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Speak Gigantular
Speak Gigantular is a startling short story collection from one of Britain’s rising literary stars. These stories are captivating, erotic, enigmatic and disturbing. Irenosen Okojie’s gift is in her understated humour, her light touch, her razor-sharp assessment of the best and worst of humankind, and her unflinching gaze into the darkest corners of the human experience.
In these stories Okojie creates worlds where lovelorn aliens abduct innocent coffee shop waitresses, where the London Underground is inhabited by the ghosts of errant Londoners caught between here and the hereafter, where insensitive men cheat on their mistresses and can only muster enough interest to fall for one- dimensional poster girls and where brave young women attempt to be erotically empowered at their own peril. Sexy, serious and at times downright disturbing, this brilliant debut collection sizzles with originality.
In these stories Okojie creates worlds where lovelorn aliens abduct innocent coffee shop waitresses, where the London Underground is inhabited by the ghosts of errant Londoners caught between here and the hereafter, where insensitive men cheat on their mistresses and can only muster enough interest to fall for one- dimensional poster girls and where brave young women attempt to be erotically empowered at their own peril. Sexy, serious and at times downright disturbing, this brilliant debut collection sizzles with originality.
206 pages, Paperback
First published September 15, 2016
About the author
Irenosen Okojie
28 books125 followersIrenosen Okojie was born in Nigeria and moved to England aged eight. A freelance Arts Project Manager, she has previously worked at Apples & Snakes as the National Development Coordinator and for The Caine Prize as a Publicity Officer for their 10th Anniversary Tour. Her short stories have been published in the US, Africa and the UK. Her first novel, Butterfly Fish, was published by Jacaranda Books in July 2015.
(from http://elisedillsworthagency.com/?pag...)
(from http://elisedillsworthagency.com/?pag...)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 67 reviews
March 28, 2017
A wonderfully weird collection of short stories, surreal, and magical; stories told in elaborate metaphors that are never what they first seem; stories of loss and love and hatred and bliss and human connection. Those stories that were on the right side of weird were really something else and I am super glad to have read this book. This is why I started reading more short fiction!
I like weird fiction, I like stories that straddle the line of the real and the surreal and thus I absolutely adored this debut collection of short stories. The stories are unapologetically weird and different and never go the way of the expected and the author kept me guessing (wrong) the whole time. There is something different about the way the author constructs sentences that I can't quite put my finger on but that I adored.
While there were some stories that fell slightly flat for me, overall I really enjoyed the collection. The power of the great stories and the wonderful language made me overlook some of the characterisation that wasn't quite on point enough. I cannot wait to see what the authors comes up with next!
__________
I received an arc of this book curtesy of NetGalley and Jacaranda Books in exchange for an honest review. Thanks for that!
I like weird fiction, I like stories that straddle the line of the real and the surreal and thus I absolutely adored this debut collection of short stories. The stories are unapologetically weird and different and never go the way of the expected and the author kept me guessing (wrong) the whole time. There is something different about the way the author constructs sentences that I can't quite put my finger on but that I adored.
While there were some stories that fell slightly flat for me, overall I really enjoyed the collection. The power of the great stories and the wonderful language made me overlook some of the characterisation that wasn't quite on point enough. I cannot wait to see what the authors comes up with next!
__________
I received an arc of this book curtesy of NetGalley and Jacaranda Books in exchange for an honest review. Thanks for that!
July 31, 2018
I really wanted to love this collection; especially as it came highly recommended however these stories and Okojie’s style of writing didn’t resonate with me.
Some of the stories were really good (Animal Parts, Fractures, Walk With Sleep, Why is Pepe Canary Yellow, Nadine, The Thumbnail Interruptions and The Arrangement of Skin), others I couldn’t even finish or had to skim read (Following, Mammouth).
There was definitely promise; most of the shorts started strong but rambled on and got confusing to the point my attention span wavered. In spite of my misgivings I’d still read more from Okojie just not another collection of short stories 🤷🏾♀️
Some of the stories were really good (Animal Parts, Fractures, Walk With Sleep, Why is Pepe Canary Yellow, Nadine, The Thumbnail Interruptions and The Arrangement of Skin), others I couldn’t even finish or had to skim read (Following, Mammouth).
There was definitely promise; most of the shorts started strong but rambled on and got confusing to the point my attention span wavered. In spite of my misgivings I’d still read more from Okojie just not another collection of short stories 🤷🏾♀️
July 18, 2017
Being nice for once I give this book 3 stars. Weird stories, weirder writing. Very uneven, from too complex to simple or cliché. Lot of the metaphores do not make sense to me.
August 22, 2017
Awesome and wild collection of short stories from a cool new talent! Wonderfully defies description as a read, making it difficult to review though I did enjoy the kid with a tail who made jam with his mum and the London underground ghosts (seriously check it for yourself!)
I was fortunate enough to meet Ms Okojie at the Open Pen Summer Party. Rather, I showed her how to get to Jamboree in Limehouse's less-than-intuitive entrance. I didn't manage to chat to her after her electric performance because I'd excitedly invited too many family members and friends to see my own performance that night and spent much time running between them like a plate-spinner to make sure, oh God, everything was okay. There was no real need for this of course because they are all civilised and interesting adults who had a ball. Maybe next year, then? Or ever again?! Who knows :p
What I'm trying to say is, my dad bought Okojie's novel and I hope he lets me read it too.
I was fortunate enough to meet Ms Okojie at the Open Pen Summer Party. Rather, I showed her how to get to Jamboree in Limehouse's less-than-intuitive entrance. I didn't manage to chat to her after her electric performance because I'd excitedly invited too many family members and friends to see my own performance that night and spent much time running between them like a plate-spinner to make sure, oh God, everything was okay. There was no real need for this of course because they are all civilised and interesting adults who had a ball. Maybe next year, then? Or ever again?! Who knows :p
What I'm trying to say is, my dad bought Okojie's novel and I hope he lets me read it too.
October 13, 2022
Wave after wave of imagination and weirdness, inspired by video games, horror and arthouse films, these pieces are unique. It's hard to keep up, statues - Eros, Chaplin, a vomiting fountain - come alive and enter a women's prison to free the prisoners; an alien dates a waitress. Some seem a bit sketchy - first stories? - and some imagery/writing passed me by completely, but much good stuff to enjoy, generous, inventive and who could resist lines like these:
The van swells with heat you could mould into extra passengers.
the abandoned ships from the 1800s cave into one another in a misshapen embrace of rust and decay
(in a cave) a part of the water is jarringly bright blue, it's a jewel worshipping the light catching it
A boomerang in the air became an elbow looking for a body.
