A review by jimbowen0306
The Famished Road by Ben Okri

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.