Scan barcode
A review by sierrah_2101
A Kind of Madness by Uche Okonkwo
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-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? Yes
4.5
Okonkwo's collection of short stories is phenomenal. The attention to detail in bringing Nigeria to life off the paper is stunning, and each character and location feels real and relatable. Okonkwo's style and prose are gripping, and her talent is palpable and consistent across all ten stories. The only falter I could put a finger on was that I couldn't emotionally connect as easily with some stories. While Okonkwo can perfectly paint Nigeria across every page, there are still some things as a white American that I find difficult to connect to, but this is not fully the fault of the author.
A Kind of Madness comprises 10 stories of madness. The reasons for these bouts of madness vary, but they all manifest in similar ways. For me, Okonkwo's stories seemed to feature one major cause though: desperation. Desperation for attention, for food, for love, for forgiveness, for God. For me, that was the story being told. That desperation breeds madness. But the beauty of Okonkwo's writing is I'm sure each person will take their own individual lesson away from these stories. Personally, the story that felt best crafted - and relatable - was Milk, Blood, Oil, but from reading the reviews it seems every person who's read it had a specific story that hit closest to home. I believe that's the beauty of Okonkwo's writing.
I highly recommend this collection of stories, as I was pleasantly surprised by the simultaneous simplicity and depth these stories had to offer. They are grandiose while also being just a drop in the bucket of each of these characters' lives and towns, they are meaningful and insignificant and I find that incredibly real and incredibly human.
A Kind of Madness comprises 10 stories of madness. The reasons for these bouts of madness vary, but they all manifest in similar ways. For me, Okonkwo's stories seemed to feature one major cause though: desperation. Desperation for attention, for food, for love, for forgiveness, for God. For me, that was the story being told. That desperation breeds madness. But the beauty of Okonkwo's writing is I'm sure each person will take their own individual lesson away from these stories. Personally, the story that felt best crafted - and relatable - was Milk, Blood, Oil, but from reading the reviews it seems every person who's read it had a specific story that hit closest to home. I believe that's the beauty of Okonkwo's writing.
I highly recommend this collection of stories, as I was pleasantly surprised by the simultaneous simplicity and depth these stories had to offer. They are grandiose while also being just a drop in the bucket of each of these characters' lives and towns, they are meaningful and insignificant and I find that incredibly real and incredibly human.