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3.35 AVERAGE
3.35 AVERAGE
Bookriot Read Harder Challenge 2015: Task 8, by an author from Africa
Why I chose this book: As a replacement for Half Of A Yellow Sun, which I didn't get on with. I know very little about it but the title has me intrigued. I have a feeling it won't be the Gaiman-esque fantasy I'm half-expecting, though!
On reading: I'm so glad I picked this one up instead. I enjoyed it in that darkly depressing way some books require - you know nothing good is going to happen, you know it's going to end in disaster, and yet you still keep hoping (or I do, anyway). It's strongly written, although I found the ending a little jumpy and confusing (as I'm sure Ike did!). One that stays with you for a while and gives you a book hangover.
I glanced through the reviews and I'm surprised no-one suggested a similarity to [b:The Poisonwood Bible|7244|The Poisonwood Bible|Barbara Kingsolver|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1412242487s/7244.jpg|810663] - not the superficial similarity of a crazed missionary in Africa, but the claustrophobic atmosphere evoked in both novels ties them together in my mind.
Why I chose this book: As a replacement for Half Of A Yellow Sun, which I didn't get on with. I know very little about it but the title has me intrigued. I have a feeling it won't be the Gaiman-esque fantasy I'm half-expecting, though!
On reading: I'm so glad I picked this one up instead. I enjoyed it in that darkly depressing way some books require - you know nothing good is going to happen, you know it's going to end in disaster, and yet you still keep hoping (or I do, anyway). It's strongly written, although I found the ending a little jumpy and confusing (as I'm sure Ike did!). One that stays with you for a while and gives you a book hangover.
I glanced through the reviews and I'm surprised no-one suggested a similarity to [b:The Poisonwood Bible|7244|The Poisonwood Bible|Barbara Kingsolver|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1412242487s/7244.jpg|810663] - not the superficial similarity of a crazed missionary in Africa, but the claustrophobic atmosphere evoked in both novels ties them together in my mind.
A good book about a very uncomfortable situation.
< my choice for #8 on Book Riot's 2015 Read Harder Challenge: a book by an author from Africa. >
< my choice for #8 on Book Riot's 2015 Read Harder Challenge: a book by an author from Africa. >
This was well-written with an interesting premise, but I had a problem sticking with it to the end (but did). The main character is such a pitiful human being that I had a hard time getting involved in the story. And he did not improve with subsequent events; pathetic to the bitter end. Oh well.
Showed the interplay of birth and chosen cultures, but in a disappointingly unemotional way.
This book offers some interesting insights into cultural dysphoria, the immigrant experience, the failure of the American Dream, and the depths of desperation, but with the author ignoring any chance of redemption for any of his characters, Foreign Gods, Inc. was just too tragic and bleak for me to emotionally invest in.
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
"It was this: that in a postmodern world, even gods and sacred objects must travel of lose their vitality; any deity that remained stuck in its place and original purpose would soon become moribund" (64)."
This is a story of guilt from the main character's sense of betrayal and rooted in cultural and childhood beliefs as they come up against the American world of success and money; a Nigerian, but American educated man living in NYC is rift with these conflicting feelings. Filled with mythological references and set in both NYC and a Nigerian village, the story bounces back and forth among past histories of places and of people who challenged indigenous beliefs. While important to the character's and story's development, at times I found this a bit challenging; more than this, the relentless storytelling slowed down the pace of a gripping psycho-emotional novel, in my opinion.
This is a story of guilt from the main character's sense of betrayal and rooted in cultural and childhood beliefs as they come up against the American world of success and money; a Nigerian, but American educated man living in NYC is rift with these conflicting feelings. Filled with mythological references and set in both NYC and a Nigerian village, the story bounces back and forth among past histories of places and of people who challenged indigenous beliefs. While important to the character's and story's development, at times I found this a bit challenging; more than this, the relentless storytelling slowed down the pace of a gripping psycho-emotional novel, in my opinion.
Really interesting idea, loved the writings and the themes. Needed just 10 more pages to feel complete.
I just can’t make myself read a book with an unlikable MC who’s not even funny :(
– I don't buy stories; I buy things. –
– In a postmodern world, even gods and sacred objects must travel or lose their vitality; any deity that remained stuck in its place and original purpose would soon become moribund. –
– The sad paradox of language...is that men beat it, twist it, bend it to convey emotions of love. Yet, language displays its innermost archaism and flaunts the fullness of its odd beauty when at war. It's at its sweetest, most natural eloquence when deployed at the pitch of battle. War, I daresay, brings out the best in poetry. –
– A brave man goes to war, but the coward owns the story. –
– A man who didn't live normally, how could he die normally? –
– In a postmodern world, even gods and sacred objects must travel or lose their vitality; any deity that remained stuck in its place and original purpose would soon become moribund. –
– The sad paradox of language...is that men beat it, twist it, bend it to convey emotions of love. Yet, language displays its innermost archaism and flaunts the fullness of its odd beauty when at war. It's at its sweetest, most natural eloquence when deployed at the pitch of battle. War, I daresay, brings out the best in poetry. –
– A brave man goes to war, but the coward owns the story. –
– A man who didn't live normally, how could he die normally? –