The van swells with heat you could mould into extra passengers.
the abandoned ships from the 1800s cave into one another in a misshapen embrace of rust and decay
(in a cave) a part of the water is jarringly bright blue, it's a jewel worshipping the light catching it
A boomerang in the air became an elbow looking for a body.
January 11, 2017
I have read hundreds of short story collections, but never encountered anything quite like Speak Gigantular. This book is filled with luminous prose and harsh realities cloaked in magical realism. There is insight, imagination, and a subtle humour that balances out the persistent thread of darkness connecting these tales.
No two stories are alike. The difference between one story and the next would be disorienting were it not for the sense of marvel Okojie preserves from start to finish. A boy born with a tail, the ghosts of suicides that haunt the London Underground, a relationship so destructive it alters reality (or seems to), a bank robber in a chicken suit, sexual misadventures in which it is near impossible to distinguish between predator and prey... Every word of every story is astonishing.
This book grapples with difficult themes. It touches upon kidnap, rape, death, and makes effective use of magical realism to explore the human psyche's struggle to process trauma. There is a poignant observation that the police do not care about missing Black girls. And then there are thoughtful depictions of how certain struggles manifest in everyday life: absent parents, the specific awkwardness of being an obvious tourist abroad when surrounded by other Black people, being caught in a bad pattern of behaviour. Yet, due to the lightness of the writing, these weighty subjects float through the reader's mind.
I was profoundly moved by the author's consideration of how "invisible and lost" young people can end up trying to establish a career, the difficulties of finding your niche in the instability of the modern world, the way Black girls internalise the message that positions of power cannot be ours for the taking. Speak Gigantular contains many truths, not all of them palatable. Without moralising, it challenges the status quo through highlighting the humanity of those characters caught out by structures of power.
The originality of this book is its greatest strength. Okojie possesses a vivid imagination and a lush way with words, which combine to create a totally absorbing read in Speak Gigantular. I recommend this book to short story enthusiasts, fans of magical realism, or readers looking for books that will get under their skin.
No two stories are alike. The difference between one story and the next would be disorienting were it not for the sense of marvel Okojie preserves from start to finish. A boy born with a tail, the ghosts of suicides that haunt the London Underground, a relationship so destructive it alters reality (or seems to), a bank robber in a chicken suit, sexual misadventures in which it is near impossible to distinguish between predator and prey... Every word of every story is astonishing.
This book grapples with difficult themes. It touches upon kidnap, rape, death, and makes effective use of magical realism to explore the human psyche's struggle to process trauma. There is a poignant observation that the police do not care about missing Black girls. And then there are thoughtful depictions of how certain struggles manifest in everyday life: absent parents, the specific awkwardness of being an obvious tourist abroad when surrounded by other Black people, being caught in a bad pattern of behaviour. Yet, due to the lightness of the writing, these weighty subjects float through the reader's mind.
I was profoundly moved by the author's consideration of how "invisible and lost" young people can end up trying to establish a career, the difficulties of finding your niche in the instability of the modern world, the way Black girls internalise the message that positions of power cannot be ours for the taking. Speak Gigantular contains many truths, not all of them palatable. Without moralising, it challenges the status quo through highlighting the humanity of those characters caught out by structures of power.
The originality of this book is its greatest strength. Okojie possesses a vivid imagination and a lush way with words, which combine to create a totally absorbing read in Speak Gigantular. I recommend this book to short story enthusiasts, fans of magical realism, or readers looking for books that will get under their skin.
April 15, 2017
This short story collection is…odd.
I finished it not an hour ago, and already the stories are starting to slip and slide around my head, morphing into strange black women with jewels for eyes and bloody hearts in their hands.
Magic abounds in Speak Gigantular. If someone was to make a Black Girl Magic reading list (which definitely should be a thing, if it isn’t already!), this should feature on it. And not just because there are ghosts and aliens, because there is a deep sense of the particular beauty and empowerment that comes of being a young, black woman. That’s probably the one thing that I can see in pretty much all the short stories – not what I really expected, but I’m definitely glad it is there.
I’ve actually read quite a few short story collections this year, and this is definitely one of the best. Okojie has a very distinct voice, which both entrances and repels me. Also, I find that short story collections can often sound quite amateur and undergraduate-y, but I didn’t think that at all, in this case.
I finished it not an hour ago, and already the stories are starting to slip and slide around my head, morphing into strange black women with jewels for eyes and bloody hearts in their hands.
Magic abounds in Speak Gigantular. If someone was to make a Black Girl Magic reading list (which definitely should be a thing, if it isn’t already!), this should feature on it. And not just because there are ghosts and aliens, because there is a deep sense of the particular beauty and empowerment that comes of being a young, black woman. That’s probably the one thing that I can see in pretty much all the short stories – not what I really expected, but I’m definitely glad it is there.
I’ve actually read quite a few short story collections this year, and this is definitely one of the best. Okojie has a very distinct voice, which both entrances and repels me. Also, I find that short story collections can often sound quite amateur and undergraduate-y, but I didn’t think that at all, in this case.
March 19, 2017
'Darkness motivates men, mobilises armies. Use it. You are a warrior. Show me your roar. People are scared of your power, frightened of what you can do with it.' Irenosen Okojie has a powerful voice which can upturn ships and mellow down racing bulls. The book came to light when the author won Jhalak prize. Not too many Goodreads ratings to its credit, readers are really missing out on a great read.
The collection of the short stories is in one word - unpredictable.
Cover page
The cover page displays a curly haired mystic woman who has words, where there ought to be, her mouth. The black and white cover page is a wonderful composition. The font compliments the graphic image. It keeps well the magical realism and the mysticism of the book intact. The book is not to be talked about but to experience from the inside.
Characters
There are several one-of-their-kind characters in each story. Henri Thomsen from 'Animal Parts' is a regular ten-year-old boy from a danish town, except that he has a long furry tail which his mother makes holes in his trousers for. Balthazar from 'Outtakes' knows something about everything, including octopus festivals, chortling volcanoes, and placenta-eating women. He is a wonderful character to fall in love with and assume a future. But there are always twists in most wonderful stories.
Nadine is a black girl missing. But she is not important. Missing black girls are never important. But he has decided to find out what has happened to her. An epileptic boy who can make electricity with his brain, enough to power laptops and start kettles boiling. He gives a damn.
There are several out of the box characters. Some of these characters force you to think. Not just think but move mountains. Some of them just exist like a voice talking to you through half crazy jarring buzz.
