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Oil on Water: A Novel

3.62 of 5 stars 3.62 · rating details · 194 ratings · 51 reviews

"The new generation of twenty-first-century African writers have now come of age. Without a doubt Habila is one of the best." —Emmanuel Dongala

In the oil-rich and environmentally devastated Nigerian Delta, the wife of a British oil executive has been kidnapped. Two journalists-a young upstart, Rufus, and a once-great, now disillusioned veteran, Zaq-are sent to find her. In...more

Paperback, 239 pages

Published May 16th 2011 by W. W. Norton & Company (first published August 1st 2010)

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Jun 16, 2011 Trish rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: africa, fiction, war

This novel deserves all the kudos heaped upon it. The clarity of the writing, the construction of the central mystery, the steady buildup of tension, the detailed character development—all are remarkable and accomplished. The story is simple and straightforward, but becomes nail-bitingly tense as the cub reporter Rufus pursues the kidnappers of a white woman on the Nigerian delta. Rufus wouldn’t have volunteered for the dangerous mission but for wishing to accompany a veteran reporter he admires...more This novel deserves all the kudos heaped upon it. The clarity of the writing, the construction of the central mystery, the steady buildup of tension, the detailed character development—all are remarkable and accomplished. The story is simple and straightforward, but becomes nail-bitingly tense as the cub reporter Rufus pursues the kidnappers of a white woman on the Nigerian delta. Rufus wouldn’t have volunteered for the dangerous mission but for wishing to accompany a veteran reporter he admires, Zak. Things go wrong. One senses the dark nights, hot, greasy air creased with yellow torches flaming high from the oil rigs, and a moaning maelstrom of humanity wielding guns. Oil permeates everything—the air, the water, the soil—and brings wealth to some and homelessness to many in Nigeria.

Rufus is both the first name and last name of our narrator, a single name he adopts just like the reporter he most admired, Zak. Zak is alcoholic, broken in body and disillusioned, but he is still a raging intellect with the heart of a lion. These two, on their journey to find the kidnapped wife of a British oil engineer, run into militants seeking adequate reimbursement for oil revenues passing them by. Soldiers seek to stymie the kidnapping plot. Rufus and Zak witness the aftermath of their battle. Rufus is a photographer first, and his experience allows him to know how to take pictures that grip the eye.

Habila the journalist knows how to write a sentence that makes a picture and grips the heart. The simplicity of the writing gives us immediate access to his story: a few words show us the timbre of a voice, the stiffness of a back, the roll and gloss of an eye. On Habila's website we are treated to a blurb from celebrated British author Jim Crace who says, 'Helon Habila writes with intelligence and admirable narrative economy.' That's it, of course. There is no waste. In addition, Habila the journalist makes all his characters vulnerable, even the oilmen, the kidnappers, and their henchmen. He takes seemingly incomprehensible events and shows them from every angle, surprising us with their simplicity and their pathos. He reveals terrifying truths and exhibits the almost endless resilience of people under unbearable pressures. He shows us humanity as depraved and as generous as we know ourselves to be.

Exquisite. Unforgettable. Praiseworthy.(less)

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May 25, 2011 Friederike Knabe rated it 5 of 5 stars

Rufus, a young journalist on his first major assignment, travels into the troubled oil-rich Nigerian Delta, hoping to land his breakthrough news story: interviewing the kidnappers of a British oil engineer's wife and proving that the captive is alive. The dangers lurking among the oilfields and the pipelines that meander snake-like across the Delta's waters cannot deter him, especially as he is in the company of his much-admired former mentor, the erstwhile prominent reporter, Zaq. Helon Habila'...more Rufus, a young journalist on his first major assignment, travels into the troubled oil-rich Nigerian Delta, hoping to land his breakthrough news story: interviewing the kidnappers of a British oil engineer's wife and proving that the captive is alive. The dangers lurking among the oilfields and the pipelines that meander snake-like across the Delta's waters cannot deter him, especially as he is in the company of his much-admired former mentor, the erstwhile prominent reporter, Zaq. Helon Habila's new novel, "Oil on Water" is a confidently crafted and absorbing, in parts totally gripping, chronicle of human ambitions, tragedies and failures, but also of love, friendship and perseverance of the human spirit. Evoking the rich and beautiful yet fragile environment of the Delta, that is slowly being devastated by the greed for oil and money, Habila perceptively guides his different narrative strands into a poignant story that is profoundly personal even where he raises broader political and societal concerns.

