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3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This collection of short stories was incredible and immersive to read, drawing me into these stories within the first page or two. They felt exploratory and dark, examining childhood and growing out of it in an extremely raw and vulnerable tone.
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-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
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Suicide attempt
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
medium-paced
emotional
mysterious
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
This book pulled me out of my reading slump! A Kind Of Madness by Uche Okonkwo is a story collection set in Nigeria, focusing on “madness” in the complex ways it appears across characters and their experiences. Some stories are more direct, like the first story where rumors of family history break down a young girl daughter’s social prospects. In other stories, it is in the layered and sometimes secret motivations of the characters—-rooted in shame, trauma, jealousy, and difference. And embedded in each story is a sense of pride, or negotiation of how to maintain pride (personal, familial).
Okonkwo gives us fully developed people and relationships in just a handful of pages; I haven’t read stories that felt so complete in a long time.
Okonkwo gives us fully developed people and relationships in just a handful of pages; I haven’t read stories that felt so complete in a long time.
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
This debut collection was a vibrant one that took place in modern-day Nigeria. I really appreciated that Okonkwo gave the reader a close look into contemporary Nigerian culture through various characters and their respective relationships. While this may sound like other contemporary works by Nigerian authors, I felt that Okonkwo had her own spin to these stories through a slow unveiling of the layers of madness in each story. And madness is not so much clinical as it is these characters spiraling into emotional turmoil, often due to cultural implications. In other words, these characters are “losing it,” but they do so slowly yet steadily, ranging from missteps that snowball to quiet acts of desperation that lead them to their breaking point.
Like most (if not all) short story collections, I thought some stories were more impactful than others, but overall, I felt that this was a strong debut with immersive stories. I look forward to what Okonkwo will write in the future.
Many thanks to the publisher for sending me an ARC.
Many thanks to the publisher for sending me an ARC.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Violence, Classism
Moderate: Animal death, Chronic illness, Death, Grief, Abandonment
Minor: Homophobia, Miscarriage