All the characters have one thing in common, though. They are all memorable.
Content
The book is a collection of short tales of peculiar people. The collection begins with 'Gunk' where the mother asserts the importance of owning one's own skin and not to be 'a waste of space'. It is a powerful essay which possesses you right from the first sentence when it begins with 'Get up. Try to hold your world. You can't. You let it slip'. It talks about how darkness motivates men, mobilises armies. And how you can use it to start a war. These are all words spoken by a black in the world where the color of your skin defines your destiny and how you can shape it yourself rather than letting the world decide for you. This remains my favourite piece in the entire book.
Then comes 'Animal Parts' where a mother births a child with a long furry tale. The story is magical realism sighed with emotions. There are glimpses of mental illness seen in the stories and this one, in particular, will move you like nothing else.
'Fractures' is about two identical twins who have had a bad past and one blames the other for it. Hilly is bitter towards Grace and a small temptation drags her to wanting to live Grace's life. It is a story with an unexpected ending. An extraterrestrial being and a girl who attracts bad luck.
'Walk with Sleep' is another magical realism story with a beautiful beginning and even more beautiful end.
'Nadine' is a story of a black girl missing and our protagonist trying to find her since a black girl missing does not attract as much attention. He wants to know what exactly happened to her. This is another story not to be missed.
'The thumbnail interruptions' is another story with a streak of mental illness. A photographer who is drugging his girlfriend and sending her photos to her colleagues. This is one of my favourite tales in the book.
There are other stories such as 'The Arrangement of Skin', 'Snapper', 'Following' and 'Vegas' that leave you engrossed throughout the story and stunned at the end.
The stories have an acute trace of mental illness sprinkled generously throughout the book. The imagination runs wild and meets all kinds of creatures in the stories.
Language
The author has a great narrative style. You can read minds and swallow emotions like you have dry swallowed a pill. It sticks in your throat till you are jagged by its presence with a little bit of water in your eyes. Such is the writing style.
Good points
The cover page is simple yet meaningful. The characters are one of their kinds. The stories are inventive. The author has a different voice of her own which becomes the voice in the story, very intimate.
Bad points
A few of the stories may need more than one reading to understand.
Overall
I recently started exploring the genre of short stories and this author has definitely piqued my interest. She is definitely one of the best story tellers I have read.
Whom do I recommend this to
Those who like to let themselves loose are going to love this collection of short stories.
The collection of the short stories is in one word - unpredictable.
Cover page
The cover page displays a curly haired mystic woman who has words, where there ought to be, her mouth. The black and white cover page is a wonderful composition. The font compliments the graphic image. It keeps well the magical realism and the mysticism of the book intact. The book is not to be talked about but to experience from the inside.
Characters
There are several one-of-their-kind characters in each story. Henri Thomsen from 'Animal Parts' is a regular ten-year-old boy from a danish town, except that he has a long furry tail which his mother makes holes in his trousers for. Balthazar from 'Outtakes' knows something about everything, including octopus festivals, chortling volcanoes, and placenta-eating women. He is a wonderful character to fall in love with and assume a future. But there are always twists in most wonderful stories.
Nadine is a black girl missing. But she is not important. Missing black girls are never important. But he has decided to find out what has happened to her. An epileptic boy who can make electricity with his brain, enough to power laptops and start kettles boiling. He gives a damn.
There are several out of the box characters. Some of these characters force you to think. Not just think but move mountains. Some of them just exist like a voice talking to you through half crazy jarring buzz.
All the characters have one thing in common, though. They are all memorable.
Content
The book is a collection of short tales of peculiar people. The collection begins with 'Gunk' where the mother asserts the importance of owning one's own skin and not to be 'a waste of space'. It is a powerful essay which possesses you right from the first sentence when it begins with 'Get up. Try to hold your world. You can't. You let it slip'. It talks about how darkness motivates men, mobilises armies. And how you can use it to start a war. These are all words spoken by a black in the world where the color of your skin defines your destiny and how you can shape it yourself rather than letting the world decide for you. This remains my favourite piece in the entire book.
Then comes 'Animal Parts' where a mother births a child with a long furry tale. The story is magical realism sighed with emotions. There are glimpses of mental illness seen in the stories and this one, in particular, will move you like nothing else.
'Fractures' is about two identical twins who have had a bad past and one blames the other for it. Hilly is bitter towards Grace and a small temptation drags her to wanting to live Grace's life. It is a story with an unexpected ending. An extraterrestrial being and a girl who attracts bad luck.
'Walk with Sleep' is another magical realism story with a beautiful beginning and even more beautiful end.
'Nadine' is a story of a black girl missing and our protagonist trying to find her since a black girl missing does not attract as much attention. He wants to know what exactly happened to her. This is another story not to be missed.
'The thumbnail interruptions' is another story with a streak of mental illness. A photographer who is drugging his girlfriend and sending her photos to her colleagues. This is one of my favourite tales in the book.
There are other stories such as 'The Arrangement of Skin', 'Snapper', 'Following' and 'Vegas' that leave you engrossed throughout the story and stunned at the end.
The stories have an acute trace of mental illness sprinkled generously throughout the book. The imagination runs wild and meets all kinds of creatures in the stories.
Language
The author has a great narrative style. You can read minds and swallow emotions like you have dry swallowed a pill. It sticks in your throat till you are jagged by its presence with a little bit of water in your eyes. Such is the writing style.
Good points
The cover page is simple yet meaningful. The characters are one of their kinds. The stories are inventive. The author has a different voice of her own which becomes the voice in the story, very intimate.
Bad points
A few of the stories may need more than one reading to understand.
Overall
I recently started exploring the genre of short stories and this author has definitely piqued my interest. She is definitely one of the best story tellers I have read.
Whom do I recommend this to
Those who like to let themselves loose are going to love this collection of short stories.
November 25, 2023
DNF after 160 pages.
I tried so hard to get into any of these stories, but I just couldn't. With less than 30 pages till the end I was so tempted to power through, just in case I miss something life changing, but then I realised I'd been powering through the last x pages since the 3rd story. Just not for me
I tried so hard to get into any of these stories, but I just couldn't. With less than 30 pages till the end I was so tempted to power through, just in case I miss something life changing, but then I realised I'd been powering through the last x pages since the 3rd story. Just not for me
March 19, 2017
I've never read anything like this. New to the author and new to reading collections of short stories, this book haunts me. Especially the last story Vegas. I had so many questions about Mammoth but the most gut wrenching story was Animal Parts, which gives us a peek into Henri a boy with a tail.