Habila weaves his story in a non-chronological way: it flows back and forth in time, reflecting the reporters' meandering voyage through the vast intricate river delta. We first meet Rufus and Zaq on the ninth day of their quest. In flashbacks we learn about their back stories and, over time, that of other memorable characters. Past events are hinted at early on... Now, they are on their own, traveling by slow canoe, dependent for guidance and safety on a local fisherman and his young son to find a safe place to stay while charting their next steps. However, their time among the mangroves and later on a very special island of worshippers, is suddenly interrupted... and they have to leave their journalist role behind and use all their talents to stay alive.

Observing events through Rufus's eyes and mind, the author takes us behind the news headlines and deep into the complicated quagmire of the violent conflict between the opposing sides and their claims for oil, land and control. Emotions run high, suspicions and fear are constant companions. Not only are deadly accidents common from fires and illegally tapped oil pipes, the local military units, tasked with protecting the oil business's interests, are known for excessive, vicious force when confronted by any type of resistance, passive or not. The militant "rebels" also have a reputation of violence and kidnapping as a means to raise the money for their ongoing struggle against the government authorities and the oil companies. The local population of fishermen and farmers, with memories of a simpler and healthier life and happier times, are caught in the middle, but also tempted by promised riches from the oil wells on their shores.

Habila is an accomplished storyteller as well as a poet, having won numerous awards in both fields. His imagery is vivid, at times cinematographic and his lyrical language comes to the fore in particular when he connects the reader with the atmospheric seascapes of the Delta. "Midriver the water was clear and mobile, but toward the banks it turned brackish and still, trapped by mangroves in whose branches the mist hung in clumps like cotton balls. Ahead of us the mist arched clear over the water like a bridge, our light wooden canoe would be so enveloped in the dense gray stuff that we couldn't see each other as we glided silently over the water."

Despite the oftentimes violent events that Habila describes, he softens their impact with his sensitive characterization of people, who rarely are totally evil or totally good, they are human beings. A less rounded and skilled storyteller could have succumbed to the dangers of taking on a didactic preaching tone. Not so. While Habila has definite deep concerns on his mind he never allows these to take over or skew the balance in this richly imagined story of complex human beings in a many-sided challenging situation. To me, the late writer and journalist Ken Saro Wiva, the human rights activist and, until his execution in 1995, foremost non-violent defender of the rights of the indigenous Delta populations comes to mind as a likely and strong inspiration for the author. (less)

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Sep 22, 2011 Marcy rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book opened up my eyes to what is happening in the Niger Delta. Two journalists head out to find an English woman, the wife of a prominent oil engineer, who had been kidnapped for ransom, expecting the oil company to give them millions. The Delta Niger is all about peaceful islanders, whose lives have been turned upside down by the armies of the oil companies who are taking their land by force, their homes, polluting their waters and the environment. Many of these peaceful island people hav...more

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Sep 30, 2011 James Clancy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Helon Habila's Oil on Water is a very important book. It is a fictional account of the very real problems that are happening in modern day Africa.

The story follows journalists Rufus and Zaq on a journey through Nigeria's dangerous swamp lands looking for the kidnapped wife of a very wealthy British oil executive. The woman was kidnapped by Nigerian militant freedom fighters who are angry with their governments corruption and the oil companies control over the land.

