Reviews

Vagabonds! by Eloghosa Osunde

fjcookie's review

challenging hopeful mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

pan23's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

Not my typical choice - brutally passionate, halfway between hopelessness and hope. 

booksunravel's review against another edition

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

ngozitodavid's review against another edition

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

hbcbray's review against another edition

1.0

Not for me ... quite a way in this doesn't seem to be going anywhere.

kristinajoy07's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

shirecrow's review

3.0

At times, you yourself are too guilty to be the narrator. So, you make way. You must make way.

One day I will accept that I am not a short story reader 

whatadutchgirlreads's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful mysterious sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

seeceeread's review against another edition

4.5

There are cracks in power that can be crawled through. And if there's anything that vagabonds know how to do, it's to grow in the cracks, to grow tall and thick as unfellable trees.

A mother defiantly accepts her daughter, as well as her new name. A gaggle of friends take gigs to perform conversions in church. A fallen angel explains Lagos' greedy spirit. A dressmaker increases the glamour of her city, on demand. A two-faced politician's robot lovers annihilate him.

Osunde's sentences sparkle. Her characters surprise. Her dark honesty about Nigeria rivals Wole Soyinka's. I loved the spiraling construction of the first half, where plot and theme insights flash like fireflies amid the nightness of the setting. I enjoyed the genre dancing, too – the author takes us through a playlist of horror, magical realism, lit fic, satire ... as a set of collected short stories until the end. While the second part of the book felt a tad more didactic, with repeated references to the national law against "indecent dressing," the final chapter, in which all the parts collide for a reckoning, was truly wild. The book's construction is much more interesting in light of the final chapter's sections.

Wow wow wow, a debut!

jessskelton's review against another edition

hopeful mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0