The first story Gunk... I can't say say I enjoyed this collection but j most definitely will remember all of them.
The first story Gunk... I can't say say I enjoyed this collection but j most definitely will remember all of them.
June 17, 2019
Weird, startling short stories of inconsistent quality.
Okojie has a wild, untamed imagination, and a fresh, unique talent.
Reading Speak Gigantular is like sitting astride a rodeo bull: it’s fun while it lasts, swinging you around, leaping wildly and unexpectedly, but no matter how hard you hang on, sooner or later it will throw you off.
The collection reads mainly as an author finding her way, interspersed with moments of brilliance (which lift my score up to 4 star). Of note, are Walk with Sleep, Nadine, Pico Pico, Anonymous Jones and Following (all from the latter half of the book).
The writing, when successful, is humorous and erotic:
Okojie's take on London is so real: she digs into the grimy, traffic-clogged corners seldom illuminated in fiction, nor by film.
As a whole, however, the collection is uneven. Many of the stories don’t welcome the reader in: they are fascinating (as we wait to see where Okojie's imagination will take us next), rather than engrossing.
A third of the way in, I thought this was a case of the Emperor's New Clothes. Speak Gigantular has been shortlisted for the Edgehill Short Story Prize, the Jhalak Prize, the Saboteur Awards and nominated for a Shirley Jackson Award. Okojie's debut novel, Butterfly Fish, won a Betty Trask Award and was shortlisted for the Edinburgh First Book Award. Okojie was recently made a fellow of The Royal Society Of Literature as part of their 40 Under 40 initiative. All this, but I wasn't feeling it.
At times too frequent to be overlooked, the collection contains editing errors, for instance ‘cue’ for ‘queue’ and the continued use of the pluperfect (a.k.a. past perfect) ‘had’ throughout a paragraph:
The publisher has let the author down by not picking up these mistakes.
A mixed bag, but if you're interested in weird fiction, definitely worth a look.
Okojie has a wild, untamed imagination, and a fresh, unique talent.
Reading Speak Gigantular is like sitting astride a rodeo bull: it’s fun while it lasts, swinging you around, leaping wildly and unexpectedly, but no matter how hard you hang on, sooner or later it will throw you off.
The collection reads mainly as an author finding her way, interspersed with moments of brilliance (which lift my score up to 4 star). Of note, are Walk with Sleep, Nadine, Pico Pico, Anonymous Jones and Following (all from the latter half of the book).
Nadine’s laugh is soft and warm. She flings her arms around me. Between the dormant static in my brain and the squeeze of her fingers, we’re Einstein’s secret equation.
The writing, when successful, is humorous and erotic:
She’s wearing an orange and purple patterned blouse that looks like a female orgasm.
He chuckles. It is rum sloshing over the rim of a glass.
I slot the metal seatbelt tongue into the red throat of the buckle, making a French kiss.
Okojie's take on London is so real: she digs into the grimy, traffic-clogged corners seldom illuminated in fiction, nor by film.
Except for a couple of interlinking roads breaking them up like referees, all the houses on my street are attached. The English are too efficient with space, to the point where, just to get some freedom, your home may one day end up on a football field, in the park opposite the swings or on the cold shoulder of a motorway.
As a whole, however, the collection is uneven. Many of the stories don’t welcome the reader in: they are fascinating (as we wait to see where Okojie's imagination will take us next), rather than engrossing.
A third of the way in, I thought this was a case of the Emperor's New Clothes. Speak Gigantular has been shortlisted for the Edgehill Short Story Prize, the Jhalak Prize, the Saboteur Awards and nominated for a Shirley Jackson Award. Okojie's debut novel, Butterfly Fish, won a Betty Trask Award and was shortlisted for the Edinburgh First Book Award. Okojie was recently made a fellow of The Royal Society Of Literature as part of their 40 Under 40 initiative. All this, but I wasn't feeling it.
At times too frequent to be overlooked, the collection contains editing errors, for instance ‘cue’ for ‘queue’ and the continued use of the pluperfect (a.k.a. past perfect) ‘had’ throughout a paragraph:
Eleven years prior to Henri’s birth, a stranger had turned up at Ann’s door. When Ann had heard the knock at the door she first thought it was one of her neighbours and she had found herself silently wishing it was the one she liked, as opposed to the obnoxious hellion who lived directly across from her. Upon opening the door, Ann saw no-one she recognised. Standing before her as if she had intentionally arrived at the address...
The publisher has let the author down by not picking up these mistakes.
A mixed bag, but if you're interested in weird fiction, definitely worth a look.
Read
June 23, 2017I'm not giving this a rating because I'm not sure what I think yet. These short stories are surreal and dark, like Amy Bender mixed with Flannery O'Connor, but both taken to the extreme. Amidst the strange and heart wrenching darkness, though, Okojie's gorgeous use of language shines through. Some sentences stopped me cold, they were so creative and beautiful.
September 8, 2024
If I could give it 6 stars I would.
An absolutely brilliant anthology, wholly original, wildly creative- a work of real genius.
An absolutely brilliant anthology, wholly original, wildly creative- a work of real genius.
June 23, 2017
Charmed by some stories. Not blown away by the collection as a whole.
January 21, 2022
God this book was absolutely devoid of any emotional or intellectual depth.
I originally wrote a huge essay of a review. But then I read it and decided not to bother.
The funny thing is that if they'd have sold this as nonsense fiction (not a disparaging remark, Joyce and Lear are splendid) it would have been pretty fantastic! (If the author reads this, that's a solid piece of advice: reclaim the genre of nonsense fiction; it means you can write like this and everyone will think it is fantastic because there will be no expectation of meaning and you'll escape any criticism based on plot/message/etc..) But INSTEAD they tried to make people believe it had depth and meaning. It's void of both. It angered me to have spent money and listened to the guy who pitched this as brilliant and original.
At its heart this is a bunch of pretty words and images that are no better than the instapoetry nonsense that is the fast food of fiction and desperately needed a guiding hand from a competent editor.
A decent editor would have picked out the two good stories, highlighted them, explained why they worked better and allowed the author a chance to grab the wheel on the others and steer them towards salvation. Not to mention picked up on the numerous errors.
Deeply deeply disappointed in this collection. So much so that I'm not even adding a review of it onto my Instagram, I think this might be the worst book of 2022 and it is only the 20th January.
