Books We Read: 11 Readers on Reading in 2016 —Tope Salaudeen-Adegoke
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Tope Salaudeen-Adegoke
When I first received the invitation to make a list of my notable reads in 2016, I momentarily panicked, unsure whether I had read enough books. How could I explain that most of the readings I had undertaken in the year were dissertations and monographs.
At first, it was almost impossible to recall most of the books I had read. Isn’t that a common occurrence with readers? You want to house characters or specific descriptions or authorial comments from a notable book in your mind but the house but your memory will tell you that you are only a tenant yourself.
But slowly, titles came rushing to my mind like long lost friends, demanding once again, to be reacquainted. Then I was faced with the problem of compressing my list. At that point, I was sure of what I’d write in response to the invitation.
So here is my list, in no particular order.
Notable Reads
The Old Patagonian Express by Paul Theroux
This book came to me from the Kofi Awoonor Memorial Library in Ibadan, where I work as an administrator. It has afforded me another understanding of Theroux’s ingeniousness as a travel writer, a model traveller worthy of emulation. It is a travel account of the author’s journey from his home in Boston, USA to South and Central America.
But, what it recounts is not just mere fun travelling, not just sightseeing, not just a search for the extravagance and luxury. No. It is not a journey through capitals either. It is aimless travel. Many things come alive in the account. The simple people the author meets, who offer opinions on many things; peasants, who symbolise the poverty of the continent; his meeting in Argentina with the legendary writer, Luis Jorge Borges.
Although I have not travelled South and Central America, I have vicariously travelled through Theroux to those parts of the world. I recommend this wonderful travelogue to anybody who is interested in the art of travel writing, for many things. It is without airs. This beautiful book is peopled, graphical, concise and poetic. In fact, there is a page from the book I have taken the liberty to versify as a poem, and nobody could argue the authenticity of the passage as poetry.
The Hate Artist by Niran Okewole
Do not let us start a lecture on ‘what’s (not) poetry’. The little space here could not contain such lengthy argument. Moreover, it’s a topic that has been considered reasonably by scholars and poets. And there are schools of thought concerning this, Valéry’s for instance, that poetry is meant to appeal to emotions directly. But this volume rather appeals to the intellectual faculty of a reader first before scratching the consciousness of the reader for empathy or whatever.
Also, the book has been dubbed and perceived by some readers I have come across as ‘intellectual acrobatics’ because they feel it is too daunting to interpret. I’d rather not subscribe to such a lowbrow view. I embrace the complexity of the volume for its successful and daring experimentation. The Hate Artist is the kind of poetry that there are too few samples of in contemporary African writing. It shows metaphors can and should stretch our imaginations, that metaphors can be found in names and bibliographies. I am proud of this book that it is written by a Nigerian poet. I discussed this as well as the thematic preoccupations of the volume with the poet [here].
Written in an epistolary form, told in simple, endearing language, and narrated by the chief character in the story, Balram Halwai, a psychopath and self-styled ‘entrepreneur’, White Tiger is an exceptional novel that addresses the struggle between the upper class and the lower class in a modern India of outsourcing and entrepreneurial possibilities. It is bitingly satiric, with the motifs of poverty, corrupt practices in government, which has widened the gap between the rich and poor, condemned their relationship to that of servants and masters. But Balram, though born in a poverty-stricken village, rises to wealth in New Delhi through his deceitful, murderous scheming. I will remember this book for being unmercifully satiric. Aravind Adiga is a storyteller.
A Slim, Green Silence by Beverly Rycroft
When a devastating secret is let out in the open, people shudder with a fear that may infect their skin with goose bumps because it is like seeing a huge snake slither down a tree in one’s compound. You wonder, has the snake really been there all along? And, for how long? These form the contentions of the novel. Read my full review on Wawa Book Review.
