The Fishermen -Chigozie Obioma

by admin | Feb 5, 2016 | Acquisitions

Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, this tale of Nigeria in the 1990s is a mighty fry-up of pop-culture, fable and verbal invention… -Click here for the full review in the New Statesman

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A short review by Morrab Library and book selection committee member, Pamela Priske-

Four sons of a Nigerian father who has the highest hopes for each of them -‘professor’, ‘government minister’, etc. are confronted by a village madman prophesying violence and death for the brothers. This story is a metonymy for Nigeria’s promise, undermined by superstition and corruption. A grim, but rewarding, read. 

The Book of Memory -Petina Gappah

by admin | Feb 5, 2016 | Acquisitions

Petina Gappah powerfully probes the tricksy nature of memory through the story of Memory, or Mnemosyne, an albino woman consigned to Chikurubi prison in Harare, Zimbabwe, convicted of murdering a wealthy white man, Lloyd, her adopted father. She is the first woman in more than 20 years to be sentenced to death. As part of her appeal, she begins writing down her memories of what happened; her notebooks form the novel. Gappah, who won the Guardian first book award in 2009, is also a lawyer, her knowledge brought to bear in this story about the struggle for justice.       –The Guardian

Morrab Library member Pamela Priske’s thoughts-

A more conventional novel in that important information is held back till the final chapters -why is the female narrator held in prison under sentence of death?

Again, superstition affects behaviour. Memory is an albino, regarded with abhorrence because such people can only bring bad luck.

Gives insight into Zimbabwe’s horrifying prisons.