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The Carnivorous City
Sabato Rabato aka Soni Dike is a Lagos big boy; a criminal turned grandee, with a beautiful wife, a sea-side mansion and a questionable fortune. Then one day he disappears and his car is found in a ditch, music blaring from the speakers.
Soni’s older brother, Abel Dike, a teacher, arrives in Lagos to look for his missing brother. Abel is rapidly sucked into the unforgiving Lagos maelstrom where he has to navigate encounters with a motley cast of common criminals, deal with policemen all intent on getting a piece of the pie, and contend with his growing attraction to his brother’s wife.
Carnivorous City is a story about love, family and just desserts but it is above all a tale about Lagos and the people who make the city by the lagoon what it is.
Soni’s older brother, Abel Dike, a teacher, arrives in Lagos to look for his missing brother. Abel is rapidly sucked into the unforgiving Lagos maelstrom where he has to navigate encounters with a motley cast of common criminals, deal with policemen all intent on getting a piece of the pie, and contend with his growing attraction to his brother’s wife.
Carnivorous City is a story about love, family and just desserts but it is above all a tale about Lagos and the people who make the city by the lagoon what it is.
241 pages, Paperback
Published October 3, 2016
7 people are currently reading
307 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
January 12, 2018
(Gives me so much joy to be the third reviewer in a book up in here. Checks off bucketlist)
Toni Kan takes us in a journey through the carnivorous city of Lagos. The city that wants to constantly devour and its insatiable hunger will never be satisafied until the millions are all consumed. But then if the millions are consumed will it still be Lagos? I doubt. Even the city itself knows and that's why as it eats it makes sure to recreate or replenish that which it has eaten.
Abel receives word of his brother missing. Everyone knows Soni was waist deep in suspect activities, but 16 days later hopes are still high that he will be found. What follows is a journey of a brother tracing steps of the younger brother before his disappearance. While Abel looks for Soni and uncovers certain truths, he also uncovers certain realities about himself. Coming from the village and having no intention of overstaying his invite to Lagos he discovers a side of him that he won't want to leave behind easily.
The book has a fast paced and exciting beginning and the same can be said about the end. Unfortunately the middle doesn't drag on but it doesn't have that punch. Maybe because it dives into the city of lagos [what the book is about of course]. That might discourage some readers but the end is worth it. One is left to wonder if someone decided to write about th ecity you live in, what would the book say? or as Nigerians would say 'Wettin de say'?
Disclaimer: Part of this book is a short course on pidgin English (constructed from mixing English, Yoruba and Igbo)
Toni Kan takes us in a journey through the carnivorous city of Lagos. The city that wants to constantly devour and its insatiable hunger will never be satisafied until the millions are all consumed. But then if the millions are consumed will it still be Lagos? I doubt. Even the city itself knows and that's why as it eats it makes sure to recreate or replenish that which it has eaten.
Abel receives word of his brother missing. Everyone knows Soni was waist deep in suspect activities, but 16 days later hopes are still high that he will be found. What follows is a journey of a brother tracing steps of the younger brother before his disappearance. While Abel looks for Soni and uncovers certain truths, he also uncovers certain realities about himself. Coming from the village and having no intention of overstaying his invite to Lagos he discovers a side of him that he won't want to leave behind easily.
The book has a fast paced and exciting beginning and the same can be said about the end. Unfortunately the middle doesn't drag on but it doesn't have that punch. Maybe because it dives into the city of lagos [what the book is about of course]. That might discourage some readers but the end is worth it. One is left to wonder if someone decided to write about th ecity you live in, what would the book say? or as Nigerians would say 'Wettin de say'?
Disclaimer: Part of this book is a short course on pidgin English (constructed from mixing English, Yoruba and Igbo)
September 9, 2022
I don’t even know what to say except that that as a crime thriller that this book did not do anything for me.
To be fair, it did succeed to an extent in its attempt to sell Lagos as a carnivorous city filled with crime and chaos but even that was not fully explored. However, one can get a good sense of the layout of some popular areas in the Lagos metropolis from it.
