A book that deserves wide readership. A novel by a Nigerian writer of the life of a young man, a muslim, born into typical rural poverty in the north of the country. Lack of money, opportunity and education sends him away from home at a young age to a traditional religious school. The straightforward timeline of a plot follows him from street crime to trusted administrator and fixer at a mosque in Sokoto. Along the way his experience mirrors recent political events in Nigeria with the growth and threat of Boko Haram, though the movement is never named as such by the author. To a non Nigerian, non Muslim everyday life is used to illustrate the bigger picture. A well told story with great relevance. The author is not a stylist by any means and lets his imagination flow only intermittently especially during a passage on detention and torture, all too routine, in police cells. ( )

Dantala Ahmad (aka “Born on a Tuesday”) is the protagonist and narrator of Elnathan John’s coming-of-age novel set in Northern Nigeria during the early years of the 21st Century. Dentala is likeable and articulate. Despite being quite naïve, he is intelligent and eager to learn about his society and the wider world. John effectively evokes Dentala’s personality with a series of journal entries that he writes in longhand, defining English words and asking questions about society and his place in it. Moreover, John gives us a well-balanced view of a people, struggling with religious and political unrest while also evoking the humanity of many of his characters.

Dentala is what is known in Nigeria as an almajiri, a young man who is sent away from home to study Islam. After completing his studies, he does not have the means to return to his home village. Instead he is recruited into political activism that results in an unfortunate violent incident. He is forced to flee to Sokoto, a neighboring city, where a local imam, Sheikh Jamal, begins to mentor him. In addition to his indoctrination to Islam, Dentala also finds friendship, explores sex and finds romance.

At its core, the novel represents a critique of violent Islamic fundamentalism. Hypocrisy and corruption are prevalent and frequently manifest in violence between the two factions of the Muslim faith. Dantala’s brothers become estranged from him after their indoctrination into the Shia sect. Unfortunately, John demonizes Shiites while portraying Sunnis more favorably. Sheikh Jamal is a progressive and erudite Sunni cleric while Mallam Abdul-Nur is a distasteful man who preaches violence against all non-believers, a tendency that spills over into his private life and is characterized by spousal abuse and brutality toward his brother, Jibril.

Jibril is worldlier than Dentala. Their friendship develops from an exchange of language skills. Jibril teaches Dentala English, while Dentala teaches Jibril Arabic. Jabril also introduces Dentala to sex. This can be problematic in a society where men have few avenues to develop healthy relationships with women. John deftly deals with issues surrounding sex and romance in this society with Dentala’s thwarted infatuation with Sheikh Jamal’s daughter, Aisha; and with Jabril’s romantic involvement with Abdul-Nur’s estranged wife. The latter begins with in a sense of protectiveness but ends unfortunately.

John’s language engenders feelings for the people trapped in this fractured culture. Regrettably, however, the prevalence and severity of violent eruptions can only leave one with an overwhelming sense of pessimism about their future. ( )