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catdad77a45 's review for:
An Orchestra of Minorities
by Chigozie Obioma
As with his previous Booker shortlisted novel, [b:The Fishermen|22875103|The Fishermen|Chigozie Obioma|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1451434679l/22875103._SY75_.jpg|42439392], I can't really say I 'enjoyed' this, since like its predecessor, it is almost unrelentingly depressing, and (with the possible exception of [b:Les Misérables|24280|Les Misérables|Victor Hugo|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1411852091l/24280._SY75_.jpg|3208463]), I just don't LIKE books in which the protagonist is continuously hounded by horrible injustices. And although again there are some striking passages and some interesting cosmology about the Igbo religion, there is also a preponderance of vivid descriptions of bodily fluids and excretions that I could have done without.
But my main problem with the book is that it is just very slow going for the most part, and a judicious editor could have excised a good 100-150 pages, and made it a much better reading experience - too often superfluous details impeded the forward momentum of the main story. And when the narrative doesn't get bogged down in the irritatingly untranslated passages of African dialect and the minutiae of the religion, the story itself is both somewhat predictable and not terribly interesting. The blurb stating it is a modern twist on Homer also is a bit of a misnomer, in that only the final quarter really has much to do with the Odysseus/Penelope story, leading me to expect something entirely different.
That all said, I think it was worth reading in the long run, and I wouldn't be surprised to see it make the Booker shortlist also. There are some notable passages and images, even if some metaphors are hammered home a bit much.
My sincere thanks to Netgalley and Little Brown and Company for the eBook ARC in exchange for this honest review.
But my main problem with the book is that it is just very slow going for the most part, and a judicious editor could have excised a good 100-150 pages, and made it a much better reading experience - too often superfluous details impeded the forward momentum of the main story. And when the narrative doesn't get bogged down in the irritatingly untranslated passages of African dialect and the minutiae of the religion, the story itself is both somewhat predictable and not terribly interesting. The blurb stating it is a modern twist on Homer also is a bit of a misnomer, in that only the final quarter really has much to do with the Odysseus/Penelope story, leading me to expect something entirely different.
That all said, I think it was worth reading in the long run, and I wouldn't be surprised to see it make the Booker shortlist also. There are some notable passages and images, even if some metaphors are hammered home a bit much.
My sincere thanks to Netgalley and Little Brown and Company for the eBook ARC in exchange for this honest review.