4.5 stars. Started out pretty good and got better and better until I couldn't put it down. ( )

An absolutely gut-wrenching, sob inducing book, but it ended on a hopeful note. It was a wrecking ball, filled with biblical allusions, nods to Chinua Achebe, undercurrents of Nigerian politics, but mostly with rich and vibrant descriptions of the day to day lives of a group of brothers. The boys' lives are dictated by their serious, stern father, who wants them all to be successful professionals when they are older, and they also have to live under the constraints of their society and country, which experiences a bloody coup, which is symbolic of what happens to the boys in this book. The boys decide to become fisherman, much to the consternation of their parents, who have much grander visions of who they should be, they have a run-in with a local mad-man, who prophecies that the eldest brother will be murdered by one of his brothers. He takes this to heart, and walls himself off from his brothers, using derision and obstinacy as his weapons, which confuse and hurt his brothers. The prophecy from the madman becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy for these brothers, and their lives are ruined or destroyed by what occurs. It was written sparsely, but the structure was a bit odd. We are treated many times to what the protagonist, Ben, imagines might have occurred, as well as to scenes of importance being skipped or told out of order as Ben recalls events. It created a strange flow to the story, with a feeling of everything being upended at times, which worked well to mirror the events that occurred in the book. It ended on a hopeful note however. I can definitely see how this won the Man Booker prize. ( )

The Fishermen is the story of four boys growing up in the city of Akure, in Nigeria. Their father is absent, working elsewhere in a distant bank job, and their mother struggles to look after them. These tearaways take up fishing in the local river on the sly; something they know their parents disapprove of.

After one fishing trip the oldest boy, Ikenna, is cursed by the local madman. He is told that he will be killed by a fisherman and die a horrible death. Ikenna becomes haunted by this curse and starts to become sullen, combative and withdrawn. The rest of the novel recounts the far-reaching impacts that the curse has on Ikenna and the rest of the family.

As I started reading this book, I thought it was just going to be another coming-of-age story, but the device of the curse, and the cultural setting that makes it seem so immediate, sets this book apart. I still think that it doesn't quite hit the mark though. The narration is a little formulaic and circumlocutory, which I suspect is a product of the author's culture, however it still means that the plot develops in a confused manner and sometimes major plot developments are merely hinted at. I also found the ending just a bit too hard to believe, as the lead-up suggests that it was not possible, and it was also a bit too sentimental for me. ( )

Story of four brothers living in Nigeria in 1996 to the early 2000s. They fish in a forbidden river, where they meet the local man who is said to be possessed by a demon. He gives them a grim prophesy and foretells death. It contains elements of Nigerian folklore and is representative of this period in Nigeria’s history. It is a tragedy that contains one brutal episode after the next, including children being beaten, rapes, and murders. All this is described in gruesome detail. I found it very creative, but I am not a person that can handle this type of disturbing content, so clearly it is not a book for me. I think it is important to understand world history, but I prefer non-fiction rather than these types of relentlessly bleak narratives. ( )

I quite enjoy Chigozie Obioma's writing. It seems so simple, almost simplistic, but there is such depth to his characters and the events that go on around them, to them and by them. This is essentially a story how a foretold event is brought about because the event that was foretold and then the downward spiral of consequences after that event. A fascinating book. I do have to say I liked his second book, An Orchestra of Minorities, a bit more; which is probably a good thing, he's gaining experience as a writer. I can't wait for his next book. ( )