The journey these two men take...more

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Dec 20, 2012 Gitte Zschoch rated it 4 of 5 stars

I read this book in the German translation, which was very good in that the text read like it could have been written in German, was very fluent and smooth (translation by Thomas Brückner).
The book gives great insight into things happening in Nigeria and the plot is very well constructed - almost like a movie. A little bit of love and friendship, a little bit of violence, war, and destruction. The author manages, however, to display each character which her or his respective view, and all of th...more

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Apr 12, 2013 Nancy Oakes rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction-from-africa

a stunning novel, one I highly recommend it to people who want to be enlightened about human and environmental conditions in other nations. Maybe some people think it's not cool to be reading fiction about the damage caused by "big, bad corporations" but really, I don't care about opinions -- I want to know what's happening in the world. Oil on Water highlights only a small portion of what's going on and what's been going on for some time, but what is happening now and what's been happening in t...more a stunning novel, one I highly recommend it to people who want to be enlightened about human and environmental conditions in other nations. Maybe some people think it's not cool to be reading fiction about the damage caused by "big, bad corporations" but really, I don't care about opinions -- I want to know what's happening in the world. Oil on Water highlights only a small portion of what's going on and what's been going on for some time, but what is happening now and what's been happening in the Delta area of Nigeria for nearly 50 years is just shameful. You can click here for a full-on discussion, or just continue reading for the abridged version.

Set in the Niger Delta, Oil on Water examines the changes brought about by the oil industry, which drilled its first well in 1956 and has remained a permanent fixture ever since. This very short but powerful novel, the story seen through the eyes of a journalist named Rufus, briefly brings together the stories of five different groups in the area: 1) the people who live in the Delta whose traditional lands, waterways and ways of life have been changed, exploited and in many cases, damaged beyond repair; 2) the numerous groups of freedom fighters/militants whose operations pit them against 3) the oil companies and 4) the government soldiers who routinely patrol the area; and 5) the journalists, who are invited to come and witness, record and relay the truth of what's really going on in the Delta. While the subject matter is disturbing on many levels, Habila's writing is stunning, conveying a very real sense of the human effects of the changes wrought by the oil industry there.

The frame for this novel is that the wife of an oil-company executive has been kidnapped and a group of journalists have been invited to make the journey up the river for an interview with her and her captors. Rufus is a new reporter at the 3rd largest paper in Port Harcourt, and when the request to get the story comes in, he volunteers for a job that all of the journalists know is potentially fatal after the earlier killings of two reporters on a similar mission. Along with him is his idol Zaq, a "once-great reporter" now past his glory days, once famous for his stories that emphasized the humanity beneath events. As they make their journey upriver for the story, they become part of it -- they are held as prisoners and encounter others who have also been taken captive; they are firsthand witnesses to murder and other violent acts, and throughout their trek they experience the horrific devastation of waterways and land that used to sustain entire populations. The story goes back and forth through time as Rufus relates both his past and Zaq's; Rufus also talks to various people they encounter along the way and hears their respective stories of how they came to be where they are at present.

The author spares no detail in describing the environmental devastation, including the "foul and sulphurous" river with its floating dead and dying wildlife, the fish that have disappeared, the perpetually-burning flares of gas that burn throughout the night and produce toxic fumes, and land that is so oil soaked that nothing can grow. But he also focuses heavily on the human side of things. Government corruption is a reality that sustains poverty, and poverty engenders groups like the militants/freedom fighters, who disrupt oil production until they're paid off, kidnap for huge ransoms and are in a state of perpetual warfare with government soldiers that involves the lives of otherwise innocent people. Tapping oil lines just to survive, sometimes with disastrous results, according to the author, is another human consequence, as is the move to bigger cities where work is hard or nearly impossible to come by.

Oil and Water is a depressing novel, but at the same time, the story is very well written, giving the reader pause to think. If you're saying in your head "oh crap, not another story about the evil oil corporations," well, yes, there is definitely a LOT of that here. At its core, however, this is an all-too-human story, based on realities that most people reading this book, including myself, can't even begin to fathom. It brings to light an ongoing state of environmental devastation and human rights issues that most people either aren't aware of and well, frankly, probably don't care about because it's somewhere over in Africa and isn't relevant to daily living. And that's really a shame. I loved this novel and all I can say by way of recommendation is READ THIS BOOK!! (less)

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Apr 03, 2011 Megan rated it 3 of 5 stars

I won an advanced reading copy of this book through Goodreads and my review contains no spoilers.