And if you don't believe me.. read the reviews. Everyone who loves this is imprecise and just as cryptic as the stories are. Their reviews read like album reviews as if they're trying to impress the author with their own nonsensical and sycophantic metaphors. They focus on who the author is and the awards... In short, I doubt their sincerity. Its understandable though. When I was a kid I pretended to love David Bowie's lyrics because I thought he was deep and if I told people I loved him that would make me SEEM deep. Where really I just didn't understand most of what he was chattering on about and that confused me enough to think it WAS deep and then I later learned that his songs were cut-ups and felt stupid. You only learn the truth later in a terrible moment of existential panic. I still love the music though. I won't fall for it again 😂
Whereas everyone who found it hard going had pretty much the same points. 1) It rambles. 2) The images are confusing. It isn't that they don't make 'sense', they shouldn't have to. The point is that they actively dismantle interpretation and leave you with nothing in your hands. I've met writers who write like this and it's always the same, they think they're deep and when you ask them about their work it really just boils down to them liking the sound of their own voice. It just smacks of young writers. No doubt this author will look back on their collection and lament. I think a lot of talented writers are being sabotaged by publishers who just want to sell people and not literature. This author is a good writer, they just need a bit of time to mature and find a solid voice. Find out what they really want to say.
If they want a silver lining, that's it. Ultimately, not many people hate the collection. I think they quite rightly point to the good parts and give a higher score on here just because they're nice people.
I originally wrote a huge essay of a review. But then I read it and decided not to bother.
The funny thing is that if they'd have sold this as nonsense fiction (not a disparaging remark, Joyce and Lear are splendid) it would have been pretty fantastic! (If the author reads this, that's a solid piece of advice: reclaim the genre of nonsense fiction; it means you can write like this and everyone will think it is fantastic because there will be no expectation of meaning and you'll escape any criticism based on plot/message/etc..) But INSTEAD they tried to make people believe it had depth and meaning. It's void of both. It angered me to have spent money and listened to the guy who pitched this as brilliant and original.
At its heart this is a bunch of pretty words and images that are no better than the instapoetry nonsense that is the fast food of fiction and desperately needed a guiding hand from a competent editor.
A decent editor would have picked out the two good stories, highlighted them, explained why they worked better and allowed the author a chance to grab the wheel on the others and steer them towards salvation. Not to mention picked up on the numerous errors.
Deeply deeply disappointed in this collection. So much so that I'm not even adding a review of it onto my Instagram, I think this might be the worst book of 2022 and it is only the 20th January.
And if you don't believe me.. read the reviews. Everyone who loves this is imprecise and just as cryptic as the stories are. Their reviews read like album reviews as if they're trying to impress the author with their own nonsensical and sycophantic metaphors. They focus on who the author is and the awards... In short, I doubt their sincerity. Its understandable though. When I was a kid I pretended to love David Bowie's lyrics because I thought he was deep and if I told people I loved him that would make me SEEM deep. Where really I just didn't understand most of what he was chattering on about and that confused me enough to think it WAS deep and then I later learned that his songs were cut-ups and felt stupid. You only learn the truth later in a terrible moment of existential panic. I still love the music though. I won't fall for it again 😂
Whereas everyone who found it hard going had pretty much the same points. 1) It rambles. 2) The images are confusing. It isn't that they don't make 'sense', they shouldn't have to. The point is that they actively dismantle interpretation and leave you with nothing in your hands. I've met writers who write like this and it's always the same, they think they're deep and when you ask them about their work it really just boils down to them liking the sound of their own voice. It just smacks of young writers. No doubt this author will look back on their collection and lament. I think a lot of talented writers are being sabotaged by publishers who just want to sell people and not literature. This author is a good writer, they just need a bit of time to mature and find a solid voice. Find out what they really want to say.
If they want a silver lining, that's it. Ultimately, not many people hate the collection. I think they quite rightly point to the good parts and give a higher score on here just because they're nice people.
January 11, 2017
I throughly enjoyed this collection of short stories. My full review is on my blog: https://mybookinggreatblog.com/2017/0...
Here is an extract:
You may have seen this book nominated for the Jhalak Prize (which highlights works by BAME authors of British origin). It is to see why it has made the longlist. Okojie's debut short story collection is nothing short of exemplary. Not one of the stories is similar to the other ranging from topics such as foot fetishes, purgatory (in London's underground network), euthanasia and resurrection.
Each of Okojie's fable-like stories end in a twist of fate - sometimes good sometimes bad. Despite my best efforts I could not see a common theme - most are set in London but some are in Europe, some are modern - others aren't and some feature downright magical themes yet others are based on ordinary lives. The only common thread I could muster was that each of them are dark stories. Whether they started or ended that way they all had an underlying tone of nervous anticipation. I suspect that this is what Okojie intended and I loved this collection the more for it.
Here is an extract:
You may have seen this book nominated for the Jhalak Prize (which highlights works by BAME authors of British origin). It is to see why it has made the longlist. Okojie's debut short story collection is nothing short of exemplary. Not one of the stories is similar to the other ranging from topics such as foot fetishes, purgatory (in London's underground network), euthanasia and resurrection.
Each of Okojie's fable-like stories end in a twist of fate - sometimes good sometimes bad. Despite my best efforts I could not see a common theme - most are set in London but some are in Europe, some are modern - others aren't and some feature downright magical themes yet others are based on ordinary lives. The only common thread I could muster was that each of them are dark stories. Whether they started or ended that way they all had an underlying tone of nervous anticipation. I suspect that this is what Okojie intended and I loved this collection the more for it.
November 1, 2016
Great read. This is something a little different. I very much enjoyed these edgy, dark stories. Stumbled on this collection, very glad I did. Took it on holiday with me, good for dipping in and out of. Okojie is a highly imaginative writer. I love her striking, vivid descriptions. Not always a comfortable read but certainly a memorable one.
April 20, 2018
This collection is extraordinary, one of the best I've read in ages. The writing is gorgeous, and that combined with a breathtaking imagination makes for stories that will haunt you for days.
April 15, 2024
Treads a fine line between being vibrantly imaginative and off-the-wall, versus wacky for the sake of it and somewhat unfocused.