Even as a light hearted read that I want to assume the author intended the book to be, the plot wasn’t anything to write home about and I don’t even want to get into the way the women in the book were portrayed.
To be fair, it did succeed to an extent in its attempt to sell Lagos as a carnivorous city filled with crime and chaos but even that was not fully explored. However, one can get a good sense of the layout of some popular areas in the Lagos metropolis from it.
Even as a light hearted read that I want to assume the author intended the book to be, the plot wasn’t anything to write home about and I don’t even want to get into the way the women in the book were portrayed.
June 14, 2022
A real good read! Although Kan has an amazing way of doling out words , the plot hooked you but also seemed to hit a snag - the pace was perfect . But Toni left a lot out about the carnivorous city - I felt I had not explored Lagos enough to be wholly consumed - nevertheless I was at its mouth .
An enjoyable read!
An enjoyable read!
January 2, 2020
Lagos is the protagonist of this book. We see the city from multiple angles, multiple extremes. An argument over a few naira can lead to a riot, dropping hundreds of thousands at a night club on champagne nothing special.
Abel Dike is a teacher in a regional town. He’s more or less content until he receives a text message: Soni is missing. Soni is his younger brother who has made his fortune in Lagos. It’s never spelled out just what Soni does, but it’s obviously highly illegal and enormously lucrative. Abel is just at the start of the long school break, so he packs a case and heads to Lagos to get to the bottom of the mysterious message.
He moves into Soni’s mansion and, indeed, into Soni’s bedroom, playing uncle to Zeal, his young nephew, and brother-in-law to Ada, Soni’s glamorous wife. She didn’t send the text message although it came from her phone.
All the police can tell him is that Soni’s Jaguar was discovered crashed into a ditch, but there’s been no sign of him since. He tries his best to find out what’s happened to his brother, but he’s way out of his depth. He relies on Santos, his brother’s sidekick, to help with the search, and to sort out the financial problems, but it’s not long before he discovers that Santos has his own agenda.
In the meanwhile, Abel discovers what it means to have money and slowly he’s sucked in to his brother’s lifestyle and, indeed, his life. Whereas at first he wants nothing more than to find Soni and retreat home, as time passes his feelings become more ambivalent.
The real struggle is between Lagos and Abel as he tries to maintain his values and hold on to his psyche. Although it’s Soni who is consumed without trace, it’s Abel’s bones that Lagos spits out.
Abel Dike is a teacher in a regional town. He’s more or less content until he receives a text message: Soni is missing. Soni is his younger brother who has made his fortune in Lagos. It’s never spelled out just what Soni does, but it’s obviously highly illegal and enormously lucrative. Abel is just at the start of the long school break, so he packs a case and heads to Lagos to get to the bottom of the mysterious message.
He moves into Soni’s mansion and, indeed, into Soni’s bedroom, playing uncle to Zeal, his young nephew, and brother-in-law to Ada, Soni’s glamorous wife. She didn’t send the text message although it came from her phone.
All the police can tell him is that Soni’s Jaguar was discovered crashed into a ditch, but there’s been no sign of him since. He tries his best to find out what’s happened to his brother, but he’s way out of his depth. He relies on Santos, his brother’s sidekick, to help with the search, and to sort out the financial problems, but it’s not long before he discovers that Santos has his own agenda.
In the meanwhile, Abel discovers what it means to have money and slowly he’s sucked in to his brother’s lifestyle and, indeed, his life. Whereas at first he wants nothing more than to find Soni and retreat home, as time passes his feelings become more ambivalent.
The real struggle is between Lagos and Abel as he tries to maintain his values and hold on to his psyche. Although it’s Soni who is consumed without trace, it’s Abel’s bones that Lagos spits out.
September 11, 2017
The book starts fast-paced: “Soni is missing.” Soni is ostensibly swallowed by Lagos, as the city does ‘big boys’. As the reader reads on, what one comes to realise soon is that The Carnivorous City is not about Soni or Lagos Big Boys. Soni - also known as Sabato - is just an excuse for Lagos to devour her latest victim, and the book is a front row seat to watch the beast feed on Abel, Soni’s brother who has been called out of his quiet Asaba life as a lecturer, and into his brother’s extravagant life.