Helon Habila writes beautifully, he paints incredible pictures with his words which made me feel as though I was transported to the Nigerian Delta with Rufus. The book was a quick, easy read and I enjoyed Habila's writing style.

Oil on Water makes you think. Isn't that what good books are supposed to do? During the journey of two reporters, Rufus & Zaq to find a kidnapped 'white woman' they encou...more

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Jun 25, 2011 Patricia rated it 5 of 5 stars

This was the final Nigerian book of four, and the very best. From the beginning, I was a Nigerian journalist, in the river delta area of Nigeria near Port Harcourt, seeking a kidnapped white woman. If you have ever read the classic Heart of Darkness, by Conrad, you will get the atmosphere of this book, with the murky, changing river currents, the mists, the corruption and the darkness of the military vs rebels situation, where most of the victims are the innocent island dwelling fisherfolk. Oil...more

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May 09, 2012 Liz rated it 4 of 5 stars

My fascination with all-things-African continues after my trip there with People to People in 2000. (I was with English teachers from North and South America visiting with English teachers in South Africa as they were still inviting students to come back to the newly restructured schools a full six years after the fall of apartheid.)Oil on Water is a devastating look at what is happening in Nigeria as the oil boom decimates individual people, the indigenous culture, the environment and the many...more

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Apr 19, 2011 Korey rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011-50-book-challenge

I was fortunate enough to win this book through the advanced reader copy giveaway here on GoodReads, and was excited at the prospect of tackling unfamiliar subject-matter. With little-to-no knowledge about the present-day situation unfolding in Nigeria, author Helon Habila was dually able to eloquently explain and portray all of the key players while concurrently transporting the reader right into the very landscape of the conflict. I did not feel separated from it, but rather a part of it - liv...more

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Apr 18, 2012 Judith rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: book-club

Oil On Water: A Novel by Helon Habila floats on the Niger Delta, the island home of many peoples, most of them dispossessed by the promise of oil wealth and the reality of pollution that lasts long after the wells are depleted. Gas flares dominate the horizon all night, punctuated by fiery conflicts between the military, bought and paid for by the oil companies, and the militant rebels, as corrupt a mix of idealists and criminals as the government, itself. Rufus, a young journalist, joins the se...more

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Apr 29, 2013 Melitta rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: book-club

All round excellent book: it works as a documentary of the oil industry's rape of Nigeria, it has a good dose of suspense as the hero of the novel searches for a kidnap victim, there is also poignancy from a family's struggles with a changing country. The language flows well, with enough descriptions for us to visualize the Nigerian Delta's many islands and villages, but without overwhelming the story or slowing it's pace. A first-class read, both to illuminate a modern-day story of Africa, and...more

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Jan 02, 2012 Adrienna rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: borrowed-book, literary-club-read, fiction, african-literature

This book opening intrigued me to keep reading the pages.

"...job will break your heart...journalism shows your firsthand how nations are built, how great men achieve their greatness." (page 63). This passage moved me dearly since I am an article writer for online/print magazine and author of numerous books; to see how our writings or jobs can not only break us, move us, but also inspire others to achieve and shine their greatness through our eyes and hands!