One of Okojie's favourite techniques is to create a metaphorical image as an expression of the main character's state of mind, but write it without couching it in language that signposts it as being representative: "I look up. The Thai barmaid is in the middle of the snooker table, shooting glass mouths into the side pockets instead of balls, Mason is in the TV screen on the football field, legs folded Buddha-style scoffing the rest of his sweets." (One of the more obvious ones, from 'Jody'.) Sometimes you aren't sure what's literal and what's not (in this same story, the narrator, who's a magical fish-being, feels her sympathy for the man she's talking to: "his tone unsticks the cork I swallowed from a white wave. I feel it floating between my organs"), and of course not being able to tell, exactly, is part of the point - the mood of Okojie's stories. It takes a bit of getting used to; as does the fact that sometimes these images just rise up and disappear, for that moment, and sometimes they become recurring motifs in the story, spurring the characters on or reflecting their inner states, and sometimes they are literal - magical things really are happening. ('Footer', for example, has a character with a physical manifestation of her "loneliness" - a snarling grey cloud in her flat - which then really does turn out to be real and goes on a rampage without her.)
All of this goes hand-in-hand with some haphazard plotting (things that sort of happen, as they do in folklore or fairy tale) which can make the stories somewhat exhausting to read one after the other. 'Animal Parts', for example, introduces its main characters (a little boy born with a tail and his mother), then, a few pages in, introduces a man with a blue light under his skin; this early in a narrative, you'd expect the story to be setting him up as a counterpart - but in fact he's there to make a point about the impact of difference and self-hate, and discarded as the story returns to the boy's mother and her back story. Similarly there are long flashbacks in 'Mammoth' and 'Fractures', and a digression about the main character's lost purse and stolen money in 'Outtakes', that don't add a huge amount to the main narrative. It starts to feel like the author has become interested in polishing this new fancy part of the vehicle at the expense of what's needed to fill its engine; there are also some odd set-ups and lines that go nowhere ('Outtakes' opens with an exploding water bottle, mentioned twice but never explained, and certainly not happening in the initial scene, where a character is standing in Paddington station).
It's fun enough to witness Okojie exploring her imagination and being wildly inventive, surreal, sexual and funny, but too often it feels unfocused: a lot of great turns of phrase and ideas, but not enough tying them together for the reader. Especially a reader who wants something other than fireworks in the prose and narrative handbrake turns. Too often I found myself annoyed or confused by the structure or by things that seemed to be there, I often felt like I was losing the thread of a story or had missed something crucial earlier, then I'd flip back and re-read, and think, nope, this really is just a whole new thing being thrown in along the way. I did think the collection got better as it went on - or maybe I just warmed up to Okojie's fictional worlds and their oddball shapes - but overall I found it to be that dangerous combination for first books: flawed and promising.
One of Okojie's favourite techniques is to create a metaphorical image as an expression of the main character's state of mind, but write it without couching it in language that signposts it as being representative: "I look up. The Thai barmaid is in the middle of the snooker table, shooting glass mouths into the side pockets instead of balls, Mason is in the TV screen on the football field, legs folded Buddha-style scoffing the rest of his sweets." (One of the more obvious ones, from 'Jody'.) Sometimes you aren't sure what's literal and what's not (in this same story, the narrator, who's a magical fish-being, feels her sympathy for the man she's talking to: "his tone unsticks the cork I swallowed from a white wave. I feel it floating between my organs"), and of course not being able to tell, exactly, is part of the point - the mood of Okojie's stories. It takes a bit of getting used to; as does the fact that sometimes these images just rise up and disappear, for that moment, and sometimes they become recurring motifs in the story, spurring the characters on or reflecting their inner states, and sometimes they are literal - magical things really are happening. ('Footer', for example, has a character with a physical manifestation of her "loneliness" - a snarling grey cloud in her flat - which then really does turn out to be real and goes on a rampage without her.)
All of this goes hand-in-hand with some haphazard plotting (things that sort of happen, as they do in folklore or fairy tale) which can make the stories somewhat exhausting to read one after the other. 'Animal Parts', for example, introduces its main characters (a little boy born with a tail and his mother), then, a few pages in, introduces a man with a blue light under his skin; this early in a narrative, you'd expect the story to be setting him up as a counterpart - but in fact he's there to make a point about the impact of difference and self-hate, and discarded as the story returns to the boy's mother and her back story. Similarly there are long flashbacks in 'Mammoth' and 'Fractures', and a digression about the main character's lost purse and stolen money in 'Outtakes', that don't add a huge amount to the main narrative. It starts to feel like the author has become interested in polishing this new fancy part of the vehicle at the expense of what's needed to fill its engine; there are also some odd set-ups and lines that go nowhere ('Outtakes' opens with an exploding water bottle, mentioned twice but never explained, and certainly not happening in the initial scene, where a character is standing in Paddington station).
It's fun enough to witness Okojie exploring her imagination and being wildly inventive, surreal, sexual and funny, but too often it feels unfocused: a lot of great turns of phrase and ideas, but not enough tying them together for the reader. Especially a reader who wants something other than fireworks in the prose and narrative handbrake turns. Too often I found myself annoyed or confused by the structure or by things that seemed to be there, I often felt like I was losing the thread of a story or had missed something crucial earlier, then I'd flip back and re-read, and think, nope, this really is just a whole new thing being thrown in along the way. I did think the collection got better as it went on - or maybe I just warmed up to Okojie's fictional worlds and their oddball shapes - but overall I found it to be that dangerous combination for first books: flawed and promising.
Read
March 21, 2017Following on from her Betty Trask winning debut novel, Butterfly Fish, Speak Gigantular is Irenosen Okojie’s first collection of short stories. And it is almost certainly not like any other short story collection you have ever read.
Okojie’s writing rarely stays long in the recognisable world of the five senses. In these stories, emotions take on physical form. Loneliness becomes a pet (I pictured it as something like a bearded dragon). The hurt and anger of the deserted wife morphs into a humunculus whom she alternately pets and torments.
Some stories – like ‘Nadine’, which deals with the disappearance of a young girl with Down Syndrome – are relatively straightforward tales. Others, like ‘Animal Parts,’ about a community turning against a child who grows a tail, are clearly allegorical. ‘Fractures’ and ‘Jody’ feature characters who are (probably) aliens. But then there are stories so profoundly surreal it would take several readings just to grasp at the coattails of their meaning.
The characters in these stores are dislocated, alienated, isolated. We meet a Robin Hood bank robber in a canary yellow chicken costume, a foot fetishist, twin survivors of childhood trauma, a drug addict whose deterioration is captured, Dorian Gray-like, in thumbnail photographs. Oddly, one of the most playful stories deals with suicides trapped in the tunnels of the London Underground.
These are deliberately unsettling tales. Reading them is like walking through one of those trick rooms whose crooked walls make you think the floor is unstable.
Okojie’s range is formidable and her imagination extraordinary. Speak Gigantular has, not surprisingly, been shortlisted for the inaugural Jhalak Prize.