The Carnivorous City starts out promising to tell a layered story. Abel arrives Lagos to find out he has a room specially designed for him in Soni’s house, and that Soni bought his child books, because growing up, he had looked up to him. Abel’s conversations with Ada, Soni’s wife, which unveil stories of moments the two brothers shared and the fondness with which Soni spoke about his older brother shows this. Through Abel, we see how the city consumes a person regardless of their morals.
There seems to be a lot lot going on in the book, yet very little to nothing to do with the search for the missing Soni. In fact, the summary of the search can be distilled into the blasé responses from the police or the missing man’s cronies: “Soni was bound to die like this… Soni will never be found, not alive. This is Lagos. Some people have to die. Their blood is sacrifice to the hungry beast that is Lagos.”
The Carnivorous Cityis about Lagos, but Lagos is not a city sitting and waiting to be discovered; Lagos is a living beast, as the book cover depicts, determining the order of the lives of the people of the city. The city is a “beast with fangs and a voracious appetite for human flesh.” The book attempts to condense the spirit of Lagos, its history, people, and landmarks into 241 pages. It is designed to stir existing memories or, for the non-Lagosians, create vivid pictures that will live up to reality, if they ever visit.
Ráyò,
For The Book Banque.
Read full review of The Carnivorous City on our website here .
Instagram - Twitter - Facebook.
The Carnivorous City starts out promising to tell a layered story. Abel arrives Lagos to find out he has a room specially designed for him in Soni’s house, and that Soni bought his child books, because growing up, he had looked up to him. Abel’s conversations with Ada, Soni’s wife, which unveil stories of moments the two brothers shared and the fondness with which Soni spoke about his older brother shows this. Through Abel, we see how the city consumes a person regardless of their morals.
There seems to be a lot lot going on in the book, yet very little to nothing to do with the search for the missing Soni. In fact, the summary of the search can be distilled into the blasé responses from the police or the missing man’s cronies: “Soni was bound to die like this… Soni will never be found, not alive. This is Lagos. Some people have to die. Their blood is sacrifice to the hungry beast that is Lagos.”
The Carnivorous Cityis about Lagos, but Lagos is not a city sitting and waiting to be discovered; Lagos is a living beast, as the book cover depicts, determining the order of the lives of the people of the city. The city is a “beast with fangs and a voracious appetite for human flesh.” The book attempts to condense the spirit of Lagos, its history, people, and landmarks into 241 pages. It is designed to stir existing memories or, for the non-Lagosians, create vivid pictures that will live up to reality, if they ever visit.
Ráyò,
For The Book Banque.
Read full review of The Carnivorous City on our website here .
Instagram - Twitter - Facebook.
June 14, 2017
A friend loaned me this book when I was reading another, and although I did not plan to read it until later, I flipped through and read some lines and immediately I knew I was going to read it sooner than I expected.
The book gives a vivid description of the typical Lagos life and the different characters that make Lagos what it is. From the 'big boys' who do crime for a living and their families, to the corrupt everyday people who will do anything to make money, and the nightlife of Lagos-clubbing. The book tells the story of how a family thrives after one of their own (who is also a criminal and a businessman) goes missing.
The book was very easy for me to read as I live in Lagos and can relate to most incidents that were described in the book. I laughed at some points and at no point did I feel sad even though the story was supposed to be a sad one. The book served as a reminder to me that even criminals had families who live and walk among us like everyday normal people, and one cannot really know who is related to these set of people.
Although the story was about a rich (criminal) businessman, and it touched both the upper and lower class of Lagos society. Somehow, I felt like the middle class was not really represented as the book oscillates between two extreme classes of Lagos. This was a spoiler for me.
The book gives a vivid description of the typical Lagos life and the different characters that make Lagos what it is. From the 'big boys' who do crime for a living and their families, to the corrupt everyday people who will do anything to make money, and the nightlife of Lagos-clubbing. The book tells the story of how a family thrives after one of their own (who is also a criminal and a businessman) goes missing.
