Reviews

A Bit of Difference by Sefi Atta

lacywolfe's review against another edition

4.0

If you're looking to read more diversely, then I would recommend Sefi Atta. She provides a very nuanced look about life for Nigerians, in Nigeria and abroad. I will definitely be reading more books by Atta. And looking for more by this publisher, Interlink Publishing.

thatothernigeriangirl's review against another edition

3.0

Sefi Atta’s A Bit of Difference is the type of book you pick up after a week of reading Paul Beatty’s The White Boy Shuffle. It gives you a similar protagonist but without the mental press-up. This is not to say that the book is vacuous; it just highlights all of the important issues in a laidback style and that is my favourite thing about it.

Deola Bello, our protagonist, is a Nigerian expatriate living and working in London while juggling life issues with the baggage of being “an almost-40 year old unmarried Nigerian woman”. Like Gunnar from The White Boy Shuffle, Deola exists in the story as more of a commentator, even in parts of the book that detailed her life in present tense. Like she was always looking into her own life and analyzing it. This wasn’t a bad thing for the story and in fact, that’s the only reason I liked Deola.

A Bit of Difference tells the story of a woman living in a contemporary world and trying to navigate its complexities; so essentially, a very relatable main character. We see this ‘navigation of complexities’ in all the topics Deola broached while schooling, living, working in the UK and eventually back in Nigeria. It is the quintessence of a social commentary told in a patriotic yet open-minded way. Deola didn’t give excuses for the shortcomings of certain systems in both countries and she didn’t belittle the good either. Even while nursing her own biases, she was still able to pinpoint what the ‘ideal’ should be.

All in all, while I wasn’t blown away by the book, I appreciate the simplicity of the storytelling. I kept waiting for ‘something’ to happen but that ‘something’ never surfaced for me; the pace of the book remained relatively the same through out. Would I be reading more books by Atta? Yes! And I do recommend this one but not as a “do-or-die” affair.

nobodyatall's review against another edition

3.0

Very easy, enjoyable read. It does seem to stop all of a sudden.

Excellent bit of stay-at-home-cultural-tourism for me. Interesting experience of the relationship between england and nigeria post colonialism and the cultural contrasts between the two places. Well worth reading, probably the only book I've given 3 stars to that I would go and recommend to other people to read.
Interesting but not amazing, gripping or enthusiasm making I suppose.

ktrusty416's review against another edition

4.0

A reviewer described Atta's novel as "low on drama but rich in life" and I think that's a fairly apt description of this glimpse into the life of middle class Nigerians (some at home, some abroad). Political, personal and wholly enjoyable.

lottpoet's review against another edition

lighthearted reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

lora_h's review against another edition

2.0

I wanted to love this book because of the characters, their desires & pains, but the narrative was so awkwardly crafted, my mind kept drifting off course, never sure where we were or why we were there.

jesujuwonlo's review against another edition

reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

mimi13's review against another edition

4.0

3.5*

extemporalli's review against another edition

3.0

I'm a bit on the fence about this book - it's clearly trying to be a little bit of an Austen pastiche with more explicit political (as opposed to social, although I guess the distinction can be pretty false) commentary, and that Austen is mentioned fairly often in the prose is a hat-tip at the fact that all the characters are kind of Nigerian Austen-analogues - Wale, the love interest, is a widower of some means with a daughter of fourteen; the mother is a bit of a Mrs Bennet; the young adults are all Rich and Generously Spoilt; the social conventions are tipped as Clearly Ridiculous; and Deola herself is an introverted Emma who's been left on the shelf for a bit too long, like Anne from Persuasion.

And yet. The commentary is far from sparkling, the narration takes too long to unfold. Deola's narration feels a little too heavyweight with the fact that she knows her milieu is too privileged for comfort, something she tries to allay by working for a charity but which, in itself, is privileged (she got the job in the obviously competitive UK charity sector by studying at LSE and working at her father's bank for a little while), leading to lots of self-doubt, etc etc. This doesn't make it unbearably self-indulgent (some other review: "You might think it's self-indulgent, but it's actually great!" which means that it is self-indulgent) by itself, but unbearably plodding. The plot only really picks up in the second half, after her dad's memorial when Deola's hand is forced into action by

Spoiler

the spectre of an unplanned pregnancy

and gets her happy ending after all. I definitely enjoyed the second half of the novel, with all the characters being determined to Do The Right Thing and coming to like each other after all, more than the first half, which did read as a tiny fog of self-pity.

bukolayemi's review

lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

A Bit of Difference 

By Sefi Atta

I enjoyed reading this book about a 39 year old Nigerian single lady living in London. 

Deola visits Nigeria for work/her father’s 5 year remembrance and a series of events begin during this one week visit. 

After reading so many heavily themed books this year. I was ready for a fun, easy read and this book did not disappoint. 

Along with other things, this book deals with the issue of class among Nigerians, Lagosians really, we are introduced to the Ikoyi lifestyle.