Okojie’s writing rarely stays long in the recognisable world of the five senses. In these stories, emotions take on physical form. Loneliness becomes a pet (I pictured it as something like a bearded dragon). The hurt and anger of the deserted wife morphs into a humunculus whom she alternately pets and torments.
Some stories – like ‘Nadine’, which deals with the disappearance of a young girl with Down Syndrome – are relatively straightforward tales. Others, like ‘Animal Parts,’ about a community turning against a child who grows a tail, are clearly allegorical. ‘Fractures’ and ‘Jody’ feature characters who are (probably) aliens. But then there are stories so profoundly surreal it would take several readings just to grasp at the coattails of their meaning.
The characters in these stores are dislocated, alienated, isolated. We meet a Robin Hood bank robber in a canary yellow chicken costume, a foot fetishist, twin survivors of childhood trauma, a drug addict whose deterioration is captured, Dorian Gray-like, in thumbnail photographs. Oddly, one of the most playful stories deals with suicides trapped in the tunnels of the London Underground.
These are deliberately unsettling tales. Reading them is like walking through one of those trick rooms whose crooked walls make you think the floor is unstable.
Okojie’s range is formidable and her imagination extraordinary. Speak Gigantular has, not surprisingly, been shortlisted for the inaugural Jhalak Prize.
June 25, 2020
Content warnings: Brutal scenes of childhood bullying. Infidelity. Kidnapping. Physical violence. Suicide. Bank robbery. Serious illness. Death of a grandparent in the past. Sexual assault of an intellectually disabled teen. Murder. Ableism. Racism. War. Euthanasia. Dead baby.
I thought of this book as brutal in several places, and then wondered why when so many awful things have happened other books I've read recently but not described that way. I think the reason is that in those books the bad things were incidents that took place in the story, whereas with these oftentimes the terribleness was the story. Which is not something I tend to enjoy, although the popularity of Game of Thrones would suggest that puts me in the minority.
I feel somewhat unqualified to review this book because sci-fi/fantasy is not a genre I've read very much of at all - one of the reasons I chose this book was to try to branch out a little in that direction. So I don't have a benchmark to set it against in the way I do with general fiction or non-fiction. And I'm unsure whether the parts I didn't appreciate are a product of the work or the fact this isn't a type of storytelling I tend to appreciate.
It was very well written for the most part, except for when the extravagant descriptions and imagery got in the way of the story.
For short stories they created a very vivid sense of place, especially the stories set in London. Some of those put me in mind a little of the Channel 4 show Misfits.
It's an incredibly imaginative collection and I'm glad I picked it up for something a bit different.
I thought of this book as brutal in several places, and then wondered why when so many awful things have happened other books I've read recently but not described that way. I think the reason is that in those books the bad things were incidents that took place in the story, whereas with these oftentimes the terribleness was the story. Which is not something I tend to enjoy, although the popularity of Game of Thrones would suggest that puts me in the minority.
I feel somewhat unqualified to review this book because sci-fi/fantasy is not a genre I've read very much of at all - one of the reasons I chose this book was to try to branch out a little in that direction. So I don't have a benchmark to set it against in the way I do with general fiction or non-fiction. And I'm unsure whether the parts I didn't appreciate are a product of the work or the fact this isn't a type of storytelling I tend to appreciate.
It was very well written for the most part, except for when the extravagant descriptions and imagery got in the way of the story.
For short stories they created a very vivid sense of place, especially the stories set in London. Some of those put me in mind a little of the Channel 4 show Misfits.
It's an incredibly imaginative collection and I'm glad I picked it up for something a bit different.
March 15, 2018
I like weird fiction. I like fiction that has one foot in reality and the other in some surreal gorgeousness that can disturb, illuminate and expose humanity for what we are: imperfect, often broken, a walking-talking-eating-fucking kaleidoscope of identities that can both create ice sculptures and bomb innocents to ash. I discovered Angela Carter in my college years, quickly I fell down a well of dangerous women, sexual encounters with tree spirits and a good old round of insanity. This was rather quickly followed up by Robert Shearman's wonderful Tiny Deaths (and thank you Robert for signing it!) and many other fantastic writers. To me it seems this surrealist, magical-realismesque fiction is most at home in the short story genre, where the restraints of the medium help keep the beautiful craziness contained, channeled - there are rules to the wonderlands. There are many writers who excel at magical realism in longer forms - Leone Ross, Octavia E. Butler, Margaret Atwood, Ray Bradbury, Neil Gaiman etc - but I find the impact is greater when the length is condensed and the topic shifts from story to story, allowing the writer to keep the reader's interest while not losing the effect of what can be a magically disorientating and dizzying form of prose.
December 24, 2019
The short stories in Speak Gigantular are creepy and varied in there focus. Other posts have dubbed them 'magical realism' though having read many other titles in this varied genre I'd have to argue the stories in this collection lean more towards surrealism or maybe urban fantasy than magical realism. Many of the stories feature unreliable narrators who are struggling with perceptions of reality leaving this reader often confused at the purpose of these multi-page delusions that added little to character development or story.
The writing in Speak Gigantular varies widely in consistency making me question at what point the stories collected within were written. I'd go from enjoying one to struggling to complete the next making me think I'd jumped back to an earlier time in Okojie's career when maybe she wasn't as seasoned a writer. Purely speculation, but still the inconsistency persisted throughout.
The other issue with this collection is that while the thematically creepy elements do unite most of the stories, it isn't a collection easy to read straight through. I think I would have enjoyed it more if I read one and then put it down for a while and then read another. But in reading them back to back I was glad to be done with this book and don't believe I'll ever revisit any of the stories.
On a personal note, the heavy use of simile and metaphor in several of the stories were distracting. When used sparingly these writing tools can bring a piece to life. However, when not used appropriately they rip the reader out of the collective fantasy when we question why an author would choose to feature a metaphor that doesn't relate to the characters or the story. Moreover, when several are used back to back it can be jarring.
The writing in Speak Gigantular varies widely in consistency making me question at what point the stories collected within were written. I'd go from enjoying one to struggling to complete the next making me think I'd jumped back to an earlier time in Okojie's career when maybe she wasn't as seasoned a writer. Purely speculation, but still the inconsistency persisted throughout.
The other issue with this collection is that while the thematically creepy elements do unite most of the stories, it isn't a collection easy to read straight through. I think I would have enjoyed it more if I read one and then put it down for a while and then read another. But in reading them back to back I was glad to be done with this book and don't believe I'll ever revisit any of the stories.