Looking for Transwonderland by Noo Saro-Wiwa
This is the travel account of Noo Saro-Wiwa—daughter of the late environmental activist and writer Ken Saro-Wiwa—in Nigeria, her country of origin. The merits and faults of the book could be considered on two levels, as autobiography and as travelogue. I would consider it simply as a travelogue, and I think its merits as a travel account outweigh its faults.
The travels in this account cover some important cities in Nigeria, from Lagos, Ibadan, Abuja, Kano, Benin City to Port Harcourt. It reveals the country’s many frustrations and paradoxes, its complex people who cling to religion untiringly. But what actually distinguishes this book is that it veers away from the tourism and pleasant travel typical of some travel writers in Nigeria. Although, she was lured to visit monumental and historic places, her response to them is contained. In all, I think it’s a brilliant travelogue.
My Secret History by Paul Theroux
Let me also tell you another thing about Paul Theroux. Whenever you see that name on a book, you can confidently buy it. Whatever it is you are looking for in a book, you will certainly find it in his writing. He’s better known for his non-fiction where he has achieved a trademark for his travelogues, but Paul Theroux is also wired for fiction.
This highly controversial book straddles fiction and non-fiction. But what makes it controversial is the tantalising question of how much of it is fiction and how much is fact. It’s suggested by some critics that it’s, in fact, a straight autobiography dealing with the author and his failed first marriage.
What I really like about the book is its prose. Whatever it is, fiction or non-fiction, it’s good writing. It is the story of Andrew Parent, a libidinous writer and traveller who leads an interesting double life. He first discovers sex as an altar boy, and his sexual contentment has never been met since.
Andrew soon becomes a volunteer worker in Africa, which is characterised by a sexual frenzy in which our protagonist contracts gonorrhoea. As a married man, now a prominent writer, he tries to stay faithful to his wife, at least a bit, but he still keeps a mistress in another home, on another continent.
At the end, the marriage comes undone when on return from a trip, he discovers his wife is having an affair and his wife catches him with his mistress as well. Paul Theroux is a sensuous writer, even in his travelogues, which is not surprising as he is an enthusiast of Gustave Flaubert.
So, it is not unexpected that this work of fiction is ‘erotically charged’ to the extent that it is even described by one reviewer as ‘pornography’. But beyond sex, the story also touches on the troubled life some writers lead in their marriages. It’s a wonderful read and I could read it all over again.
Selected Poems of Femi Oyebode by Femi Oyebode
Many younger poets in Nigeria do not know the name Femi Oyebode. I myself recently came across it. But ever since I came in contact with Oyebode’s poetry, I have had to place him among the best Nigerian poets I have read. And I think this alienated poet deserves more recognition in the literary space of his home country for the ebullition of his craft.
This collection of his work, from six poetry volumes, selected and enthusiastically introduced by the scholar Onookome Okome, offers a wide range of thematic excursuses tinged by hues of migrancy and exilic consternations. There is a voice in his poetry, a longing voice, that searches for home, a metaphysical home and the home of his country. But of course, these are only fragments of what can be obtained from his poetic collage.
The selected work also offers an insight into his craft, in terms of stylistics. Obododimma Oha says of the poet, "Oyebode's... poetry is metaphysically rich, semiotically decentring, and politically committed to a racial/ethical means". I’d say you should watch out for my interview with the poet.
The Story of Anna P, as told by Herself by Penny Busetto
It is a rara avis, empathetic, compelling novel. The book is a major contribution to modern African literature and offers a rethink of how that literature is defined. The Story of Anna P is a disturbing, haunting story of a woman on a remote Island in Italy who just lives day-by-day expectant of nothing. She suffers from repressive amnesia, trauma and sexual abuse. Actually, her memory loss is so chronic that she cannot remember how she she’s come to settle on the Island except for her passport saying she is South African and through occasional traumatic flashbacks.
She’s connected to a murder she cannot remember but suspects her connection to it and must face the law for it. The story gives an insight into troubled people who may appear normal on the face of it but who may be utterly broken and suffering a devastation they may not even be aware of.
