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tahanistip 's review for:
An Orchestra of Minorities
by Chigozie Obioma
medium-paced
It took me forever to read this book. Partly this is because I am out of the habit of reading. Partly this is because it is definitely not an easy read, page-turning-because-you-want-to-find-out-what-happens kind of book. And partly this is because the constant going-on of the chi (hero's spirit) to his superiors about his advocating efforts makes you realize things are not going to go well and dread the future pages.
I confess that I am not a careful reader at the best of times. I wish I could slow down, but I am in the habit of a lifetime of inhaling sentences rather than hearing them in my head. And I definitely didn't read very carefully the bits where the chi goes to spirit places and has lots of lovely descriptions of places and side stories/parables.
For me -- as a US American who hasn't traveled much after the age of 10 -- novels like this are a window into another culture. Americanah -- which I loved -- was like that for the Nigerian bits. It's been a while but what I remember was the hustling, or the need for that. Hustling has never been necessary for me (as a reasonably privileged American). This book was different, but also interesting -- the casual references to political activism, or to the power going off constantly, or to the use of English vs. Igbo -- many many small things.
The hero is a simple, unsophisticated guy. My impression at the end was that the author had managed that very very well. You feel his feelings -- mostly pain -- very effectively, but he is not really capable of expressing himself in words or ideas -- he works more through actions. It's interesting to hear his letter, which is so inadequate to what he has been through, toward the end. And little things like his not knowing what Facebook is. And there's an interesting and sometimes jarring juxtaposition of big pain and emotion and little details like tissues to wipe up after sex.
Anyway in the end well worth reading. In this case I would say the reader was not quite up to the book, and so could never do it justice in a review. But I'm trying to write things anyway, following the example of my dear brother.
I confess that I am not a careful reader at the best of times. I wish I could slow down, but I am in the habit of a lifetime of inhaling sentences rather than hearing them in my head. And I definitely didn't read very carefully the bits where the chi goes to spirit places and has lots of lovely descriptions of places and side stories/parables.
For me -- as a US American who hasn't traveled much after the age of 10 -- novels like this are a window into another culture. Americanah -- which I loved -- was like that for the Nigerian bits. It's been a while but what I remember was the hustling, or the need for that. Hustling has never been necessary for me (as a reasonably privileged American). This book was different, but also interesting -- the casual references to political activism, or to the power going off constantly, or to the use of English vs. Igbo -- many many small things.
The hero is a simple, unsophisticated guy. My impression at the end was that the author had managed that very very well. You feel his feelings -- mostly pain -- very effectively, but he is not really capable of expressing himself in words or ideas -- he works more through actions. It's interesting to hear his letter, which is so inadequate to what he has been through, toward the end. And little things like his not knowing what Facebook is. And there's an interesting and sometimes jarring juxtaposition of big pain and emotion and little details like tissues to wipe up after sex.
Anyway in the end well worth reading. In this case I would say the reader was not quite up to the book, and so could never do it justice in a review. But I'm trying to write things anyway, following the example of my dear brother.