I really enjoyed this one. The somewhat clinical, almost simplistic narration style of the main character Kaaro, almost belies the reader into thinking it is a simple story, but it is not. It is a rich, layered story, with much symbolism that will take another reading to unpack. This story is not told linearly, and there are multiple storylines being told concurrently, and I usually hate that, but the reason I hate it is that it feels lazy or like a cheap trick to pad a story, but here it is done masterfully. I think one problem readers may have with this book is that the main character and narrator, Kaaro, is not all that likable, he's a but unreliable, and he can be sexist. I found it interesting that the author chose to present the first part of this story from Kaaro's perspective, with all of his faults. But it works for the story, as an introduction to the main conflict, from a source who is a bit detached from it. He wants to take an outsider's approach, and isn't motivated by higher ideals. In his youth, Kaaro was a thief, and as he develops abilities, his thievery transforms from the physical, to the mental, where he can steal a person's privacy by reading their minds and inner thoughts. He finds missing things, but doesn't fully understand how his abilities work, or know what he's capable of if he applied himself.

The near-future Nigerian setting is very interesting and worked very well for the story. The overarching story took a bit of time to reveal itself, but all of the tidbits and details in the lead-up were enough to keep me interested. I would read this again and I will continue the series because despite Kaaro not being a "save-the-world" type of person, I want to see how this conflict is going to play out. ( )

This book spends way too much time on world building and not enough time on plot. While the audiobook narrator was wonderful, the book spent so much time on details that it was hard to stay interested. ( )

Sometimes you pick up a book and just know it's going to be good, which is the feeling I got reading the first few pages of Rosewater. It's set in Nigeria, with a mysterious alien dome occupying the centre of the city. The main character's memories and present experiences converge over the course of the book effectively, as we learn more and more about him and his life. And we learn he's not exactly a model citizen - the book pulls off an unreliable narrator very well.

There are some lofty concepts in there, such as the pseudo-internet that psychic characters can tap into, and they're introduced very gradually, never feeling like the author is dumping info on you, but developing into lucid dreamscapes before very long.

Good writing. Can't wait till the next one. ( )

I was quickly drawn in to this first-contact story set in Nigeria The storytelling is fast and the characters are interesting. I did have some trouble as the book went on, with juggling the present-time story and the flashbacks, even though the chapter headings are helpfully marked "now" and "then."

However, the concepts of the nature of the invasion are so complex and interesting that I can't wait to read the following books. I might want to re-read this one though, before sending it back to the library. ( )

I quite enjoyed this, and I liked that the main character redeemed himself in my eyes in the end when he finally rescues the stray dog and takes it to the vet.

I don't know what else to say about this story. It was a kind of crazy ride with certain people being conferred psychic powers by alien fungus that has been seeded in the air and it takes place in a future Nigeria. I should make time for the second book sometime. Not sure when. ( )