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Bom Boy
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Leke is a troubled young man living in the suburbs of Cape Town. He develops strange habits of stalking people, stealing small objects and going from doctor to doctor in search of companionship rather than cure. Through a series of letters written to him by his Nigerian father whom he has never met, Leke learns about a family curse; a curse which his father had unsuccessfu
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Paperback, First, 250 pages
Published
October 24th 2011
by Modjaji Books
(first published September 21st 2011)
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It took me quite a while to figure out who the characters were and which era they belonged to. The author doesn't prepare readers for the characters/time period switches initially and it was so confusing. I also was unable to connect with any of the characters, which was disappointing because I enjoyed the characters in the author's previous work, The Woman Next Door.
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Have you ever watched the TV Show Mr Robot? If yes, then you have a pretty good idea of the main character in this book. Frustratingly reticent, socially awkward.I have not read anything else by Omotoso, but this particular book did not really do it for me. The cover screams out that it was shortlisted for this and that, and is a prize winning text. OK. Tastes differ, I guess.
Why didn't I like the book?
1. There is something formulaic about the way Omotoso drags the story on, just keeping key plo ...more
Why didn't I like the book?
1. There is something formulaic about the way Omotoso drags the story on, just keeping key plo ...more
Bom Boy by Yewande Omotoso
Another great read by a South African writer. Leke’s father, Oscar, a man from Nigeria arrives in South Africa to study molecular science. Meets African girl, Elaine, who bears him a son (Leke) but unfortunately he (Oscar) is arrested and sent to jail and never gets to raise his son. He writes letters to Leke, (Bom Boy is pidgin for baby boy) and it is through these letters that Leke discovers the curse that has been placed on his family. Oscar in jail and Elaine finds ...more
Another great read by a South African writer. Leke’s father, Oscar, a man from Nigeria arrives in South Africa to study molecular science. Meets African girl, Elaine, who bears him a son (Leke) but unfortunately he (Oscar) is arrested and sent to jail and never gets to raise his son. He writes letters to Leke, (Bom Boy is pidgin for baby boy) and it is through these letters that Leke discovers the curse that has been placed on his family. Oscar in jail and Elaine finds ...more
I loved how this book was written. A story of a family curse that is told through a series of letters. It was not hurried and the writing is simply beautiful. I was exposed to other parts of Cape Town, that I could see through the words.
The chapters move from the present and past while linking the story beautifully. If you are curious about the spiritual world and believe in the notion of "black magic", then you are going to love this book. ...more
The chapters move from the present and past while linking the story beautifully. If you are curious about the spiritual world and believe in the notion of "black magic", then you are going to love this book. ...more
So lovely. I really enjoyed it.
The story follows the life of Leke, from childhood until adulthood. He was born of a Nigerian father and a South African coloured woman. He was adopted by a white couple, his mom could not take care of him and his father was in jail. Leke grows up as a recluse and misfit forever grappling with solitude and struggling to belong. Fighting a generational curse cast on his dad's family.
I found the book boring and flat in tone. Many a times I contemplated dumping it. It was the masochist in me that ...more
I found the book boring and flat in tone. Many a times I contemplated dumping it. It was the masochist in me that ...more
I think I just discovered a favourite new author... which is poignant because the only reason I bought this book was because the bookseller insisted - practically shoving it into my arms, and the only reason I picked it up was because I needed a light read to shrug off what remains of my reading slump!
I'm glad to report that this book hit the sweet spot.
Lake is plagued by deep loneliness, a sense of not belonging, but wanting to feel loved... something other than the heaviness that occupies and ...more
I'm glad to report that this book hit the sweet spot.
Lake is plagued by deep loneliness, a sense of not belonging, but wanting to feel loved... something other than the heaviness that occupies and ...more
It’s a little difficult to write this review because Bomboy is like no other novel I have read. It has elements of the supernatural, the spiritual and superstitions; it tells of the effects mental health, sickness, lack and abuse can have on families.
We follow the life of Leke, a young man who doubles as an IT programmer during the day and a kleptomaniac at night. Since his adoptive mother’s death when he was a boy, life took on an even lesser meaning and he navigates (and we with him) through h ...more
We follow the life of Leke, a young man who doubles as an IT programmer during the day and a kleptomaniac at night. Since his adoptive mother’s death when he was a boy, life took on an even lesser meaning and he navigates (and we with him) through h ...more
Plan to highlight on blog. Will post the link to the post sometime next week. Edited: Here is the link: http://tiahbeautement.typepad.com/tra...
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Six stars.
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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I have had this book on my list for a while and was eager to read it especially after the less than stellar review I wrote of Omotoso's other book. The novel centers on Leke - a confused and awkward young man. The story is told through Leke's present day actions like hypochondria, thievery, and stalking and meshed with letters his father (whom he has never met) wrote to him as a baby. The novel was captivating from the beginning - I love books told through multiple perspectives with epistolary e
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This was a difficult book to rate. Part of my reaction was tainted by the fact that there was a fair amount of vocabulary I didn't understand. That said, I loved the main character, Leke. He was so innocent, so sensitive, so vulnerable. All of his parents loved him so much in such different ways. He tried so hard to figure it all out, and in the end, I'm not sure he did, but I think he got closer. Maybe I liked this better than I thought I did. Hmmm
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I have heard this author speak at Literary Festivals and she’s terrific, so I was really looking forward to reading this book. I am most disappointed. I couldn’t wait to finish it. I found quite a bit of it confusing and I didn’t connect with any of the characters. It really did nothing for me. I’m so disappointed.
