Reviews

Dark Neighbourhood by Vanessa Onwuemezi

Only show reviews with written explanations

lukuisa's review

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.5

”I dreamed of blood from then on. Oceans of blood, rains of blood. It wasn’t fearful dreaming but was painful and true, like the fact of death, living under the shadow of it, and now I had two shadows curled up on me like a shell hard and no give.”

Previously known for her poetry, Dark Neighbourhood (another beautiful Fitzcarraldo book) is Onwuemezi’s first short story collection. The stories are somewhat challenging to read, being quite experimental and surreal. It also takes a moment to get into their poetic rhythm – an element which comes first when she is writing, as Onwuemezi has said. To achieve the particular rhythm, she used extra gaps between the words signifying a longer pause than a normal comma. When you get used to the rhythm of her text, it feels brilliant.

The stories are dark and obscure. They have a nightmarish feeling to them, like when you have just woke up and can’t shake off the ominous feeling from the strange dream you had. The characters roam the depths of alienation and loss, they are lonely and desperate. Many of them live on the edge of society. Many of them grieve.

I loved especially the stories that left much unsaid and that left room for interpretation. I especially adored the last two stories. ‘Green Afternoon’ is about a man who finds a young man stabbed to death in his garden, and then attempts to find the killer to ask him “the right question”. The other one, ‘At the Heart of Things’ is about a woman who has hit her head and is having dreams or hallucinations of being underwater. In the depths and darkness of the waters she meets her various family members. A quote from the end of this story pretty much sums up the whole collection: “We are all alike in this strangeness.”

If you like to have a little challenge and love experimental writing, try these stories!