A haunting debut novel

As you know, I’m still reading books by authors from other countries as a means of enriching my curriculum. While my reading list is already set for this fall’s literature course, I am obviously building materials for future courses. On one of our weekly library trips, The Chancellor scouted this novel out. Correction: that would be a bi-weekly trip. Teachers on summer vacation get WILD. Anyway, this sounded really interesting, so I decided to check it out, hoping it wouldn’t disappoint me the way The Fishermen did.

Chigozie Obioma’s debut novel tells the story of four brothers who embark on a role-playing adventure, becoming fishermen, when their father takes a job in a far-off city and begins building a separate existence. Their delight in this forbidden venture sours when they encounter a madman on their way back from the river. This man, naked and unbathed, predicts that the oldest brother will be killed by one of his own siblings. And from there, the novel hinges on the fear of this prophecy’s fulfillment, coupled with the pangs of adolescence. The brothers cannot predict the violent and devastating turn their lives will take in the years to come.

I found this book to be a slow start, but became utterly engrossed as the novel progressed. Obioma is a talented young writer, with a lot of potential for a brilliant career. I thought the allusion to Macbeth via the madman’s prediction gave the idea of fate and destiny relevance for our world. I will be interested to see where Obioma’s next novels take him.