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africanbookaddict's review against another edition
5.0
!!! https://africanbookaddict.com/2016/10/25/so-the-path-does-not-die-by-pede-hollist/
My rough thoughts! A proper review is on africanbookaddict.com (link above).
Gosh. Its been a while since I've read a 5 star book this year. Pede Hollist's book 'So The Path Does Not Die' was truly an enjoyable read!! Why weren't more people talking about this book back in 2014 when it was published by Jacaranda? From beginning to end, this was awesome. In the beginning, the storytelling gave me a Chinua Achebe vibe as the story starts off with a folk tale. But Pede Hollist's writing style is rhythmic, simple, accurate in the nuances he captures and I was thoroughly entertained (I giggled a lot at the dramatic things that went on in this book. It got intense!)
This is a story about Finaba (or later known as Fina by her adopted family) whose life revolves around her forbidden initiation / incomplete FGM experience in her village. This initiation process is a coming-of-age event where a girl finally becomes a woman and 'belongs' to the people of the village. But after her family is shunned from the village due to an abominable act by her father to save Fina from this deadly practice, they move to the Freetown (Sierra Leone's capital) with heaps of curses on their heads. In the capital, Fina endures many struggles in all aspects of her life - family problems, school issues, ethnic group discrimination (since she is Fulani which is seen as a minority group) etc. When Fina finally escapes Sierra Leone to the US, though she matures beautifully and becomes relatively successful thanks to her determination to be happy and independent, she faces a new set of problems in the US - immigration, Africans vrs African Americans vrs Caribbean issues, the myth of the American dream, cultural alienation etc. For some reason, all the hardships and painful lessons Fina experiences seem to be tied back to the night of her initiation. She somehow feels she does not 'belong', even with her fiance - Cammy ; Sierra Leone seems to be the only place where she would feel valued.
I really appreciated how this story comes full circle by the end. Some of the depictions of certain cultural groups may seem stereotypical, but I believe Hollist executes these depictions in a jovial manner and with finesse. 'So The Path Does Not Die' reminded me of Adichie's 'Americanah' as all the side stories of the people Fina encountered like: Sidebe - the diamonds trader, Aman - her African American bestie in the US, Bayo - Aman's Nigerian beau, Cammy - Fina's Trinidadian beau, Mawaf - the child soldier's wife, Baramusu - her grandma etc, and the socio-political backgrounds of these characters are all sooo layered. I truly loved how this book was basically a cultural melting pot of Black peoples' (African, African American and Caribbean) similarities and differences and the connection they all had to the African continent.
I was a bit skeptical on how Pede Hollist would accurately write and speak for Fina in this book, as he is a man and would probably portray a man better. But I was impressed by his careful attention to consciously writing Fina's character in a way that spoke on many feminist issues. I also learned A LOT about Sierra Leone from this novel! You would think us West Africans would know more about our fellow brethren on this coast, but I really had no clue. I jotted down a lot of the cultural references, ethnic groups, native foods, languages, national costumes, names, natural resources from Sierra Leone. I also learned a lot about Trinidad and Nigeria - as the book focuses on the people of these nations as well. Don't you love when you learn about our world through a good story? Yes gawd...
Fina did annoy me at some parts of this book though. She definitely had what they call 'the diaspora complex', where Africans abroad think they can go back home to their native lands and save everyone and everything thats wrong with the place. Hollist accurately depicted the delusional nature of some people in the diaspora, who actually mean well (don't get me wrong - girl, I was one of them), but ultimately aim at looking and feeling superior once they go back home. *sigh* its such a complex topic that would make an awesome discussion in a book club! Just peeling all the layers of the issues raised in this novel would make a solid thesis or literature class discussion.
I could go on and on and on, on why I loved this novel so much. Pede Hollist did the damn thing with this book! I eagerly look forward to more of his work :)
My rough thoughts! A proper review is on africanbookaddict.com (link above).
Gosh. Its been a while since I've read a 5 star book this year. Pede Hollist's book 'So The Path Does Not Die' was truly an enjoyable read!! Why weren't more people talking about this book back in 2014 when it was published by Jacaranda? From beginning to end, this was awesome. In the beginning, the storytelling gave me a Chinua Achebe vibe as the story starts off with a folk tale. But Pede Hollist's writing style is rhythmic, simple, accurate in the nuances he captures and I was thoroughly entertained (I giggled a lot at the dramatic things that went on in this book. It got intense!)
This is a story about Finaba (or later known as Fina by her adopted family) whose life revolves around her forbidden initiation / incomplete FGM experience in her village. This initiation process is a coming-of-age event where a girl finally becomes a woman and 'belongs' to the people of the village. But after her family is shunned from the village due to an abominable act by her father to save Fina from this deadly practice, they move to the Freetown (Sierra Leone's capital) with heaps of curses on their heads. In the capital, Fina endures many struggles in all aspects of her life - family problems, school issues, ethnic group discrimination (since she is Fulani which is seen as a minority group) etc. When Fina finally escapes Sierra Leone to the US, though she matures beautifully and becomes relatively successful thanks to her determination to be happy and independent, she faces a new set of problems in the US - immigration, Africans vrs African Americans vrs Caribbean issues, the myth of the American dream, cultural alienation etc. For some reason, all the hardships and painful lessons Fina experiences seem to be tied back to the night of her initiation. She somehow feels she does not 'belong', even with her fiance - Cammy ; Sierra Leone seems to be the only place where she would feel valued.
I really appreciated how this story comes full circle by the end. Some of the depictions of certain cultural groups may seem stereotypical, but I believe Hollist executes these depictions in a jovial manner and with finesse. 'So The Path Does Not Die' reminded me of Adichie's 'Americanah' as all the side stories of the people Fina encountered like: Sidebe - the diamonds trader, Aman - her African American bestie in the US, Bayo - Aman's Nigerian beau, Cammy - Fina's Trinidadian beau, Mawaf - the child soldier's wife, Baramusu - her grandma etc, and the socio-political backgrounds of these characters are all sooo layered. I truly loved how this book was basically a cultural melting pot of Black peoples' (African, African American and Caribbean) similarities and differences and the connection they all had to the African continent.
I was a bit skeptical on how Pede Hollist would accurately write and speak for Fina in this book, as he is a man and would probably portray a man better. But I was impressed by his careful attention to consciously writing Fina's character in a way that spoke on many feminist issues. I also learned A LOT about Sierra Leone from this novel! You would think us West Africans would know more about our fellow brethren on this coast, but I really had no clue. I jotted down a lot of the cultural references, ethnic groups, native foods, languages, national costumes, names, natural resources from Sierra Leone. I also learned a lot about Trinidad and Nigeria - as the book focuses on the people of these nations as well. Don't you love when you learn about our world through a good story? Yes gawd...
Fina did annoy me at some parts of this book though. She definitely had what they call 'the diaspora complex', where Africans abroad think they can go back home to their native lands and save everyone and everything thats wrong with the place. Hollist accurately depicted the delusional nature of some people in the diaspora, who actually mean well (don't get me wrong - girl, I was one of them), but ultimately aim at looking and feeling superior once they go back home. *sigh* its such a complex topic that would make an awesome discussion in a book club! Just peeling all the layers of the issues raised in this novel would make a solid thesis or literature class discussion.
I could go on and on and on, on why I loved this novel so much. Pede Hollist did the damn thing with this book! I eagerly look forward to more of his work :)
lipglossmaffia's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
1.0
soafricane's review
3.0
The folk tale in the beginning is compelling. Not entirely about FGM as promoted. Easy read though.
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