The book was very easy for me to read as I live in Lagos and can relate to most incidents that were described in the book. I laughed at some points and at no point did I feel sad even though the story was supposed to be a sad one. The book served as a reminder to me that even criminals had families who live and walk among us like everyday normal people, and one cannot really know who is related to these set of people.
Although the story was about a rich (criminal) businessman, and it touched both the upper and lower class of Lagos society. Somehow, I felt like the middle class was not really represented as the book oscillates between two extreme classes of Lagos. This was a spoiler for me.
January 31, 2022
A man's search for his missing brother in the vast city of Lagos is the main plot of this book. Abel's search for Soni takes him on a journey as he bribes police officers, attends suspicious night vigils, and socializes with criminals for information regarding his brother's sudden disappearance. He experiences the extravagance of Lagos as well as its underbelly, and his search brings out another side to him, as he finds himself changing, frighteningly settling into the questionable acts that dominated his brother's life. At the end of the day, Abel learns how carnivorous Lagos can be as he barely escapes its ravenous jaws on more than one occasion.
Toni Kan pays homage to the great city of Lagos with this book. He paints an unforgettable and real portrait of the city and its people. Dustbin Estate exists and it's as disgusting as described. I think Soni's wife could have benefitted from a better character arc, other than being a caricature stay-at-home wife who merely gossiped with her friends, had brief moments of insight, and lusted after her brother-in-law.
I appreciated the fast pace of The Carnivorous city , especially since it reminded me of Lagosians who don't dawdle unnecessarily.
3.5 stars
March 25, 2022
Toni Kan, the 2009 winner of the Ken Saro-Wiwa prize for literature is also known as the ‘Mayor of Lagos’; a well-suited title, I must confess, for a man who thrilled Nigerian youths in the past with his romance articles in Hints. His Lagos experience is vast and enthralling just as his romance stories in the then popular magazine.
Kan’s book, ‘The Carnivorous City’, is a story about Lagos, told with a theme that centers around two brothers, Abel and Sunderland Dike. The phrase ‘carnivorous city’—the title of the book—doubles as a metaphor for the city of Lagos. “Lagos is a beast with bared fangs and a voracious appetite for human flesh”, Kan describes. When Toni Kan was asked his reason for writing this book, he stated without mincing words: “I wanted to write about Lagos”. The challenge then was choosing the appropriate story that would be flexible, but yet strong enough to carry the weight and randomness of the city. He (Kan) made his decision after reading a piece by James Baldwin, part of which he would eventually adopt as the novel’s epigraph: “Do you know, friend, how a brother loves his brother..” According to Kan, the good-brother-bad-brother (Cain-and-Abel) story is timeless. This laid the foundation for the plot, a restructured Cain-and-Abel story told through brotherly love, self-discovery and loss.
Sunderland ‘Soni’ Dike is a very wealthy Lagos fraudster and unrepentant womanizer who goes by the street name Rabato Sabato; a father of one, married to the prepossessing Ada. His elder brother Abel is a 37-year old school teacher, somewhat content with his simple life in the relatively calm town of Asaba; Unmarried as a result of a conscious decision he made after being unfortunate enough as a boy to walk in on another boy in bed with his beloved mother. “He could not unsee what he had seen and will never be able to talk about it,” Kan narrates. “It was a secret he would bear to his grave. One that would open a wide gulf between him and his mother, but also told him clearly that he would never, ever get married”.
Abel’s unadventurous life is rattled when Soni goes missing, his car found in a ditch. Abel abandons his routine lifestyle in Asaba to travel to Lagos to live with his brother’s wife and help out in the search for Rabato Sabato. He soon gets entangled in the dirt of his brother’s criminal life and in the madness that is Lagos. For Abel, the next couple of months present more adventure to his life than the past 37 years did. These months—and Abel’s experiences—were what Toni Kan exploited to the brim to tell a story about life; about Lagos life.
Kan’s book is a ‘Lagos map’, I told him so. His description of places and routes would get any Lagosian nodding and grinning. The history of 1004. The military crash of 1992. Pa Gabriel Okunzua and his wrong predictions during the 1979 elections (We must remember that in 2004, an ageing Pa Okunzua was back in the habit when he predicted John Kerry was going to defeat the incumbent George Bush in the US elections). Every incident, every chapter, every subplot is relatable. The stories of Mushin and Dustbin Estate, compared to Abel’s new-found luxury on the Island, represent the truth of Lagos: A city big enough to accommodate very contrasting extremes across all dimensions of life– the very rich and the hopelessly poor.
