Reviews

The Famished Road by Ben Okri

jimbowen0306's review

2.0

I’m a fan of biographies, and some genre fiction. This isn’t genre fiction. If it is, the closest genre is magical realism. Consequently, I’m not sure I liked this book.

This book follows what happens to a poor African family from an un-named (probably) British colony, in the run up to independence. To add another strand to the mix, the son (and only child, is an ability (or sprite), who can see beyond the human realm (which is where the magical part of the magical realism comes in).

I’m not going to lie. I found the story dull. I really couldn’t get invested in the characters. I finished it, but damn it was hard work.

nerdybookies's review against another edition

adventurous challenging mysterious slow-paced

• Strong character development? No

3.25

Does important work, rich in motifs etc., but incredibly repetitive. Also, hypermasculinity as one of the main tropes - not a fan.

paola_mobileread's review against another edition

4.0

I read it several years ago, and at the time I did enjoy it a lot - but today I would not pick it up again. Mind you, the prose is beautiful, the story engaging, but I had my fill of magical realism in my younger years, and I am now getting some form of allergic reaction. If you do not have qualms with the genre, then go for it, because it is among the "best in class", but don't touch it if you think you've explored enough titles in this type of fiction.

sidharthvardhan's review against another edition

2.0

How will you create a 'Midnight's Children' for a nation where there is political stability and which continues to born and reborn again (unlike Saleem Shinai who at least was born along with the nation)? You create spirit child - a creature born as human though it didnt want to or expected to. And thus it struggles with the connection it still has with the unliving. So far, so good.

The problem is that the book itself struggles with birth and rebirth. It seems like a bird who repeatedly takes flight only to come back to ground a few steps ahead. People often talk about feeling when book is about to end or has just ended; but there are two other stages. There is a sort of curiosity one feels when begining of the book, the uncertainty whether it is your thing or not; the eagerness to find footing in it. It is a good feeling but it must soon give into that other feeling you get when you know you are well set in your conversation with the book. This book won't let you settle (and unlike 'If on a winter's night a traveler', here it wasn't an enjoyable experience.

And Marvelous realism - whether it is magical or mythical, is normally my kink. But in here, it is like you do foreplay repeatedly without it ever going to more inteesting things, leave alone orgasm.

whynotcherries's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

lelia_t's review against another edition

4.0

I was thrown off by this book at first because I was waiting for a plot line to emerge. It’s more like a recurring chaos of fights, carnival, and forays into a transrational realm. But then I realized that if we’re looking at life through the wide-open eyes of a spirit child, that’s what we should expect to see. Azaro isn’t labeling and categorizing, so the reader has to simply accept at face value that the misshapen beggars are allies (maybe), threats (maybe), spirits (maybe) and Madame Koto is a fecund goddess and death bringer (maybe?). Azaro is a reluctant sojourner on earth, but he’s learning to embrace "the earth's life and contradictions." He’s not searching for answers, but witnessing the mystery, so we aren’t really going - or arriving - anywhere in particular, yet it’s a beautiful, life-affirming story.

amorphousbl0b's review against another edition

challenging mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse

Moderate: Violence

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Child death, and Colonisation

ahanyok's review against another edition

emotional mysterious slow-paced

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

3.75

yasemin2's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

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

3.75

Zamanı bilmediğimiz, masalla gerçekliğin iç içe geçtiği yoğun bir anlatımla başlıyor kitap. Yavaş yavaş zaman algımız otururken, ki çoğunlukla bağımsızlık sonrası dönem, dönüşen bir ülkede peri-çocuk olan Azaro’nun hayattaki mücadelesini takip ediyoruz. Azaro, yoksullukla baş etmeye çalışırken bir türlü bağını koparamadığı paranormal dünyadaki varlıklar çoğu zaman işini daha da zorlaştırıyor. Yazar Okri’nin fantastik/ masalsı dünyayı oluşturma şeklini beğendim; döngüsel olay tekrarlarının, küçük bir çevrede yaşanan derin yoksulluk anlatımını güçlendirdiğini düşünüyorum. Her ne kadar bu tekrarlara eşlik eden yavaş ritim yer yer dikkati dağıtsa da bir çocuğun gözünden takip ettiğimiz hikayede zamanın yavaş akması bana yerinde bir tercih gibi geldi.Kurgusunu bir arkadaşa anlatmanın bile zor olduğu kitaplardan biri; fakat bence Okri kullandığı teknik ve kitabın yavaş ritmiyle bunun altından kalkmayı başarmış. 

wemmyogunyankin's review against another edition

4.0

A beautiful book with the most ethereal of characters... and I still feel as though I have a lot of questions and I’m unsure of how to gauge my comfort with that.