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lethalballet's review
challenging
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
variousfictions's review
4.0
While working in a post office in the fictional city of Port Jumbo, Nigeria, Frank Jasper's commercially unsuccessful book, amounting to a run of just 50 copies, is plucked from obscurity by a visiting American, who encourages him to enrol in the William Blake programme for Emerging Writers in Boston, MA. What unfolds is a kind of hybrid campus/road novel that pokes fun at, and seriously challenges, the stereotypes created within Western academia. Stereotypes that only help perpetuate a neat, singular story of a continent and its people, and an expectation for 'ethnic writers' to conform to Western ideals of what constitutes post-colonial literature.
Frank Jasper is awkward in his new surroundings, unable to fit in with his fellow enrolees, particularly Barongo Akello Kabumba who plays up his Africanness, much to Frank's annoyance. Feeling like a literary imposter and unwilling to carry out the role required of him, Frank abandons the idea of the programme altogether (ultimately being kicked off for non-performance) to seek out experiences of the real America — an irony not lost on the reader — when a chance discovery sends him on a journey West.
Overall Seesaw is an incredibly enjoyable book that had me laughing on occasions, and at all times caring about its protagonist during their period of dislocation, self-discovery and reflection. Timothy Ogene's debut is engaging, satirical, smart, and in the end something quite touching and beautiful. I'm intrigued to see what he comes up with next.
Frank Jasper is awkward in his new surroundings, unable to fit in with his fellow enrolees, particularly Barongo Akello Kabumba who plays up his Africanness, much to Frank's annoyance. Feeling like a literary imposter and unwilling to carry out the role required of him, Frank abandons the idea of the programme altogether (ultimately being kicked off for non-performance) to seek out experiences of the real America — an irony not lost on the reader — when a chance discovery sends him on a journey West.
Overall Seesaw is an incredibly enjoyable book that had me laughing on occasions, and at all times caring about its protagonist during their period of dislocation, self-discovery and reflection. Timothy Ogene's debut is engaging, satirical, smart, and in the end something quite touching and beautiful. I'm intrigued to see what he comes up with next.
books4chess's review
3.0
"The thought of starving to death in the centre of America's corn belt amused me".
Timothy Ogene has written a glorious contemporary novel about a Nigerian author 'discovered' by an American woman who encourages him to apply for a writing fellowship in the USA. We follow the writer as he navigates a complicated relationship with the country, struggling to settle in and apply himself to his journey and restrained by the actions and overbearing actions of others.
The novel is gorgeously written with literary references and satire, as we observe the protagonist fight through expectations, stereotypes and carving out a place for himself in a society with little free space for growth. His sarcasm and unwillingness to follow the status quo see's him written off by colleagues and a parallel opposite to one of his African fellows, yet his ability to live in the moment and really see things for what they are allow the reader to question who the true 'loser' is.
The book something powerful, and could easily be dismissed at surface level. Readers should take the time to absorb the content and really consider the interactions. There were moments that left me uncomfortable, confused and downright amused. The lack of interest in engaging in Diaspora 'disputes' over jollof rice and the character's inability to mould into the expectations, contrasted with his grounded demeanour, open mindedness and better integrated experience says a lot. Further, I admired his ability to take his misfortune - if the reader chooses to view it that way - into a genuine opportunity.
This is certainly a novel I will return to and reread, because I don't imagine I caught everything first time.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.
Timothy Ogene has written a glorious contemporary novel about a Nigerian author 'discovered' by an American woman who encourages him to apply for a writing fellowship in the USA. We follow the writer as he navigates a complicated relationship with the country, struggling to settle in and apply himself to his journey and restrained by the actions and overbearing actions of others.
The novel is gorgeously written with literary references and satire, as we observe the protagonist fight through expectations, stereotypes and carving out a place for himself in a society with little free space for growth. His sarcasm and unwillingness to follow the status quo see's him written off by colleagues and a parallel opposite to one of his African fellows, yet his ability to live in the moment and really see things for what they are allow the reader to question who the true 'loser' is.
The book something powerful, and could easily be dismissed at surface level. Readers should take the time to absorb the content and really consider the interactions. There were moments that left me uncomfortable, confused and downright amused. The lack of interest in engaging in Diaspora 'disputes' over jollof rice and the character's inability to mould into the expectations, contrasted with his grounded demeanour, open mindedness and better integrated experience says a lot. Further, I admired his ability to take his misfortune - if the reader chooses to view it that way - into a genuine opportunity.
This is certainly a novel I will return to and reread, because I don't imagine I caught everything first time.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.
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