Shifting focus from Lagos, the plot is magnetic. The reader follows Abel expectantly as Lagos gradually changes him and he finds himself complicit in a murder (he might have even delivered the fatal blow himself). There are so many things to look out for as the story builds up. The suspense amplifies as the search for Rabato Sabato intensifies and causes frustration for his family. The simmering feelings (and its mutuality) between Abel and Ada drag. Here, Kan shows his expertise in writing romance, giving many ‘near-sex’ experiences between them. The reader becomes a kid inhaling the aroma of a tasty food without actually eating it. But eventually the kid eats! In the very last part, all the suppressions are thrown out the window as Abel walks through that connecting door, a point of no return. And it was worth the wait. Toni Kan does not shy away from writing sex scenes. To him, when a story demands sex, it gets it. He uses his tweak of words and his first-rate descriptiveness to add a ‘glass-lightness' that makes his sex scenes enticing without dousing any of the intended fire.
One could say events in the book are fast-paced. Oh yes, Lagos is a fast place. And crazy things happen. One could ask ‘why wasn’t Soni found?’. And why did Toni Kan not deem it necessary to unravel the mystery behind his disappearance? Oh yes, it is life. People get missing never to be seen again. Somebody simply ‘removes the ladder’, as Walata suggested to Abel in the closing stages of the book.
The story is beautifully written: “Lagos isn’t the only thing that is carnivorous, your book is”. It eats the reader up! You are rapt with fascination till the very last page. There is plenty to enjoy. I enjoyed the theme, I enjoyed the story, I enjoyed the crafting of the plot, everything. The one week I spent reading the book made me feel like a kid handed his favourite candy, the giant size, big enough to last a whole week. If I do not say that ‘The Carnivorous City’ is a good read, then I wonder what pipe I am smoking from. Fantastic work by Toni Kan. Nothing short of spell-binding.
Kan’s book, ‘The Carnivorous City’, is a story about Lagos, told with a theme that centers around two brothers, Abel and Sunderland Dike. The phrase ‘carnivorous city’—the title of the book—doubles as a metaphor for the city of Lagos. “Lagos is a beast with bared fangs and a voracious appetite for human flesh”, Kan describes. When Toni Kan was asked his reason for writing this book, he stated without mincing words: “I wanted to write about Lagos”. The challenge then was choosing the appropriate story that would be flexible, but yet strong enough to carry the weight and randomness of the city. He (Kan) made his decision after reading a piece by James Baldwin, part of which he would eventually adopt as the novel’s epigraph: “Do you know, friend, how a brother loves his brother..” According to Kan, the good-brother-bad-brother (Cain-and-Abel) story is timeless. This laid the foundation for the plot, a restructured Cain-and-Abel story told through brotherly love, self-discovery and loss.
Sunderland ‘Soni’ Dike is a very wealthy Lagos fraudster and unrepentant womanizer who goes by the street name Rabato Sabato; a father of one, married to the prepossessing Ada. His elder brother Abel is a 37-year old school teacher, somewhat content with his simple life in the relatively calm town of Asaba; Unmarried as a result of a conscious decision he made after being unfortunate enough as a boy to walk in on another boy in bed with his beloved mother. “He could not unsee what he had seen and will never be able to talk about it,” Kan narrates. “It was a secret he would bear to his grave. One that would open a wide gulf between him and his mother, but also told him clearly that he would never, ever get married”.
Abel’s unadventurous life is rattled when Soni goes missing, his car found in a ditch. Abel abandons his routine lifestyle in Asaba to travel to Lagos to live with his brother’s wife and help out in the search for Rabato Sabato. He soon gets entangled in the dirt of his brother’s criminal life and in the madness that is Lagos. For Abel, the next couple of months present more adventure to his life than the past 37 years did. These months—and Abel’s experiences—were what Toni Kan exploited to the brim to tell a story about life; about Lagos life.
