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kirstypotter's review against another edition
2.0
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.
ln2's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
km00's review
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism and Death
Moderate: Gun violence, Violence, and Kidnapping
henrietteolesen's review
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
3.5
purplemoonmyst's review against another edition
5.0
http://www.adventuresinneverneverland.com/2012/11/01/oil-on-water-book-review/
rosseroo's review
4.0
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.
muga's review
2.0
THING I LIKED ABOUT THIS BOOK
1. The writing was clear, precise and straight to the point. English isn't my first or even second language so I appreciate it when an author especially an African author isn't too invested in showing the readers that they know English.
THINGS I DID NOT LIKE
Everything else. First of all the story had a great start to it. Two reporters one young and the other past his prime are following a story about a white British woman kidnapped by oil militants in Nigeria I had high expectations. I don't know when this story changed into a looooong internal monologue of the narrators past and all the things that he had gone through in his hustle to became a reporter, don't get me wrong there is no problem with flashbacks when they are well done and actually progress the plot of the story.
The character were uninteresting and from some point on I totally forgot what the author was trying to say, the zigzag method of story telling did not help this story either.
Finally the ending was too rushed but even if the ending was done well would this book have been worth my while? I cannot say. Disappointing to say the least
1. The writing was clear, precise and straight to the point. English isn't my first or even second language so I appreciate it when an author especially an African author isn't too invested in showing the readers that they know English.
THINGS I DID NOT LIKE
Everything else. First of all the story had a great start to it. Two reporters one young and the other past his prime are following a story about a white British woman kidnapped by oil militants in Nigeria I had high expectations. I don't know when this story changed into a looooong internal monologue of the narrators past and all the things that he had gone through in his hustle to became a reporter, don't get me wrong there is no problem with flashbacks when they are well done and actually progress the plot of the story.
The character were uninteresting and from some point on I totally forgot what the author was trying to say, the zigzag method of story telling did not help this story either.
Finally the ending was too rushed but even if the ending was done well would this book have been worth my while? I cannot say. Disappointing to say the least
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