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kingabee's review against another edition
4.0
This book almost broke me and ate me.
I went to bed after reading the first twenty pages of it and I dreamt about chasing an antelope with a broken horn which jumped out the window. I, in turn, was being chased by a wild boar covered in blood which spoke in a human voice. There was also a flying carpet.
I don't really like magical realism but this book didn't care. I was gonna have it whether I liked it or not. It swept me away before I knew it. By the end of it I would read about a man who slept for two months and not bat an eye. Only a little later I would think: wait a minute, people can't sleep for two months straight! That's not possible, they have to eat and stuff!
As any other book of magical realism "The Famished Road" is elliptical. The characters go through a never-ending cycles of death and rebirth. It suits so well the postcolonial literature of Africa and Latin America because it represents the hopelessness and desperation of poverty and mirrors the situation of these fairly new countries that always seem to be going back to square one. It's a never-ending struggle of the same eternal forces that always seems to end in a draw.
This is really the story that Azaro, the so called 'spirit child' tells us. He is a child who doesn't want to stay on this Earth and longs for death. He constantly fights the desire to join his companions from the spirit world. It's only the love of his mother that keeps him fighting back this temptation. It takes him about 500 pages to finally develop a hunger for life even in this miserable postcolonial reality.
The book is full of symbolism as you would expect but there is also a lot of humour, some political satire and vibrant characters like the powerful bar owner Madame Koto.
It's beautifully written and it is hypnotic. It is also heart-breaking and devastating. And yes, it could be easily at least 200 pages shorter, but I enjoyed reading it even if it left me drained and hallucinating. I wanted it to end and I didn't want it to end.
I realise it is a love it or hate it kind of book and frankly I don't mind if you hate it. I feel very possessive and jealous about it.
The only reason I haven't given it five stars is because I don't see myself rereading it. It would probably drive me mad.
I went to bed after reading the first twenty pages of it and I dreamt about chasing an antelope with a broken horn which jumped out the window. I, in turn, was being chased by a wild boar covered in blood which spoke in a human voice. There was also a flying carpet.
I don't really like magical realism but this book didn't care. I was gonna have it whether I liked it or not. It swept me away before I knew it. By the end of it I would read about a man who slept for two months and not bat an eye. Only a little later I would think: wait a minute, people can't sleep for two months straight! That's not possible, they have to eat and stuff!
As any other book of magical realism "The Famished Road" is elliptical. The characters go through a never-ending cycles of death and rebirth. It suits so well the postcolonial literature of Africa and Latin America because it represents the hopelessness and desperation of poverty and mirrors the situation of these fairly new countries that always seem to be going back to square one. It's a never-ending struggle of the same eternal forces that always seems to end in a draw.
This is really the story that Azaro, the so called 'spirit child' tells us. He is a child who doesn't want to stay on this Earth and longs for death. He constantly fights the desire to join his companions from the spirit world. It's only the love of his mother that keeps him fighting back this temptation. It takes him about 500 pages to finally develop a hunger for life even in this miserable postcolonial reality.
The book is full of symbolism as you would expect but there is also a lot of humour, some political satire and vibrant characters like the powerful bar owner Madame Koto.
It's beautifully written and it is hypnotic. It is also heart-breaking and devastating. And yes, it could be easily at least 200 pages shorter, but I enjoyed reading it even if it left me drained and hallucinating. I wanted it to end and I didn't want it to end.
I realise it is a love it or hate it kind of book and frankly I don't mind if you hate it. I feel very possessive and jealous about it.
The only reason I haven't given it five stars is because I don't see myself rereading it. It would probably drive me mad.
dukegregory's review
4.0
Totally breaks open the novel as a form and decimates any conception of the form as inherently "Western" (stupid term that we need to do away with) and reminds you how insanely imagistic and colorful and alive prose can be, even if that means that Okri forfeits plot entirely and a bit of character depth in the process. Like Murakami's novels, I will remember this fondly, but I'll probably remember a few wisps of lasting images that Okri's metaphors conjured in my mind rather than anything more concrete. But that's fine. I consistently enjoyed this (although it 100% could've been edited down, bu that's neither here nor there). Cool that this won the Booker. It feels totally sui generis, and, because of that, is a tad challenging to be expected to win prizes, let alone the largest in the UK. It also took my mind off of my impending thesis deadlines while reading. A blessing. Good vibes all around.
marcymurli's review against another edition
3.0
The prose in Okri's novel is lyrical and powerful, especially in its magical moments. I really enjoyed the magical realist elements of the novel, but the primary story, when its not set in the spirit world, drags a bit and can be somewhat repetitive. Overall, the novel is a good, but not what I hoped it would be.
groovygherkin's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
jimbowen0306's review against another edition
2.0
I’m a fan of biographies, and some genre fiction. This isn’t genre fiction. If it is, the closest genre is magical realism. Consequently, I’m not sure I liked this book.