There were other passages brilliantly...more

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Jan 21, 2013 Cheryl rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: africa, e-book, fiction, nigeria, literary, literature

The opening chapter describes a harrowing river journey that immediately brings to mind Heart of Darkness. It is not the same story, but the physical surroundings, the fog, the fearful emotional atmosphere...I'm thinking, "Mistah Kurtz, he dead." It was a strong powerful chapter.
The story is of an ambitious Nigerian reporter who is trying to find the kidnapped wife of an expatriate European oil executive. Nothing is as it seems, and the plot moves slowly, somewhat weighed down by the earnestness...more

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Aug 21, 2011 Beverly rated it 4 of 5 stars

Heading: Disillusioned and Disheartened

Oil on Water is the masterful third novel by Helon Habila, and once again the author tackles another timely topic, this time the deadly politics of oil in the Niger Delta. The wife of a British oil executive has been kidnapped by a group of militants, and this in itself is not necessarily newsworthy as it is a common enough occurrence in the region with its own rules for the exchange of monies and the release of the kidnapped person. As journalists are usua...more Heading: Disillusioned and Disheartened

Oil on Water is the masterful third novel by Helon Habila, and once again the author tackles another timely topic, this time the deadly politics of oil in the Niger Delta. The wife of a British oil executive has been kidnapped by a group of militants, and this in itself is not necessarily newsworthy as it is a common enough occurrence in the region with its own rules for the exchange of monies and the release of the kidnapped person. As journalists are usually involved to help facilitate the process, Rufus, a young journalist, takes the assignment to find “the white woman”, as he senses this could be his big break. He is excited to work with his mentor, Zaq, a once-renowned journalist who has fallen from grace and now lives in an alcoholic haze. But, a seemingly routine event takes an unexpected turn which leads Rufus and Zaq on a life-threatening and introspective journey. Through this adventure, both Rufus and the reader will be often reminded of Zaq’s sage advice, “Remember, the story is not always the final goal.”

One of the strengths of this enthralling story is the unfolding of the tale through Rufus’ memory that is often patchy and hallucinatory matching it to the environment with its twists and turns in the river, and the hidden islands appearing and disappearing before your eyes. This provides a cinematic quality as the scenes are vividly painted for the reader, making the Niger Delta as much a character as Rufus and Zaq. The expert storytelling allows the reader to feel empathy for the characters that live in an environment where often who is the good guy and who is the bad guy is dependent on the breathtaking tricks of chance that can result in life or death in a second.

Using Rufus, as the detective in this mystery allows for the exploration of journalism as a vehicle for being the voice of the people, and showing the frustration of reining in the truth when political and money forces are spinning the tale to their own making. Through Rufus starts out searching for “the white woman,” he ends up finding something more transformative and profound, and the reader is right there with him feeling the potent mix of humanity with the sharp edge of nervous anticipation of the truth.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, as it was part armchair adventure, part cautionary tale, and part social documentary. Oil on Water provides a portrait of the Niger Delta and the people who live there. The author deserves the accolades as he took an unsettling subject and captured it in a calming and haunting way that stays with me long after I have read the last page.

I recommend this book to readers of literary fiction and those who are interested in environmental and energy issues.

Reviewed by Beverly
APOOO Literary Book Review.
(less)

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Mar 27, 2012 Sharon rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads, africa, historical-fiction

This author has a wonderful talent in making scenes vivid and real. In the Niger Delta region, where oil drilling has devastating effects on the land, the waters, and the tribal peoples living peacefully for generations before the oil, life is fragile. Militants wishing to preserve their way and life and their lands resort to violence and blowing up oil equipment. Soldiers are tasked with stopping them, often with more violence. The people of Nigeria try to live normal lives, some in the city of...more This author has a wonderful talent in making scenes vivid and real. In the Niger Delta region, where oil drilling has devastating effects on the land, the waters, and the tribal peoples living peacefully for generations before the oil, life is fragile. Militants wishing to preserve their way and life and their lands resort to violence and blowing up oil equipment. Soldiers are tasked with stopping them, often with more violence. The people of Nigeria try to live normal lives, some in the city of Port Harcourt, others in the forests along rivers. Serene islands dot the rivers -- oases where some live in peace until violence arrives.

After an oil executive's wife goes missing, 5 reporters are dispatched from Port Harcourt to find her and speak with the head of the most well-known militant group, believed to be holding the woman. This militant leader is known for not harming reporters and welcoming press regarding his cause. The assignment weaves the lives of two reporters together, old and young. Their quest turns into high adventure and, like the river, surprises lie unseen around every bend.