The strength of the story really lies with the character Anna P, her inner disintegration rather than her external vision. It is for this purpose I have freely lent a home to the fictional character in my mind. Maybe she will occupy a spot there for a long time. And, Penny Busetto should be praised as well for the accomplishment that is this novel. This has kept me on the lookout for her next book, just as I am awaiting Jennifer Makumbi’s next book. Here is my interview with the author. I’ll also recommend a review of the book, which can be found in a special issue on the 2015 Etisalat Prize published by Saraba.
Plays by Anton Chekhov, Second Series by Anton Chekhov
Bernard Shaw, feeling intimidated by this Russian playwright declares, "Every time I see a play by Chekhov, I want to chuck all my own stuff into the fire." His reason for saying this is not farfetched or over exaggerated. Chekhov’s is a name that has closely been associated with drama. Here is a collection, of comedies, eight plays, mostly in one act, except for the two plays that are in four acts.
‘On the High Road’, ‘The Proposal’, ‘A Tragedian in Spite of Himself’, are good, enjoyable reads in which minor conflicts, like vodka, bring out the comedy that can be found in little disputes. And the four-act play, ‘The Three Sisters’, is a little bit close to what can be called an absurdist drama. His play is also easy to read because he uses more dialogue and an unadorned dramatic aesthetics. Of all the plays I have read this year, I could say this collection by Chekhov really stands out.
The Yacoubian Building by Alaa Al Aswany
This novel has been acclaimed by literary critics as one of the powerful contributions to modern Arabic literature. The choice is obvious. The book is extraordinary for many things; it’s a wonderful literary accomplishment.
Having just two chapters, the plot is a fragment of many lives in contemporary Egypt, assembled together through an uncanny force and needs. There is Zaki Bey el-Dessouki, a metaphor for the earliest ruling class in Egypt before the 1952 Revolution, who has an unquenchable thirst for women. In its treatment of sexuality, there is also Hatim, a trace into the repression of queer sex in modern Egypt.
Bringing to the fore Islamist extremism, there is Taha el Shazli, representing the pauperised class, who is let down in reaching his dream by an unjust social setup and in effect turns him to terrorism. The Yacoubian Building is a book of people. It can also be read as a parable because the same building that houses the affluent class of Egypt also houses the underclass of that social order.
The book is frank about the sexual themes, like Mahfouz’s Sugar Street, unlike some Arab witters pussyfooting around the theme. But beyond this, the novel is also pervaded by the corruption in Egyptian government.
Not Worth the Hype
Of course, once in a while, a reader may come across books that do not meet his standards, based on his predilections for learning and what’s in his baggage. Also, it is a question of individual perception. What I regard an average or bad book may be an excellent read for someone else. For example, what if I had said Teju Cole’s Known and Strange Things is a pretentious, beast of a book?
On the other hand, as a reviewer, I am also aware that books should not merely be dismissed without offering a careful consideration of their literary demerits. For this reason, I will decline to give a list here. The little space afforded me will not permit me to analyse fully why I consider the books on such a list average or not worth the buzz some people have created for them.
Looking Forward to Read in 2017
My reading does not usually have a particular, pre-set direction. To be candid, I have not made a list. I seldom do. I am just looking forward to advancing my knowledge of the interdisciplinary connexion between poetry and mathematics, to read more travel books with Jenny Diski’s Stranger on a Train topping my list, and to read more books from my favourite authors. I look forward to reading more cookbooks, plays and other new books by African writers.
Tope Salaudeen-Adegoke is an editor, literary critic and poet from Ibadan, Nigeria. Tope is the co-publisher of Fortunate Traveller, a travel journal. Also, he is the administrator of the Kofi Awoonor Memorial Library in Ibadan. He writes for Wawa Book Review, Abuja, and FilmsandCinemas, Lagos. He enjoys travelling and cooking. He is presently experimenting with poetic forms, including mathematical poetry, but does not know when his debut poetry collection will be ready. @LiteraryGansta is his alter ego on Twitter.
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This is the sixth of eleven pieces on Readers on Reading in 2016.