This book follows what happens to a poor African family from an un-named (probably) British colony, in the run up to independence. To add another strand to the mix, the son (and only child, is an ability (or sprite), who can see beyond the human realm (which is where the magical part of the magical realism comes in).
I’m not going to lie. I found the story dull. I really couldn’t get invested in the characters. I finished it, but damn it was hard work.
This book follows what happens to a poor African family from an un-named (probably) British colony, in the run up to independence. To add another strand to the mix, the son (and only child, is an ability (or sprite), who can see beyond the human realm (which is where the magical part of the magical realism comes in).
I’m not going to lie. I found the story dull. I really couldn’t get invested in the characters. I finished it, but damn it was hard work.
nerdybookies's review
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
3.25
Does important work, rich in motifs etc., but incredibly repetitive. Also, hypermasculinity as one of the main tropes - not a fan.
paola_mobileread's review against another edition
4.0
I read it several years ago, and at the time I did enjoy it a lot - but today I would not pick it up again. Mind you, the prose is beautiful, the story engaging, but I had my fill of magical realism in my younger years, and I am now getting some form of allergic reaction. If you do not have qualms with the genre, then go for it, because it is among the "best in class", but don't touch it if you think you've explored enough titles in this type of fiction.
sidharthvardhan's review against another edition
2.0
How will you create a 'Midnight's Children' for a nation where there is political stability and which continues to born and reborn again (unlike Saleem Shinai who at least was born along with the nation)? You create spirit child - a creature born as human though it didnt want to or expected to. And thus it struggles with the connection it still has with the unliving. So far, so good.
The problem is that the book itself struggles with birth and rebirth. It seems like a bird who repeatedly takes flight only to come back to ground a few steps ahead. People often talk about feeling when book is about to end or has just ended; but there are two other stages. There is a sort of curiosity one feels when begining of the book, the uncertainty whether it is your thing or not; the eagerness to find footing in it. It is a good feeling but it must soon give into that other feeling you get when you know you are well set in your conversation with the book. This book won't let you settle (and unlike 'If on a winter's night a traveler', here it wasn't an enjoyable experience.
And Marvelous realism - whether it is magical or mythical, is normally my kink. But in here, it is like you do foreplay repeatedly without it ever going to more inteesting things, leave alone orgasm.
The problem is that the book itself struggles with birth and rebirth. It seems like a bird who repeatedly takes flight only to come back to ground a few steps ahead. People often talk about feeling when book is about to end or has just ended; but there are two other stages. There is a sort of curiosity one feels when begining of the book, the uncertainty whether it is your thing or not; the eagerness to find footing in it. It is a good feeling but it must soon give into that other feeling you get when you know you are well set in your conversation with the book. This book won't let you settle (and unlike 'If on a winter's night a traveler', here it wasn't an enjoyable experience.
And Marvelous realism - whether it is magical or mythical, is normally my kink. But in here, it is like you do foreplay repeatedly without it ever going to more inteesting things, leave alone orgasm.
whynotcherries's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
lelia_t's review against another edition
4.0
I was thrown off by this book at first because I was waiting for a plot line to emerge. It’s more like a recurring chaos of fights, carnival, and forays into a transrational realm. But then I realized that if we’re looking at life through the wide-open eyes of a spirit child, that’s what we should expect to see. Azaro isn’t labeling and categorizing, so the reader has to simply accept at face value that the misshapen beggars are allies (maybe), threats (maybe), spirits (maybe) and Madame Koto is a fecund goddess and death bringer (maybe?). Azaro is a reluctant sojourner on earth, but he’s learning to embrace "the earth's life and contradictions." He’s not searching for answers, but witnessing the mystery, so we aren’t really going - or arriving - anywhere in particular, yet it’s a beautiful, life-affirming story.