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A review by dliterate
Vagabonds! by Eloghosa Osunde
3.0
I enjoyed the magical realism (and light smattering of sci-fi?) of Vagabonds!, and think that it served the exploration of more realistic themes (of socioeconomic inequality, queerphobia, sexism, etc.) well. I actually think I'd really enjoy this as a Black Mirror-esque TV show, with each episode zooming in on an aspect of this fantastical version of Nigeria.
In its current format as a novel, though? I have to admit, I struggled a bit.
I would have liked a bit more structure to the whole thing, with more of a follow-through than the broad theme of vagabonds being society's outsiders. Why or how did these fantastical elements come to be? Is this a worldwide phenomenon, or something specific to Nigeria? Does everyone know about what's going on, or is this something hidden from the majority of people? I would have loved some world building to address these questions. Doing so would have done a lot to bring this together as a novel rather than a collection of short stories.
As for the stories themselves: I liked more than I disliked. There was an interesting array of ideas on display, and I'd be interested in seeing more of this world - as long as it was actually presented as part of a world, and not just a collection of disconnected short stories.
In its current format as a novel, though? I have to admit, I struggled a bit.
I would have liked a bit more structure to the whole thing, with more of a follow-through than the broad theme of vagabonds being society's outsiders. Why or how did these fantastical elements come to be? Is this a worldwide phenomenon, or something specific to Nigeria? Does everyone know about what's going on, or is this something hidden from the majority of people? I would have loved some world building to address these questions. Doing so would have done a lot to bring this together as a novel rather than a collection of short stories.
As for the stories themselves: I liked more than I disliked. There was an interesting array of ideas on display, and I'd be interested in seeing more of this world - as long as it was actually presented as part of a world, and not just a collection of disconnected short stories.