This is not only a good story, it's about true events still happening in this part of the world, so it's educational and eye-opening. The book would make a wonderful adventure movie. It has every element to make a successful movie.

The story is told in sections that don't always follow chronologically. The flashbacks are very effective and I liked those. I think the story would be better served if most of it were told in a more straightforward manner, with shorter flashbacks. I found it slightly confusing at some points where new scenes out of sequence started but then was able to discern where in the story the current scene was. We never learn what happened to the other 3 reporters. That happens in life, but in this case, it's disconcerting.

The reader is never told what illness Zaq has. I wanted to ask, is this because there are so many illnesses in that region with these symptoms it may never be known or it is because the author thought it didn't matter? Even alluding to the fact that the illness wasn't diagnosed would be better than no curiosity about it at all, but then, maybe that's an American way of looking at things. Perhaps the author's way of handling it is just how it would be handled in the delta region. These observations don't make the story less powerful.

Much of what happened was so realistic -- the misconceptions, deceptions, disillusionment, fear, sorrow, caring, interactions, ambitions and more. This is a story of our time; if you know little about this part of the world, you should read this.

I'd lke to add that I think the reader confusion was purposeful to mirror the labyrinthine course of the river delta area and perhaps also the confusion of events in the story. The book begins by alluding to fog and confusion in an artful way, however confusion that causes the reader to backtrack, trying to understand where things fit in may not be such a good thing. It's an intriguing thought process on the part of the author, though. (less)

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Apr 17, 2011 Rebecca Johnson rated it 3 of 5 stars

Oil On Water, by Helon Habila, is a novel that takes in Nigeria where oil has become the main concern. The oil companies are buying up villages and destroying the environment. That’s when the militant group starts fighting back, and one of the ways they do so, is by kidnapping important people and family members of the oil company. This is where Rufus and Zaq, two reporters, come in. They are sent to determine a ransom for “the white woman.” What appears to be a simple, but frightening task, tur...more

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Apr 14, 2011 Elizabeth rated it 3 of 5 stars

Recommended to Elizabeth by: Goodreads Giveaway

Shelves: first-reads

Incredible subject, well-narrated by an interesting and compelling character. Beautiful use of imagery and time sequencing. I loved how easily we could go from one time to another without feeling disjointed. I didn't love the predictability of the ending (particularly the pregnancy situation and the plot surrounding the sister). I also wish the chapters could have varied more with regard to length, order of events, and so on. I'm interested to read more Helon Habila to see whether other books ar...more

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Jan 25, 2011 Bonnie Campbell added it · review of another edition

In this fever dream of a novel, Helon Habila guides us through the oil-choked Nigerian Delta with heartbreaking ease, past gas flares, mazes of pipelines, and decaying human and animal remains. The stories of the soldiers, rebels, nurses, chiefs, alcoholics and prisoners reveal internal pain that mirrors the external damage around them. We learn, along with the narrator, how the perfect story is not the same as the real story.

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Apr 22, 2011 Veleda rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 50-books-poc, 50-books-poc-2011, fiction, first-reads, political, nigeria

I received this book through Good Reads's First Reads. An unflinching look at the oil trade in Nigeria, and the ramifications thereof. Oil on Water spares no one.

Two Nigerian reporters are on the trail of kidnapped woman, the wife a British oil executive. What was supposed to be a routine ransom spins wildly out of control.

This is undoubtedly a cynical book. (Though given the subject matter one could simple call it realistic.) However, it's not unbearably pessimistic. There are good people, thou...more

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Mar 27, 2011 Deborah rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011, first-reads

Thank you for the gift of this book, which I received as a Goodreads giveaway. Habila's writing is careful and sparse, balancing each thread of the story. There is nothing extra in this book, and Habila's attention to detail creates haunting images and characters. However, because of the spare language I found it difficult to follow at times, it requires patience to link the episodes together. It is not an easy book to read, Habila's writing will carry you along to a certain extent but also dema...more

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Feb 13, 2013 Jing Jin rated it 4 of 5 stars

the writing is lyrical, and the characterization is compelling. the novel could be better grounded in historical and geographical specificity even if it retained the use of fictional place names. the military, militants, and nigerian people in general were characterized. the government was missing, and cultural distinctions between clans or tribes were not described.

