Welcome to Litsy!

What a charming coming of age story. So many intriguing characters and a wonderful insight is modern Nigeria. So many out there book down and reflect moments

^^p 193, African Kafka, permutations

P141 “The relationship is doomed from Day Zero because, for example, where would the wedding take place? Would the children become Muslim Christians, or Christian Muslims, Northern Southerners or Southern Northerners?”

P98 “Singing and dancing and laughing are our attempts to force forgetfulness on ourselves. To ignore the Horror. To own the happiness we can never afford. And, sometimes, it works.”

Kontagora, Nigeria. Bottled up 15-yr-old Andy Africa is torn between EiQUEEN (blonde Brit Eileen) & brilliant classmate Fatima. Eileen=the exotic platinum goddess, Fatima=the familiar friend whose Muslim faith creates friction w/ Andy‘s Christian community. Andy mourns the brother he never met, the father he doesn‘t know, his broken mother. Anifuturism. Sci-fi & simulations. Riots. Religious intolerance. Math & poetry. HXVX is now in charge. 2022

I was very excited to read this. The writing was beautiful and lyrical with themes of culture, family, social issues, religion, and Nigerian politics. However, the storytelling is bland, the characters uninteresting, and the ethnic fetishization noted turned me off immediately. Can't recommend.