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notoriousmle's review
challenging
funny
hopeful
mysterious
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
kaylee_kdc's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
misspalah's review
4.0
Kayo leaned forward now, closing the distance between himself and the hunter. His mind was racing. 'So, the story you just told us. Is it true? Is that the story of Kofi Atta?' The hunter sighed. 'That may be your story. I am not the one to tell you what is true. I am telling you a story. On this earth, we have to choose the story we tell, because it affects us - it affects how we live.
- Nii Ayikwei Parkes, Tail of the Blue Bird
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The story is a bit difficult to get into : I was flipping through the pages waiting for that moment to happen. It did happen but after 30 pages. Considering this is is a short book, having to endure 30 pages of ‘where’s the excitement’ really is a torture. I am glad the story is exciting afterwards and has many thrills added to it slowly, bit by bit, so the readers could keep guessing what happened in the end, whose remains was it in Kofi Atta’s Hut, how does both a forensic pathologist named Kayo and Constable Garba solved the case. Shoutout to the Author whom i can tell remain unapologetically Ghanaian with all the slangs and dialects spoken among the characters that are part of the book. The vivid and poetic description of Ghana did bring readers into the world of Kayo and Opanyin Poku. When i found out that Author is poet , No wonder i was in awe while reading the book the whole time. The narrative of the story was shifted between 2 characters, Kayo who is an outsider who lives in the Accra city and came to the village in Sonokram to investigate the case and another one is Opanyin Poku, one of the respected elders that live in the village which through him, the readers see the perspective of insider.
.
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Along the way while Kayo and Garba are investigating the remains, they has adapted to the village life. They mingled with th villagers ; having lunch and drinking palm wine together. One of the villagers , Hunter decided to share the story about Kwaku Ananse. I got to be honest that i was more invested with this story compared to what Kayo and Garba has been doing to complete their task. How the book ended is something i should not be revealed in my review but know this, there’s a connection why Kwaku Ananse story is being told to Kayo and Garbo by the hunter. Overall, this is an enjoyable reading. A bit short and brief but it was well written. You will see few social commentary throughout your reading on cronyism, bureaucracy , ancient tribal codes and clashes between modernization value and the spirits of the ancenstors worshipping practice.
- Nii Ayikwei Parkes, Tail of the Blue Bird
.
.
The story is a bit difficult to get into : I was flipping through the pages waiting for that moment to happen. It did happen but after 30 pages. Considering this is is a short book, having to endure 30 pages of ‘where’s the excitement’ really is a torture. I am glad the story is exciting afterwards and has many thrills added to it slowly, bit by bit, so the readers could keep guessing what happened in the end, whose remains was it in Kofi Atta’s Hut, how does both a forensic pathologist named Kayo and Constable Garba solved the case. Shoutout to the Author whom i can tell remain unapologetically Ghanaian with all the slangs and dialects spoken among the characters that are part of the book. The vivid and poetic description of Ghana did bring readers into the world of Kayo and Opanyin Poku. When i found out that Author is poet , No wonder i was in awe while reading the book the whole time. The narrative of the story was shifted between 2 characters, Kayo who is an outsider who lives in the Accra city and came to the village in Sonokram to investigate the case and another one is Opanyin Poku, one of the respected elders that live in the village which through him, the readers see the perspective of insider.
.
.
Along the way while Kayo and Garba are investigating the remains, they has adapted to the village life. They mingled with th villagers ; having lunch and drinking palm wine together. One of the villagers , Hunter decided to share the story about Kwaku Ananse. I got to be honest that i was more invested with this story compared to what Kayo and Garba has been doing to complete their task. How the book ended is something i should not be revealed in my review but know this, there’s a connection why Kwaku Ananse story is being told to Kayo and Garbo by the hunter. Overall, this is an enjoyable reading. A bit short and brief but it was well written. You will see few social commentary throughout your reading on cronyism, bureaucracy , ancient tribal codes and clashes between modernization value and the spirits of the ancenstors worshipping practice.
eliendriel's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
fast-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? Yes
4.75
jendella's review
4.0
Set in Ghana in the early 2000s, I think this story falls under the realm of ‘African Noir’, a genre that I really enjoy. When mysterious remains are found in a small village in rural Ghana, Kayo, an English-educated – forensic pathologist, is called to the scene to investigate. This book is as much about the clash of Western modernity and traditional African ways as it is a “whodunnit”. The story is written in English but I like the way that Twi nouns and West African Pidgin dialogue sit within the text unexplained. It’s actually English words like “police”, “pathologist”, “government” and “radio” are italicised, particularly when elders from the village are talking. I think this would be an excellent text for literature students to dissect, thinking about the possibilities of post colonial literature. But also, it’s just a good read!
stacialithub's review against another edition
5.0
I really loved this one. It's a criminal procedural type novel set in Ghana & does a great job of mixing modern-day police work & forensics w/ the older village traditions in Ghana. There is a mix of dialects so it takes a little bit of feeling to get into the cadence & rhythm of the storytelling (& there is apparently an online glossary available but I preferred to sink into the story & just go w/ the flow w/out stopping to look up the words), but it's really lovely once you find the rhythm.
I've made a concerted effort to read more African works over the last two-three years & I would rank this among some of the best I've read so far. Highly recommended. 4.5 stars.
I've made a concerted effort to read more African works over the last two-three years & I would rank this among some of the best I've read so far. Highly recommended. 4.5 stars.
kelic's review
2.0
Synopsis- Sonokrom, a village in the Ghanaian hinterland, has not changed for thousands of years. Here, the men and women speak the language of the forest, drink aphrodisiacs with their palm wine and walk alongside the spirits of their ancestors. The discovery of sinister remains; possibly human, definitely 'evil'; in a vanished man's hut brings the modern world into the village in the form of Kayo; a young forensic pathologist convinced that scientific logic can shatter even the most inexplicable of mysteries.
But as events in the village become more and more incomprehensible, Kayo and his sidekick, Constable Garba, find that Western logic and political bureaucracy are no longer equal to the task in hand. Strange boys wandering in the forest, ghostly music in the night and a flock of birds that come from far away to fill the desolate hut with discarded feathers take the newcomers into a world where, in the unknown, they discover a higher truth that leaves scientific explanations far behind.
Tail of the Bluebird is a story of the mystical heart of Africa, of the clash and clasp between old and new worlds. Lyrically beautiful, at once uncanny and heart-warmingly human, this is a story that tells us that at the heart of modern man there remains the capacity to know the unknowable.
Review- After the first few pages I realised that I'd already read this. Instead of thinking about the fact that I couldn't remember it and maybe there was a reason for that I carried on.
But as events in the village become more and more incomprehensible, Kayo and his sidekick, Constable Garba, find that Western logic and political bureaucracy are no longer equal to the task in hand. Strange boys wandering in the forest, ghostly music in the night and a flock of birds that come from far away to fill the desolate hut with discarded feathers take the newcomers into a world where, in the unknown, they discover a higher truth that leaves scientific explanations far behind.
Tail of the Bluebird is a story of the mystical heart of Africa, of the clash and clasp between old and new worlds. Lyrically beautiful, at once uncanny and heart-warmingly human, this is a story that tells us that at the heart of modern man there remains the capacity to know the unknowable.
Review- After the first few pages I realised that I'd already read this. Instead of thinking about the fact that I couldn't remember it and maybe there was a reason for that I carried on.
mitchie100's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-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? No
3.75