Kan’s book is a ‘Lagos map’, I told him so. His description of places and routes would get any Lagosian nodding and grinning. The history of 1004. The military crash of 1992. Pa Gabriel Okunzua and his wrong predictions during the 1979 elections (We must remember that in 2004, an ageing Pa Okunzua was back in the habit when he predicted John Kerry was going to defeat the incumbent George Bush in the US elections). Every incident, every chapter, every subplot is relatable. The stories of Mushin and Dustbin Estate, compared to Abel’s new-found luxury on the Island, represent the truth of Lagos: A city big enough to accommodate very contrasting extremes across all dimensions of life– the very rich and the hopelessly poor.
Shifting focus from Lagos, the plot is magnetic. The reader follows Abel expectantly as Lagos gradually changes him and he finds himself complicit in a murder (he might have even delivered the fatal blow himself). There are so many things to look out for as the story builds up. The suspense amplifies as the search for Rabato Sabato intensifies and causes frustration for his family. The simmering feelings (and its mutuality) between Abel and Ada drag. Here, Kan shows his expertise in writing romance, giving many ‘near-sex’ experiences between them. The reader becomes a kid inhaling the aroma of a tasty food without actually eating it. But eventually the kid eats! In the very last part, all the suppressions are thrown out the window as Abel walks through that connecting door, a point of no return. And it was worth the wait. Toni Kan does not shy away from writing sex scenes. To him, when a story demands sex, it gets it. He uses his tweak of words and his first-rate descriptiveness to add a ‘glass-lightness' that makes his sex scenes enticing without dousing any of the intended fire.
One could say events in the book are fast-paced. Oh yes, Lagos is a fast place. And crazy things happen. One could ask ‘why wasn’t Soni found?’. And why did Toni Kan not deem it necessary to unravel the mystery behind his disappearance? Oh yes, it is life. People get missing never to be seen again. Somebody simply ‘removes the ladder’, as Walata suggested to Abel in the closing stages of the book.
The story is beautifully written: “Lagos isn’t the only thing that is carnivorous, your book is”. It eats the reader up! You are rapt with fascination till the very last page. There is plenty to enjoy. I enjoyed the theme, I enjoyed the story, I enjoyed the crafting of the plot, everything. The one week I spent reading the book made me feel like a kid handed his favourite candy, the giant size, big enough to last a whole week. If I do not say that ‘The Carnivorous City’ is a good read, then I wonder what pipe I am smoking from. Fantastic work by Toni Kan. Nothing short of spell-binding.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 7, 2019
A short but fast-paced and highly entertaining read about a very hyperstylized, oversexualized version of Lagos and what it can do to a man that isn't ready for it. A bit wonky in parts on the dialogue but and but enjoyable, great sense of place and a good weaving plot and central character.
October 29, 2024
BOOK: THE CARNIVOROUS CITY
AUTHOR: TONI KAN
PUB DATE: PUBLISHED
🧍🏾♂️🧍🏾♂️
REVIEW- 3.5 stars
'The Carnivorous City', I wondered at this title when I started reading, but the reason behind the title revealed itself. The title was referring to Lagos, the most populated city in Nigeria. Lagos was also the main setting of the book. Lagos was like a breathing entity in this book. I enjoyed reading about the author's description of how savage the town can be. The mmc, Abel was a small city 'boy' who traveled to Lagos when his younger brother Soni, a Lagos 'big' boy, went missing. Lagos was seen through his naive eyes.
🧍🏾♂️🧍🏾♂️
When I started the book, Abel seemed like a good guy. When I continued, he seemed like a judgemental guy. By the time I finished the book, I disliked him. He was the lost hypocritical, sanctimonious character I've ever read. There's nothing about him I liked. I felt like this was the author's intention. To show how Lagos, a carnivorous city, can change the people living there. A perfect rendition, really.
🧍🏾♂️🧍🏾♂️
This book was set in the early 200s, when fraud aka yahoo yahoo was developing its foundation and I liked that I was able to learn something about that. And I also learned about the 'big boys and girls' of Lagos and their mechanics.
