Chigozie Obioma

There are so many wonderful aspects of this novel but my god it socks you right in the gut.

The gorgeous title refers to a description of chickens as they mourn the death of one of their flock and it is a central theme. Power relations stretched across culture, class, and interpersonal obligation are the main moves but what makes this novel so breathtaking is its narrative point of view. It is told from the perspective of the protagonist's "chi" as it defends him in a mystical court of show more judgement. Chi is unlike any concept I've come across before. It is sort of a transcendent spirit, consciousness, soul, and double persona all rolled into one and it is stunning to see how this doubling of the main character provides a rich texture to the narrative.

I'm honestly beside myself. Obioma's prose at times melts into the forward progression of the narrative and at others comes out of nowhere with a line of blistering grace. Pieces of my heart snagged on some of those barbs and I just had to leave them there. show less

In Biafra, like a world removed from the known world, one discovers new vistas of emotions, new faculties one did not know were there before. This feeling of being drained and abandoned, which comes upon Kunle so quickly that it invades his senses completely, is one such experience.

Chigozie Obioma's new novel is the story of the Nigerian Civil War told from the point of view of one young man who is caught up in the fighting. Kunle is at the university when he is told to come home -- his show more younger brother has left with a neighboring Igbo family to go live in Biafra. Kunle, intent on his studies, had been unaware that anything was going on and after returning home, he blithely joins a Red Cross team taking supplies into Biafra and sneaks off, thinking he can find his brother and they can both return with the Red Cross van the next day. But the war going on isn't a game and before Kunle gets very far, he is discovered by the Biafran army and conscripted.

What follows is a coming of age story and one that depicts the brutality and meaninglessness of war, in this case, the slow grinding down of an out-matched insurgent force, as the communities around them are also bombed and starved out. Obioma made an audacious choice in centering the novel on a central character who enters the war with no stake in it or even any knowledge. He, and the reader, soon hear stories of why his various comrades have chosen to fight, but for the most part, the reader, like Kunle, experiences the war as just a series of random events. There's a lot of repetition and a lot of waiting. It did take some effort to read the most part of this novel. Obioma pulls everything into context eventually, but like Kunle's wartime experiences, it's a slog. But as Kunle remains part of a battalion, he forms friendships and relationships, and his observations about the world around him sharpen into clearer focus. He never forgets his initial goal in sneaking into Biafra, and that gives form and meaning to his experiences. There are no doubt non-fiction accounts that provide a clearer look at that place and time, but The Road to the Country shines a light on the war's cost in human suffering. show less

The headlines from the famine and civil war in BIafra and Nigeria during the 1960's may be a distant memory, but this novel brings them to front and center for today's readers.As the story opens, the main character Kunle is a law student riddled by guilt over what he perceives as his responsibility for a childhood accident. He and a friend locked his brother out of the house whereupon his brother was hit by a car and crippled for life. Now his brother is missing over the border into Biafra, show more part of Nigeria undergoing a civil war. Kunle is captured by the rebels and must pledge loyalty to their army to save his life. The majority of the novel depicts the war and the effect it has on Kunle, his friendships and frustrations. Meanwhile, occasional chapters describe an ancient seer who has envisioned Kunle's life and future from before he was born.

Warning: the brutality and terror of this civil war are portrayed graphically, making this a difficult read. However, the writing is masterful, and the themes are compelling. Man's inhumanity to man, loyalty and betrayal, fate and survival, friendship and redemption are all interwoven to make this book unforgettable.

"The world, asleep before, is now awake, teeming with earthly susurrations and voices, the machinery of life spinning on its wheels. Like a merciless stream, life will flow on, carrying in it the yowling joy of birthing, the sorrowful howling of dying. There will be laughter and tears, remembrance and forgetting, pride and shame, silence and noise." show less

Mr. Obioma's voice is just so unique. It continues the magical realism from his first two novels and continues with the theme of people trapped by circumstances either by their misguided beliefs or just poor decision making.
I haven't read many novels set during war-time, and don't be put off if you're not into "War Novels", this isn't a war book, but the war is used more as a tool to show the horrors inflicted upon the combatants, both willing and unwilling, and the general population. show more
Similar themes throughout each of his books, but all of them are unique. show less