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4.13 AVERAGE
4.13 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
fast-paced
dark
emotional
sad
tense
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
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
I tend to read short story collections pretty slowly: I like to pause after each story and mull it over for a bit before moving on. When I’m reflecting on it, the first question I ask myself is always “Did I like that story?” It should be a yes or no answer, and yet midway through Ghostroots I found myself writing “I don’t know if ‘like’ is the appropriate word to use for this story.” Enjoyment is perhaps the wrong angle to approach a story that has left me feeling trapped and wondering if I’ll have nightmares when I turn out the light. Even when Aguda’s stories aren’t explicitly horror, they tend towards the horrific: it’s not hard to clock that nothing good is going to happen to that pet dog, or that a teenage girl’s relationship with her uncle won’t remain strictly paternal. Hell, even if it did stay paternal, that would be bad enough: parental love in Ghostroots is a twisted thing, a burden and a prison for parent and child, the suffering it causes only rivaled by the loneliness of the characters who have broken free of it. Did I like it? Nah dude, it bummed me out! Is it good? Oh, absolutely, in no small part because Aguda is a heck of a writer. While her range of topics is pretty narrow here, her presentation is so varied, from folktale to stream-of-consciousness and plenty in between, hopping about between tenses and voices with ease. And while the stories are upsetting, she (generally) inflicts pain with a precise, practiced turn of the screw - it’s a far cry from the numbing torrent of "misery porn." I was really impressed! Definitely going to pick up her debut novel next year when I am ready to be hurt again.
Favorite story: “The Wonders of the World”
Favorite story: “The Wonders of the World”
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
fast-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
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Dark literary fiction with speculative elements that may appeal to readers of horror and dark fantasy.
Really strong collection set in Lagos. Elements of the city, ordinary, supernatural and the weird come together. Some stories will stay with you long after.