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3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Thank you to Verve Books for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Against the backdrop of Lagos and its surrounding areas, everyday madness and monsters are explored across ten stories. Okonkwo dips into the lives of ordinary Nigerians and unravels the unspoken tensions and longings in families, friends, and marriages in these stories brimming with life.
Each story felt polished and finely crafted, subtle in the way it explored mundane madnesses — the niggling thoughts that torment us, the flippant things we say and then regret, the desires we leave unsaid — but eloquent.
One of my favourites was Animals, a story of how what's hidden can shape and haunt our relationships the most. It utilised multiple perspectives with unusual success for a short story, meaning the character voices felt so complex and strong. Another was Eden, where two siblings discover their father's highly inappropriate VHS tapes and a host of questions follow. I didn't expect something about p*rn to feel so emotional but it examined double standards, curiosity, and sibling loyalty with great delicacy.
Interestingly, the main impact of these stories for me often didn't come immediately after reading. Instead I was haunted for days after by the tiny humane moments within: a husband decides god will let his wife know he's sorry so he needn't show it himself, a young girl soothes her mentally ill mother and holds her frustration inside, a girl considers if she's tainted by badness. It can be difficult to achieve that emotional weight in a story collection but it abounds here: a testament to Okonkwo's talent, and the reason I'll read whatever she writes next.
Against the backdrop of Lagos and its surrounding areas, everyday madness and monsters are explored across ten stories. Okonkwo dips into the lives of ordinary Nigerians and unravels the unspoken tensions and longings in families, friends, and marriages in these stories brimming with life.
Each story felt polished and finely crafted, subtle in the way it explored mundane madnesses — the niggling thoughts that torment us, the flippant things we say and then regret, the desires we leave unsaid — but eloquent.
One of my favourites was Animals, a story of how what's hidden can shape and haunt our relationships the most. It utilised multiple perspectives with unusual success for a short story, meaning the character voices felt so complex and strong. Another was Eden, where two siblings discover their father's highly inappropriate VHS tapes and a host of questions follow. I didn't expect something about p*rn to feel so emotional but it examined double standards, curiosity, and sibling loyalty with great delicacy.
Interestingly, the main impact of these stories for me often didn't come immediately after reading. Instead I was haunted for days after by the tiny humane moments within: a husband decides god will let his wife know he's sorry so he needn't show it himself, a young girl soothes her mentally ill mother and holds her frustration inside, a girl considers if she's tainted by badness. It can be difficult to achieve that emotional weight in a story collection but it abounds here: a testament to Okonkwo's talent, and the reason I'll read whatever she writes next.
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I sometimes struggle to immerse myself in short story collections as I am much more familiar with longer forms of writing. Indeed, whilst I really enjoyed the first story, ‘Nwunye Belgium’, and felt connected to the characters, it felt like this could have been the beginning of a novel to fully explore the stigma surrounding mental illness within this community. However, I very quickly found the flow and rhythm of the book, and absolutely loved the writing style and narrative voices! In particular, my favourite stories include ‘Shadow’, which explores sibling (or in this case cousin) jealousy and baby loss from the perspective of an 8-10 year old child; ‘Animals’, which captures complex family dynamics and explores themes of shame and respect, masculinity, the bonds between humans and animals, and what it means to eat meat; ’Milk and Oil’, a very honest depiction of friendship in childhood, from the petty jealousies to the shame associated with being financially worse off; ‘The Girl Who Lied’, which explores the fast friendships between young girls, and the sense of co-dependency which soon develops; and ‘Burning’, a thought-provoking portrayal of mental illness being projected onto a child by her mother, and the mother’s attempts to cure her daughter through religious intervention. Throughout the book, it is clear that the author has carefully crafted the characters to ensure that they are believable and fully fleshed out. The themes of Nigerian identity, religion, family dynamics and, of course, madness are interwoven into each story and bind the collection together.
Rating: ★★★★
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Classism
Minor: Child abuse, Miscarriage, Police brutality
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Thank you Tin House for the gifted ARC book.
Set in Nigeria, the stories of A KIND OF MADNESS have a commonality of madness, though what that means varies -- literal madness, longing, shame, hunger, desire, fear, sadness, desperation. Okonkwo’s vivid writing explores these feelings within the context of familial conflict, expectation of community, and struggles to survive. Overall, the characters were compelling and a few are stuck in my mind. A couple stories didn’t feel as strong as the others, though nothing felt as if it was out of place. There was a sense of psychological horror at different points, causing me to feel some level of tension as I read. I really enjoyed this story collection and would recommend it to short story fans.
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Showcases an incredible and vital scope of characters, backgrounds and motivations, all set in the alive and omnipresent backdrop of Nigeria. Some of the stories were so quietly devastating, and I got completely drawn into each story, often disappointed when it ended. I am keen to read more from Okonkwo!
Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for an e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for an e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.
ARC gifted by the publisher
This searing collection tells the stories of madness—the literal type and those private feelings that drive one mad. From familial and societal expectations, the sense of not belonging in one's own family, teenage angst and jealousy, insatiable desire, and the hypocrisy of adults, Okonkwo deftly explores the multitudes of madness via 10 unique stories.
I adored the vivid writing in MADNESS, which, through sparse yet potent prose, provokes a profound sense of grief and helplessness. Each story shares a distinct angle of "madness," and I'm utterly impressed with this collection. My favs are:
• Shadow: a lonely boy finds solace in his childless aunt and plans his "adoption escape"
• Animal: a chasm splits a family in half after a police encounter
• Milk, Blood, Oil: a girl with sickle cell disease, her overprotective caretakers, and her friend who grows jealous of the special treatments
• Eden: two siblings discover their dad's porn video collection
• Burning: a mom takes her daughter to different local shamans to "treat her disease"
This searing collection tells the stories of madness—the literal type and those private feelings that drive one mad. From familial and societal expectations, the sense of not belonging in one's own family, teenage angst and jealousy, insatiable desire, and the hypocrisy of adults, Okonkwo deftly explores the multitudes of madness via 10 unique stories.
I adored the vivid writing in MADNESS, which, through sparse yet potent prose, provokes a profound sense of grief and helplessness. Each story shares a distinct angle of "madness," and I'm utterly impressed with this collection. My favs are:
• Shadow: a lonely boy finds solace in his childless aunt and plans his "adoption escape"
• Animal: a chasm splits a family in half after a police encounter
• Milk, Blood, Oil: a girl with sickle cell disease, her overprotective caretakers, and her friend who grows jealous of the special treatments
• Eden: two siblings discover their dad's porn video collection
• Burning: a mom takes her daughter to different local shamans to "treat her disease"
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated