I enjoy reading short stories. Most times, when I find myself tilting towards a book slump, I opt for books that are compilations of short stories. I don't know if I'm right but it helps me do away with the emotional baggage or in this case, attachment that's probably the reason for the slump. You know, with the stories being very brief, and moving on from each other very quickly. I think that's one thing I enjoy from short stories - the closure that comes very quickly.
I was scrolling through my read books, and I came across a book I read earlier this year but hadn't reviewed. I remember almost being in a book slump and decided I was going to be reading short stories compilations that period. And for a compilation of short stories, with a title as this, it felt like I'd found the perfect read for me.
A kind of Madness is a book consisting of 10 stories by Uche Okonkwo. The stories border on different themes, genre and settings, which are interlinked by the profound insanities, in the form of actions, depicted by the characters. The first story centers on a young lady, who is promised marriage to a guy located in Belgium. When she and her mother begin to parade themselves as achievers, it becomes the start of everything that goes wrong. The second story follows a young boy and his favorite, newly wedded aunt. When she gets pregnant, he feels betrayed by her and allows himself to be consumed by jealousy for a short while. But before he realizes himself, the damage was done. There was also a story about a poor minister who was finding it hard keeping his congregation due to lack of miracles and the abundance that seemed to exist in neighbouring churches. With a wife who has lost faith in him, he tries all in his power to get things back to the way they were, when they first started out, to no avail. The book consisted of these three stories and many others.
My Review
Believe me when I tell you, I was not ready for the madness that is this book. The title suggested it? Yes it did but I was not really ready for the craziness this book held. I'd read a paragraph, and be okay. In the next, I'm literally gasping for air, to stop myself, choking from laughter. The author did a good job with that.
The book was really hilarious, that I admit but every of it's story lacked that climax that a fictional story is expected to have. The buildup was great but with such buildup, the result should have been rewarding. Alas it wasn't. You'd read a character making crazy decisions, and you know that the repercussions were definitely going to blow your mind off. But you reach the end and all your hopes are crashed. Nothing worthy of the suspense happened. I didn't really like this about the stories but I forged on nonetheless. Why? Because of the humour it contained.
I don't know if the author really wanted to prove the kind of madness he was talking about, by building up a storyline that could have been intense but ends up being unfulfilling. One thing I know is that, with the crazy actions taken in this book, I doubt local Nollywood productions would even compare. What do you mean you started rumours about someone being a witch just because she had long hair?😂 I couldn't comprehend some character's actions because they were way out of line. But, I made sure to not dwell on it here, and just bask in the escape the humour provided.
Anyways, this was a book I enjoyed for the humour specifically and I thought to share it with you all on here. If you're looking for something hilarious, and filled with Nigerian drama, this could be an option for you. Don't expect it to be satisfying though because you may or may not find that. I'll rate the book a 6.5/10. Bonus points to it's humour.
Thanks for reading.
Images are screenshots taken from my e-library.