🧍🏾♂️🧍🏾♂️
When I read the synopsis, I thought it would be something like a cozy mystery, but I was wrong. Soni, the missing brother, was not really focused on. At the end of the day, I was satisfied with the realistic ending to the case and book. That being said, I must commend the author's wonderful writing skills, which is not a surprise because he's a journalist.
🧍🏾♂️🧍🏾♂️
I learned a lot while reading this book, but it was the opposite of what I expected. You can read it with an open mind
AUTHOR: TONI KAN
PUB DATE: PUBLISHED
🧍🏾♂️🧍🏾♂️
REVIEW- 3.5 stars
'The Carnivorous City', I wondered at this title when I started reading, but the reason behind the title revealed itself. The title was referring to Lagos, the most populated city in Nigeria. Lagos was also the main setting of the book. Lagos was like a breathing entity in this book. I enjoyed reading about the author's description of how savage the town can be. The mmc, Abel was a small city 'boy' who traveled to Lagos when his younger brother Soni, a Lagos 'big' boy, went missing. Lagos was seen through his naive eyes.
🧍🏾♂️🧍🏾♂️
When I started the book, Abel seemed like a good guy. When I continued, he seemed like a judgemental guy. By the time I finished the book, I disliked him. He was the lost hypocritical, sanctimonious character I've ever read. There's nothing about him I liked. I felt like this was the author's intention. To show how Lagos, a carnivorous city, can change the people living there. A perfect rendition, really.
🧍🏾♂️🧍🏾♂️
This book was set in the early 200s, when fraud aka yahoo yahoo was developing its foundation and I liked that I was able to learn something about that. And I also learned about the 'big boys and girls' of Lagos and their mechanics.
🧍🏾♂️🧍🏾♂️
When I read the synopsis, I thought it would be something like a cozy mystery, but I was wrong. Soni, the missing brother, was not really focused on. At the end of the day, I was satisfied with the realistic ending to the case and book. That being said, I must commend the author's wonderful writing skills, which is not a surprise because he's a journalist.
🧍🏾♂️🧍🏾♂️
I learned a lot while reading this book, but it was the opposite of what I expected. You can read it with an open mind
May 27, 2025
The Carnivorous City by Toni Kan is a gritty, atmospheric novel that plunges readers into the pulsating, perilous heart of Lagos—a city portrayed as a beast that devours dreams, morals, and even men.
The story follows Abel Dike, a mild-mannered English Literature teacher from Asaba, who travels to Lagos after learning that his flamboyant brother, Soni—also known by various aliases like Sabato Rabato—has mysteriously gone missing. What starts as a rescue mission quickly morphs into a personal descent. Abel not only steps into his brother’s world of wealth and shadows, but also begins to taste the seductive danger of Lagos life.
Kan’s writing is sharp and richly descriptive, particularly his personification of Lagos as a "carnivorous city" with “bared fangs and a voracious appetite.” Themes of brotherhood, identity, moral compromise, and survival run deep. The novel wrestles with what it means to live in a place where life is “not just brutish—but short.”
While the pacing lagged in parts and some characters felt underdeveloped, the psychological and emotional pull of Abel’s transformation kept me turning pages.
Rating: 3.5 stars
An evocative, thought-provoking read that exposes the sharp underbelly of urban ambition and personal decay.
The story follows Abel Dike, a mild-mannered English Literature teacher from Asaba, who travels to Lagos after learning that his flamboyant brother, Soni—also known by various aliases like Sabato Rabato—has mysteriously gone missing. What starts as a rescue mission quickly morphs into a personal descent. Abel not only steps into his brother’s world of wealth and shadows, but also begins to taste the seductive danger of Lagos life.
Kan’s writing is sharp and richly descriptive, particularly his personification of Lagos as a "carnivorous city" with “bared fangs and a voracious appetite.” Themes of brotherhood, identity, moral compromise, and survival run deep. The novel wrestles with what it means to live in a place where life is “not just brutish—but short.”
While the pacing lagged in parts and some characters felt underdeveloped, the psychological and emotional pull of Abel’s transformation kept me turning pages.
