A review by passionyoungwrites
The Fishermen by Chigozie Obioma

adventurous challenging mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

“The eye that mocks a father, that scorns an aged mother, will be pecked out by the ravens of the valley, will be eaten by the vultures.”

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Imagine this. You, your brothers and a few friends venture to a forbidden river to fish. Many times you go, and always without your parents knowledge or permission. This one time you see the madman - the one who’s labeled as crazy but also known to give prophecies that have proven to be true. He gives a prophecy to your oldest brother, and telling him that he will be killed by a “fishermen”. You and your brother call yourself “fishermen”

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I really didn’t know what to expect within this novel. Honestly after the first crazy incident I was worried with what all would happen next because the main part was only halfway through.

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For me, the wildest part was that the mother of these boys had to do it alone for some time. And besides these four older boys, she had two younger children to care for. I really feel that in raising children, family structure is important, but with jobs and things - what’s important doesn’t always work out as it should. All of this happened because these boys didn’t listen. 

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The author gives euphemisms to describe the characters in relation to animalistic traits wowed me. And for this to be a Cane and Able - type story, it went to well beyond my expectations. 

The biggest lesson here is that when parenting children, one must remember that it’s the decisions they make that will ultimately decide their fate. 

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The Fishermen dives into the politics, economy, and religious beliefs of this family. All of which play a part into the destiny of this one family. 



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