Interesting elements that just didn't quite come together for me. A very lonely young man, Leke, seeks connections by stalking people in malls, making appointments with every type of doctor/practitioner imaginable, and steals things. He does not know his birth mother and his adoptive mother passed away. I adored Leke's quirkiness but would have like a better wrap up to the story.
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I wish the entirety of this was like the first fifty pages. Really sags in the middle. At times I worried I missed key plot points, but it was just the structure of the book to reveal those near the end.
I struggled. Like really struggled to make sense of all the different character and traveling between the eras. Once I got to page 40 or so it began making sense.
There are so many things going through my mind about this book.
I'll come back and edit this. ...more
There are so many things going through my mind about this book.
I'll come back and edit this. ...more
It all came together in the end, but until then I was quite confused. The plot emulated Leke's confusion, but it requires some staying power on the part of the reader.
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The ending was a bit open ended for me.
Something totally different, highly recommend!
A narrative that merges past and present, bouncing between two African states but staying within one family and showing how curses begin and how they can be broken. A stellar debut!
A heartfelt story of a boy. Lost through the years, he eventually finds his way. A recommended read.
Leke takes the award for the most irritating fictional character I've read about
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
I really wanted to like this book. But in the end, I couldn't get through it. The characters were named similarly to each other and I couldn't keep track of them, or the time I was reading about at any given moment. A lot of flashbacks that confused me. The whole story was lost on me. It just didn't click! I always feel so sorry when this happens with a book as I want to encourage the author.
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This has to be the most pointless book I have read in recent history. I think the author must be some kind of marketing genius because the only reason I finished this book was because there was always the promise of something MAJOR about to be revealed.
I kept turning the pages, waiting to get to the "climax" and it is not even a little climatic. I mean, the entire book could easily have been a short story and it would have been better that way. Instead of the reader getting dragged along in what ...more
I kept turning the pages, waiting to get to the "climax" and it is not even a little climatic. I mean, the entire book could easily have been a short story and it would have been better that way. Instead of the reader getting dragged along in what ...more
A young man attempts to cure his loneliness in socially unacceptable ways, until he discovers the answer may lie in a curse placed upon his family years ago.
Through three decades, two countries and multiple points of view, a complete picture of Leke's life in the present slowly surfaces in Yewande Omotoso's debut novel. Shortlisted for the 2012 Sunday Times Fiction Prize, Bom Boy is published in North America for the first time following the critical acclaim for her second novel, The Woman Next ...more
Through three decades, two countries and multiple points of view, a complete picture of Leke's life in the present slowly surfaces in Yewande Omotoso's debut novel. Shortlisted for the 2012 Sunday Times Fiction Prize, Bom Boy is published in North America for the first time following the critical acclaim for her second novel, The Woman Next ...more
Yewande Omotoso’s 2017 novel, The Woman Next Door, was a far-reaching examination of difficult personalities, and her debut, Bom Boy shares a lot of the same DNA.
Bom Boy follows the South African life of Leke, a young man whose troubled upbringing has left him closed off with a sense of disconnectedness. His only human contact comes from pick pocketing strangers in the mall, unnecessary medical appointments, and meetings at the cemetery to mourn his adoptive mother with his well-meaning but emot ...more
Bom Boy follows the South African life of Leke, a young man whose troubled upbringing has left him closed off with a sense of disconnectedness. His only human contact comes from pick pocketing strangers in the mall, unnecessary medical appointments, and meetings at the cemetery to mourn his adoptive mother with his well-meaning but emot ...more
Leke, his biolological and adoptive parents: every one of these characters engages the emotions, as do Tsotso and her grandmother. On a superficial level, this poignant debut novel is about profound loneliness. Leke harmlessly stalks strangers, steals small souvenirs and consults an assortment of medical practitioners in search of simple human contact.
At another level it is much deeper and more complex. Quiet little lives are not the less for being small and mostly silent.
Yewande Omotoso's nove ...more
At another level it is much deeper and more complex. Quiet little lives are not the less for being small and mostly silent.
Yewande Omotoso's nove ...more
Lovely book, everybody should read it at least once. A far reaching debut. Leke is a troubled young man who stalks people, who steals small items. This are just symptoms of the yawning loneliness and abandonment he feels. This book is a book of silence, a book of how people deal with solitude. But that's not all, you read about ancestral curses, how myth can become real.
After walking in Leke's mind you can't help but empathize with the cards life has dealt Leke. You would also enjoy the poignan ...more
After walking in Leke's mind you can't help but empathize with the cards life has dealt Leke. You would also enjoy the poignan ...more
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YEWANDE OMOTOSO was born in Barbados and grew up in Nigeria, moving to South Africa with her family in 1992. She is the author of Bom Boy, published in South Africa in 2011. In 2012 she was on the South African Literary Award for First-Time Published Author and was shortlisted for the South African Sunday Times Fiction Prize. In 2013 she was a finalist in the the inaugural, pan-African Etisalat Fi
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