Onitsha (edit title)

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Liked It Rated 5 stars “"Africa burns like a secret, like a fever" - - "Slowness, that was it, a very long and regular movement, like the water of the river flowing towards the sea, like the clouds, like the sweltering afternoon heat . . . Life came to a halt, as if time were weighted." Onitsha, a town on the bank of...” see full review » see other reviews »

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  • Rated 0 stars

  “This is small book but too boring to read it in one go. I could not even finish it. The highlight of the book is it uses words to lighten up your senses. You could actually feel the stench of the marsh, the heat of Africa. You can visualize the apathy of European towards African people, but at the end of the day its too boring to continue reading...”

  mustiguy wrote this review Wednesday, July 15 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No

  
  
  • Rated 5 stars

  “"Africa burns like a secret, like a fever" - - "Slowness, that was it, a very long and regular movement, like the water of the river flowing towards the sea, like the clouds, like the sweltering afternoon heat . . . Life came to a halt, as if time were weighted." Onitsha, a town on the bank of the River Niger, once capital to the great Igbo Kingdom, becomes the setting for this riveting novel by Nobel Prize laureate J.M.G. Le Clézio. The novel is a clash of cultures, taking place just prior to the Biafran wars during the late 1960's. The protagonist, a young European boy, lives and finds life redefined in a continent that impacts him in ways that one can not anticipate. I thought this to be a gripping novel, one which I highly recommend reading before Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Onitsha is a good segue to the latter novel.”

  tapbirds wrote this review Tuesday, February 3 2009. ( reply | view 1 replies | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No

  
  
  • Rated 5 stars

  “This short book by 2008 Nobel Prize Winner J.M.G. LeClezio, is the semi-autobiographical story of a young boy, Fintan, who in 1948 travels from Europe to Nigeria with his French/Italian mother. They go to Nigeria to join his British father in Onitsha.
  
  In Onitsha, Fintan learns about the world and life from the Africans and Europeans who live with them. His mother, Moue, is at first very lonely and uncomfortable, but near the end of their stay in Onitsha she begins to feel welcome there. His father, Gregory, is initially welcome and becomes less so once his wife and son arrive. He is fascinated with the religious stories and history of some of the native people.
  
  This very well written book contains some marvelous language and can be read on many levels.”

  JennyIL wrote this review Saturday, January 31 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No