Rating: 3.5 stars
An evocative, thought-provoking read that exposes the sharp underbelly of urban ambition and personal decay.
September 27, 2025
Ohh this book was perfect.
There’s nothing I love more that a realistic depiction of Nigeria. One that’s so accurate but is still able to hold space for fiction, left to the imagination of the reader. The carnivorous city was that and more.
The book follows Abel, a school teacher plunged in a world so unfamiliar as his only brother Soni goes missing. Abel, a man known for his humility and something near self righteousness has to move to Lagos in search of his brother, this forces him to live the ostentatious lifestyle his brother offered him many times, one he came to loathe as he was unsure of what his brother dabbled in.
Lagos, described as a city that chews you up and spits you out unveiled different sides of Abel that he was unaware existed, tearing down the goody two shoes mask and exposing him to the greedy, dark and hungry sides of him.
Toni kan is a genius, he proved it in this short and easy to read fiction.
There’s nothing I love more that a realistic depiction of Nigeria. One that’s so accurate but is still able to hold space for fiction, left to the imagination of the reader. The carnivorous city was that and more.
The book follows Abel, a school teacher plunged in a world so unfamiliar as his only brother Soni goes missing. Abel, a man known for his humility and something near self righteousness has to move to Lagos in search of his brother, this forces him to live the ostentatious lifestyle his brother offered him many times, one he came to loathe as he was unsure of what his brother dabbled in.
Lagos, described as a city that chews you up and spits you out unveiled different sides of Abel that he was unaware existed, tearing down the goody two shoes mask and exposing him to the greedy, dark and hungry sides of him.
Toni kan is a genius, he proved it in this short and easy to read fiction.
March 13, 2020
I enjoyed the book to an extent. I loved the premise of the story. I love the way the author contrasts Soni and Abel, 2 brothers who deeply loved themselves but love can be tainted especially when Lagos is involved! Lol. Soni goes missing and Abel has to fill the shoes that his brother left. In the 2 months of Soni's disappearance, Abel learns so much about his brother. Things and characteristics his brother had but he never knew.
The author showed quite well how Lagos is a mix of many things but most importantly it is a city that devours its inhabitants.
I think that more could have been said about Lagos not just the materialism that the author chooses to focus on. The moving around of the characters was like a geography class on how to navigate Lagos. I actually liked Abel's character because the inner conflicts he experiences makes him so relatable to an everyday Lagosian.
The book was ai'ght!
The author showed quite well how Lagos is a mix of many things but most importantly it is a city that devours its inhabitants.
I think that more could have been said about Lagos not just the materialism that the author chooses to focus on. The moving around of the characters was like a geography class on how to navigate Lagos. I actually liked Abel's character because the inner conflicts he experiences makes him so relatable to an everyday Lagosian.
The book was ai'ght!
September 13, 2018
I really enjoyed this book. A story about Abel a quiet and introverted lecturer forced to leave his mundane life in Asaba when his brother, Soni, a wealthy Lagos thug goes missing.
Soon he is immersed in the hustle of Lagos and finds himself doing and saying things he previously found repulsive—things he condemned his brother for. He pretty much turns into his brother.
It is well written, witty and downright hilarious sometimes.
I definitely recommend!
Soon he is immersed in the hustle of Lagos and finds himself doing and saying things he previously found repulsive—things he condemned his brother for. He pretty much turns into his brother.
It is well written, witty and downright hilarious sometimes.
I definitely recommend!
October 13, 2022
The plot seems totally ancillary to the setting. Toni Kan seems deliberate to pay homage to Lagos at the cost of sacrificing an interesting premise and ends up with a novel that is neither here nor there. Overall the novel reads like a draft and could have done with some much needed focus on the plot.
February 14, 2018
Biased because author located a house for me in Lagos (although not nearly as wealthy or exciting as the ones he depicts here)
July 14, 2020
I love this book... the descriptions of Lagos, the way Lagos was portrayed as the protagonist, the character development of Abel..... everything was on point..... it is an absolute delight!!
August 3, 2018
I am ordinarily scared of the city Lagos. This book, hasn't helped.
The city takes as much as it gives.
The city takes as much as it gives.
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