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May 15, 2012 Maggie rated it 3 of 5 stars

I read this as a finals-period distraction and it was compelling and a quick read. But I noticed some repetition of text and some confusion about the timeline that I wasn't able to fully pick up on in one read. 3 stars for now, maybe more if I get a chance to read it again and figure out what the author is doing with that confusion.

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Nov 22, 2011 Jen rated it 3 of 5 stars

I was only half way through this book when I started receiving the overdue warnings from the Cambridge libary. They wouldn't let me renew so I had to return to library. Very well written, deserved to be finished, but I had too many other books grabbing my attention to pay the overdue fine. Gave it three stars because there are some books that I wouldn't have returned despite the overdue fine, so apparently, as well written as it was, the subject matter was not grabbing my attention.

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Jul 16, 2011 Nico Vreeland rated it 1 of 5 stars

After you get over how disappointing this book is, it can be kind of funny. I mean, Habila compares the plight of Nigerians exploited and ruined by the greed of oil companies to ....... the people looking for dry land in "Waterworld." Seriously? Yes. http://chamberfour.com/2011/06/09/rev...

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Oct 18, 2012 Irene rated it 3 of 5 stars

Interesting, nice story, characters good. Could have had bit more depth but complicated story to tell, too, so not much opportunity I guess.
The constant images of grey and murky mists got to me after a while, somehow didn't convey the atmosphere and didn't inform me about the situation in the Delta which apparently is so ghastly and which this novel apparently portraits.
Some things didn't add up, don't want to go into detail. Other things work well, eg. the structure.

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Nov 25, 2011 Rosanna rated it 4 of 5 stars

A look at the devastation of the people and lands of Nigeria through the oil companies. Two journalists try to find a kidnapped wife of one of the oil executives.They encounter militants and miltary both of whom bring their own type of terror.Not a hopeful book for the future of Nigeria.

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Dec 13, 2012 Karen rated it 5 of 5 stars

I highly recommend this book. Habila is a really good storyteller. The main characters are journalists investigating a kidnapping of an oil company executive's wife in Nigeria. I learned a lot about how oil exploitation has impacted the life of the local people there.

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Jul 21, 2012 Jennifer Anderson rated it 3 of 5 stars

I was good to get out of America. In terms of style, setting, and content this book was very refreshing. The plot is unsettling and sad - giving a fresh perspective on the less powerful nations ravaged by greed - but it moves quickly Habila weaves a great tale.

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Aug 08, 2011 Mary rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is an interesting novel set in the Niger delta. There are emotionally difficult scenes, but overall it is well written. One gets a beginning sense of conflicting interests between the big oil companies and local peoples.

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About Helon Habila

Helon Habila was born in Nigeria in 1967. He studied literature at the University of Jos and taught at the Federal Polytechnic Bauchi, before moving to Lagos to work as a journalist. In Lagos he wrote his first novel, Waiting for an Angel, which won the Caine Prize in 2001. Waiting for an Angel has been translated into many languages including Dutch, Italian, Swedish, and French.

In 2002 he moved...more

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The Granta Book of the African Short Story

The Best American Non-Required Reading 2008

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Quotes from Oil on Water: A Novel

“You must take a year off, one of these days, before you’re old and tired and weighed down by responsibility. Go away somewhere, and read. Read all the important books. Educate yourself, then you’ll see the world in a different way.” — 5 people liked it

“‎"So your question, are we happy here? I say how can we be happy when we are mere wanderers without a home?" from 'Oil on Water” — 1 person liked it

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BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9912728-oil-on-water?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327936706l/9912728.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9912728-oil-on-water?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Oil on Water: A Novel by Helon Habila[/url]

Oil on Water: A Novel

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