FIRST OF ALL..
I don't why it took me this long to share this. As always, I set a resolution to read 50 books by the end of the year. Did I share that I made a similar resolution last year but ended up not hitting it? Well, now that you know, I have no plans of falling behind this time. So, I finished this novel on the 9th of January at exactly 2:43pm( yeah, I keep tabs like that).
And here, let's go in!
ABOUT THE BOOK
Title: Black Sunday
Author: Tola Rotimi Abraham
Genre: Fiction
Release year: 2020
(Image is a screenshot from my ebook reader)
THE PLOT
Tola Rotimi Abraham shares the sad fate of a once happy and comfortable family as they plunge into poverty and divide.
The novel is set in Lagos, Nigeria and follows the life of a family of six; father,mother, twin girls- Ariyike and Bibike,- and their brothers Andrew and Peter. The themes explored ranges; love, self-reliance, violence, loss and some others.
Black Sunday begins with twin sisters Bibike and Ariyike returning home from school unaccompanied by an adult; this was the first time it ever happened. On returning home, their parents inform them of the tragic loss that had befallen them; their mother who passes as the breadwinner and worked for a top government official had just lost her job because a new official just assumed power.
Things go sour as the mother is forced to take up minor jobs. The father on the other hand did nothing but seek after get rich quick schemes and speaks of his 'big dreams'. The kids had to be enrolled in new schools befitting of their new status.
The final straw came as their father uses their house as a collateral for another of his sure business deal because a pastor says so. For this reason, they lose everything.
They family awakes one morning to find that their mother has abandoned them. Without a word, their father takes and drops them off at their grandmother's house and leaves. And this brings about the start of a new life for all the children, albeit, a rough and life-changing one.
The kids soon adjust to living with their grandma. The girls took up jobs, firstly, the hawked sachet water but as time progressed, Bibike - secured a job as a hospital cleaner gig, gets into a relationship with a friend's father who offers her money in exchange for sex-
whilst Ariyike - auditioned for a radio station job, lost out but instead, was offered a job as a Christian radio show host by the producer who she started having sex with. Their effort at work was geared towards making enough money to afford their brothers tuition....
The transition and the struggle for survival were greatly spelled out. The siblings however together, grew apart after the very traumatic downfall faced by the family.
The mother returns later in the story with a young child, hard as it was, her sons accepted her and moved over to join her in America. Their grandma dies shortly after her son returns home with intentions of selling their property. By this time Bibike who wasn't in speaking terms with her sister already had two kids by her military boyfriend. Meanwhile, Ariyike was married to a wealth-driven pastor who had ills up his sleeves and was the very person behind the loss of her family's home.
You should get yourself a copy to for a better feel and to see how it all turned out for them. Don't bother your head with trying to come up with perfect endings. You can't make this one up. I assure you.
TEXT CRITIQUE
All right! As much as I enjoyed and love that the culture was set in Nigeria and the scenery easy to conjure up, I felt like the scenes were too jumpy and the characters, underdeveloped.
There was just too much going on and I didn't quite get the plot. Too many characters, no strong point. Just a bunch of short stories bearing almost no correlation. It would have been a tad bit bearable if there was at least one strong voice but, there wasn't. At the end of the read, I couldn't quite place my hands on what it was all about. Frankly, I was puzzled.
I just assumed that maybe I wasn't into the book enough to get it. Or, a second read would put the pieces together. That said, I may have to read it again but not anytime soon. Your opinion may be different, so you may check it out.
But...
Black Sunday is a nice book to read. If everything I stated up there was worked on a little, it'll make for an amazing read(in my opinion).
And, I must commend the writer for her great flow with words and apt storytelling skill.
Thanks for gracing this post.
Greetings!