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3.46 AVERAGE
3.46 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
the premise of the book was very interesting, but the focus on journalism and the story structure were what made this book 3 stars for me. I wanted more of an emphasis on the environmental impacts and the story of the villagers displaced from their homes but these topics were too much in the background.
challenging
dark
fast-paced
OIL ON WATER by HELON HABILA
Set in Nigeria, this book is about the pollution and corruption caused by the oil industry.
It is both eco-criticism and a coming of age story that reads - at times - like a thriller.
The pacing is just so that it’s difficult to put the book down. It goes from past to present with ease until the reader has the full picture of this desolate landscape that has been overrun by the oil industry, the military and the rebels.
The novel is told from the point of view of a young journalist who is trying to find the white kidnapped wife of a British oil engineer. That in itself tells you that white lives are worth more than black lives in this corrupt world, and that women are often no more than bargaining chips.
The real hideous beauty of this book comes from the theme of humans vs nature; a theme prevalent in a lot of Romantic poetry from the eighteenth and nineteenth century. Back when poets were afraid that industry was going to destroy nature. In a sense, then, this is almost a post-Romantic novel. The world has been destroyed - oil pipes crack through the earth like tree roots but bring toxicity and death instead of air and life.
It’s devastating and it’s all true. Don’t shy away from it, though. We must be educated and we must do something about it. About all of it.
#oilonwater #helonhabila #nigerianliterature #book #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #booklover #bookrecommendations #bookreview #bookreviewer #bookrecommendation
Set in Nigeria, this book is about the pollution and corruption caused by the oil industry.
It is both eco-criticism and a coming of age story that reads - at times - like a thriller.
The pacing is just so that it’s difficult to put the book down. It goes from past to present with ease until the reader has the full picture of this desolate landscape that has been overrun by the oil industry, the military and the rebels.
The novel is told from the point of view of a young journalist who is trying to find the white kidnapped wife of a British oil engineer. That in itself tells you that white lives are worth more than black lives in this corrupt world, and that women are often no more than bargaining chips.
The real hideous beauty of this book comes from the theme of humans vs nature; a theme prevalent in a lot of Romantic poetry from the eighteenth and nineteenth century. Back when poets were afraid that industry was going to destroy nature. In a sense, then, this is almost a post-Romantic novel. The world has been destroyed - oil pipes crack through the earth like tree roots but bring toxicity and death instead of air and life.
It’s devastating and it’s all true. Don’t shy away from it, though. We must be educated and we must do something about it. About all of it.
#oilonwater #helonhabila #nigerianliterature #book #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #booklover #bookrecommendations #bookreview #bookreviewer #bookrecommendation
In "Oil on Water" by Helon Habila, which was published in 2010, we meet the young reporter Rufus. He tells the story how he and his burned-out colleague, the legendary reporter Zaq are on their way to find the perfect story - about Isabel Floode, the kidnapped wife of the british oil-operations manager James Floode.
On their way through the Niger-Delta they do not only encounter the military, but also the militants, who do not hesitate to sacrifice their lives for their self-declared "freedom-fight".
The polar opposite to this violence is the fictional island Irikefe, a place where peaceful worshippers live, who value nature and each other. The paradise that has been in the oil-polluted Niger-Delta, is still existing on Irikefe.
The novel adresses Nigeria's biggest problems: the environment-polluting Oil-industry and the fight between the government and the militants, who do not care if they kill or hurt innocent people. It is a warning and a scream for help at the same time. The novel is a mosaic of flashbacks and the things happening at the moment, which creates confusion and turbulence matching the one in the book.
Unfortunately this was a bit too confusion, so I could not really enjoy reading it. Also there was no "flow" in creating tension. There were some spikes which were thrilling but all in all it was a bit boring and unemotional.
To conclude, the book was okay, but I would not recommend reading it in school, as it was too complicated to follow the plot / story, which makes it a challenge to read (the story was really great tho).
2.5 stars.
Accidentally abandoned this book for over a month, it didn’t actually take me this long to read it! I thought the premise of this was intriguing but unfortunately it didn’t really grab me at all.
Accidentally abandoned this book for over a month, it didn’t actually take me this long to read it! I thought the premise of this was intriguing but unfortunately it didn’t really grab me at all.
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death
Moderate: Gun violence, Violence, Kidnapping
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
http://www.adventuresinneverneverland.com/2012/11/01/oil-on-water-book-review/
Meant to read this when it came out and finally caught up with it six years later. It's a bit of a slow burn, as a young Nigerian journalist and a salty veteran journalist are asked to help find the kidnapped wife of a British oil industry worker in the contested delta area. She's been missing for nine days and although there's been no ransom demands, it's assumed that rebel forces have her -- although no one seems to really have a good idea of how to contact the rebels. The two journalists decide to to the delta and go more or less upriver in an attempt to make contact.
If you're not aware of the long-running conflict in Nigeria's oil-rich delta region, their journey will give a sense of all the basics. The Nigerian government and military are cozy with international oil companies and lots of money is being made, while the people living in the area live amidst extreme environmental degradation (poisoned fish, heavily polluted air, etc.) and reap no benefit from the oil. As a result, rebel groups have emerged, ostensibly to redress the power imbalance, but definitely to get a slice of the oil wealth. As the journalists try and find the right rebel group and act as intermediaries for the woman's release, the story never veers into the melodramatic, and the reader emerges with a strong sense of the struggle of regular people to live normally in a corrupt state.
If you're not aware of the long-running conflict in Nigeria's oil-rich delta region, their journey will give a sense of all the basics. The Nigerian government and military are cozy with international oil companies and lots of money is being made, while the people living in the area live amidst extreme environmental degradation (poisoned fish, heavily polluted air, etc.) and reap no benefit from the oil. As a result, rebel groups have emerged, ostensibly to redress the power imbalance, but definitely to get a slice of the oil wealth. As the journalists try and find the right rebel group and act as intermediaries for the woman's release, the story never veers into the melodramatic, and the reader emerges with a strong sense of the struggle of regular people to live normally in a corrupt state.