable piece of literature. Its magic is in its ability to create a swirling, vivid, and intense experience that feels as surreal as the novel's content. It's full of madness and beauty, suspense and struggle. The writing alone is enough to make it a must-read.

mwalters19's review

adventurous challenging mysterious sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

tasmanian_bibliophile's review against another edition

4.5

 

‘In the beginning there was a river. The river became a road and the road branched out to the whole world. And because the road was once a river it was always hungry.’ 

Remember these words as you read this book—this is the world you have entered. Reality has a different dimension, even when some of the parameters are recognisable. This is Azaro’s story. 

Azaro is a spirit child, born to live for a short time in the world of the living before returning to the world of his spirit companions. Azaro has been reborn many times. But this time, despite being pursued by his spirit companions, Azaro chooses to remain in the world of the living. And so, here he is. A boy who can see spirits around him while existing in a slum with his hard-working mother and hard-drinking father.  Mr Okri brings both these worlds to life. Through Azaro’s eyes we see the grinding poverty of the slum. An election is coming, and promises are made by politicians from ‘The Party of the Rich’ and ‘The Party of the Poor’. Azaro’s father, working in ever degrading jobs makes a series of poor choices which increase the family’s hardship. Azaro’s mother works hard to keep food on the table and to pay the rent. And Azaro chooses to stay here, to experience this life, instead of returning to the fluid world of spirits. 

Corruption and poverty, violence and hardship overwhelm the physical world Azaro is in, and the spirit world of dreams offers an escape. Or does it? And what about Azaro’s mother? How does she reconcile her dreams (mostly of Azaro’s future beyond school) with reality? There are other characters as well, including the opportunistic Madame Koto, and a photographer who has challenges of his own. 

This novel is the first of a trilogy. I am tempted to keep reading, but I need a period of reflection before continuing. While I found this book rewarding, I found it challenging to shift between worlds. 

‘A dream can be the highest point of a life.’ 

Indeed. 

Jennifer Cameron-Smith