On a personal note, the heavy use of simile and metaphor in several of the stories were distracting. When used sparingly these writing tools can bring a piece to life. However, when not used appropriately they rip the reader out of the collective fantasy when we question why an author would choose to feature a metaphor that doesn't relate to the characters or the story. Moreover, when several are used back to back it can be jarring.
July 25, 2017
I really admire this collection and the quality of the writing - brave and captivating, full of wonder and magic. So much of it speaks to the gut and the heart as well as the emotions and the brain. My favourite story is the devastating 'Following', which twists an angry knife in the wounds of grief.
On occasion I was puzzled by certain combinations and contradictions - the idea of hurling oneself slowly upwards, for example. Sometimes it felt like I was being asked to bend my thoughts into some weird new shapes, which I don't mind at all. Unpicking the meaning sometimes slowed me down and that created a tension with the wish to devour, to be dazzled, to burst into flames! I needed to take my time with these stories - they're complex, mischievous, fierce, tender and exhilarating. Take them one at a time and let them move around inside your head for a while. They'll get their hooks in and you won't be quite the same again after reading them. What more can you ask from a writer and her work? Must read her Betty Trask award-winning novel 'Butterfly Fish'.
On occasion I was puzzled by certain combinations and contradictions - the idea of hurling oneself slowly upwards, for example. Sometimes it felt like I was being asked to bend my thoughts into some weird new shapes, which I don't mind at all. Unpicking the meaning sometimes slowed me down and that created a tension with the wish to devour, to be dazzled, to burst into flames! I needed to take my time with these stories - they're complex, mischievous, fierce, tender and exhilarating. Take them one at a time and let them move around inside your head for a while. They'll get their hooks in and you won't be quite the same again after reading them. What more can you ask from a writer and her work? Must read her Betty Trask award-winning novel 'Butterfly Fish'.
October 27, 2025
I love the concepts. The variety in these short stories makes them feel like a theme park of innovation!
One minute you're reading about an unfulfilling relationship withering to a halt during a holiday meant to save it, the next you’re feeling sympathy toward a modern Robin Hood in a chicken costume.
I think my favourite story was ‘Fractures’, it was so loaded and even though author gave you an indication of where it was going very early on, it hits with a gut wrench. Very close second was ‘Walk with Sleep’- just the idea of ghosts floating around the London Underground, that the travel veins of the city act as a purgatory for souls in despair is something I can’t get out of my head.
Some of these stand far stronger than others but it’s a wonderful collection. Some of the lines here, also- just wow. What a way with words!
One minute you're reading about an unfulfilling relationship withering to a halt during a holiday meant to save it, the next you’re feeling sympathy toward a modern Robin Hood in a chicken costume.
I think my favourite story was ‘Fractures’, it was so loaded and even though author gave you an indication of where it was going very early on, it hits with a gut wrench. Very close second was ‘Walk with Sleep’- just the idea of ghosts floating around the London Underground, that the travel veins of the city act as a purgatory for souls in despair is something I can’t get out of my head.
Some of these stand far stronger than others but it’s a wonderful collection. Some of the lines here, also- just wow. What a way with words!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 21, 2022
This collection left me very confused. I really wanted to love it, but I ended up not understanding the point of the stories. Maybe there was no meaning or moral to find, maybe I don't have the right tools to analyze and understand. Every single time I started a new story I felt intrigued and saw great potential, but by the time I finished reading I always had the feeling of ending up empty handed.
Okojie is great with words, but has (in my opinion) a way of writing that at times resembles more poetry than prose. She often uses metaphors that are absolutely beautiful when it comes to words, but make absolutely no sense when it comes to conveying a message inside the story, so they just end up feeling pretentious. Speak Gigantular for me was incredibly hard to follow and to finish.
Okojie is great with words, but has (in my opinion) a way of writing that at times resembles more poetry than prose. She often uses metaphors that are absolutely beautiful when it comes to words, but make absolutely no sense when it comes to conveying a message inside the story, so they just end up feeling pretentious. Speak Gigantular for me was incredibly hard to follow and to finish.
March 1, 2020
Weird, creepy, unpredictable, startling, disturbing, fantastical...I've not really come across a short story collection like this before and I'm finding it a bit difficult to find words for it - although that is definitely on the plus side. Some of the stories were too gory for me but then some were absolutely captivating. Emotions manifest themselves in the lives of the characters and strange occurrences weave their way through. Sometime the surreal logic is a bit tricky to follow but mostly surrendering to the emotion of the story makes it make more sense. There was a lot of sorrow underpinning the stories though. A very interesting read.
March 23, 2017
This collection of short stories published by @jacarandabooks is a real gem ! The stories are out of this world as they are full of magic and entice you into the surreal world inside the Author's head ! From a boy with a tail, to a woman who seeks feet worshipers, the book is rich in strange details that have the reader perplexed.
The writing is unlike I've ever seen before , and it overwhelms you that a person is capable of weaving such intricately magical tales. It took me a while to read it as many a times , I had to pause and ponder on the world created by the writer... The protagonists are mostly women , and it fit perfectly into my aim to read books on and by women through March!
Overall , this book is mysterious and has you drawn to it like a moth to fire. The writing is so rich , honest and impactful , it leaves you wanting more.
You can read the full review on www.merakipost.com ( trust me , you'd want to know more!) .
The writing is unlike I've ever seen before , and it overwhelms you that a person is capable of weaving such intricately magical tales. It took me a while to read it as many a times , I had to pause and ponder on the world created by the writer... The protagonists are mostly women , and it fit perfectly into my aim to read books on and by women through March!
Overall , this book is mysterious and has you drawn to it like a moth to fire. The writing is so rich , honest and impactful , it leaves you wanting more.
You can read the full review on www.merakipost.com ( trust me , you'd want to know more!) .
August 13, 2017
I'm a mixed bag on this. The stories were all very short, which worked better for some than others, imo. Okojie's style is a bit sparse, nothing that I would call lush or sprawling or lofty, and for some reason I found this collection tough to really sink into, but the narratives were constantly surprising and taking completely unexpected turns. "Footer" is the one that really sticks in my brain, because that foot fetish story did not at all go as I expected. But really, none of these pulled their punches or took the easy way out.
June 5, 2021
This collection of stories stands out for its beautiful writing, with occasional phrases completely captivating my attention. They are weird stories, and I like weird, generally, but they're also often unclear. Each one takes a turn in an unexpected direction, something so exciting when it works, but almost every time I just couldn't follow the path and make sense of where we ended up. That could be my failure in reading comprehension, or the author's ability to lead me. Still an interesting voice and I look forward to seeing how it develops.
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