Just superb. Each of these stories is a perfect little gem in which she explores characters and ideas and relationships - whether it is the wealthy IgJust superb. Each of these stories is a perfect little gem in which she explores characters and ideas and relationships - whether it is the wealthy Igbo student and the poor Hausa market-stall holder hiding together from a riot in A Private Experience, the diverse group of African authors gathered together for workshop on African literature organised by a white Englishman in Jumping Monkey Hill or The American Embassy where a women is seeking asylum in the US following a tragedy.
Some of the best of them are slice-of-life tales that explode with a sudden, surprising ending. The final story, The Headstrong Historian falls somewhat into the category, although is quite different to the others, set initially in a late 19th Century West Africa coming under colonial rule (while all the others are set in the present), it shows the deliberate destruction of local culture by force, education and making assimilation attractive - but with a surprising fall out generations later.
Many of the pieces share themes - the immigrant experience. or the sudden realisation of inequality and power, or the revelation of distrust or misogyny or a strength or freedom that someone didn't know they possessed.
Adichie is an astonishingly good author, writing with both power and subtlety. She paints character and setting and situation with both sensation and internal life so as to make them utterly real. It is the kind of writing that makes you forget you are reading.
This is aided in the audio being read by Adjoa Andoh, who has long been one of my favourite actors, and is amongst the very finest voice actors and readers on the planet....more
While it took me a little while to settle into the voice of this (due to the audio reading, see below), Far From the Light of Heaven is a very effectiWhile it took me a little while to settle into the voice of this (due to the audio reading, see below), Far From the Light of Heaven is a very effective locked room murder mystery on a deep-space hypersleep transport, set in an interesting universe where humanity has spread through hyperspace "bridges". We see little of the homeworld, but are introduced to the politics of the control of these bridges by the permanently-inhabited space stations that orbit, maintain and control them, and the destination planet of the transport, Bloodroot.
An especially intriguing aspect is the interaction with the alien species that seem to have a narcotic effect on humans they come into contact with, with an idea toward the end that another type of alien is more closely associated with humanity.
As with his excellent Rosewater trilogy, Thompson writes strong characterisation and plots well, although on occasion character interactions feel rather forced, here giving information on characters' backstories and reveals about the mystery to keep us going forward apace, and includes some of the horror imagery he is also known for. Not quite on a par with Rosewater, but well worth a read.
I switched between the audio and ebook for this, and the two experiences were quite different. Thompson is of Nigerian Yoruba background and much of his writing is in a formulation you often find in English-speakers of West African origins - short sentences, direct plain language, minimal contractions - and on the page this was very effective, however the audiobook reader somehow made this sound infantile, like reading a book to a toddler. Had I solely used the audio this would likely struggled to reach 3 stars....more
