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REVIEW: TINY SUNBIRDS, FAR AWAY

I don't know why this picture appeals to me, but oh well :)
Sourced from: www.blackfabulousity.com
Author: Christie Watson

Genre:Contemporary/ African Fiction

Year Of Publication: 2011

My Rating: 4 Stars

SUMMARY
Blessing and her older brother, Ezekiel, are wrenched from their pampered life in Ikeja when father leaves home for another woman. They move to a village near Warri to live with their grandparents.

 The sprawling family compound is a place of wonder and mystery. Grandfather Alhaji is a firm believer in the healing properties of Marmite, while Grandma has a secret profession. And then there's Alhaji's new wife, Celestine. But as Blessing settles into this new life, she realises that things are not as idyllic as they seem. Ezekiel and Mama are drawn into separate worlds of fear and love that threaten to tear the family apart
Tiny Sunbirds is an evocative novel about the political and environmental catastrophe taking place in the Niger Delta and the power of community and resistance.

MY VERDICT
"An excellent novel. It takes the reader deep into the reality of ordinary life in Nigeria and is also funny, moving and politically alert."- Giles Foden, author of The Last King of Scotland

Christie Watson accurately and subtly dipicted the lifestyle of a troubled family in the chaotic  Niger Delta .Being that she isn't Nigerian, she brilliantly gave Tiny Sunbirds, Far Away the bitter-sweet conclusion it had. She did a great job; tended to every detail and I respect her for that.
I doubtlessly loved how the book was written in story form, Blessing being the narrator. I absolutely loved it. The only sour parts in this story were the births which Grandma and Blessing performed, I guess they were just too explicit for me to soak in. 
My favourite character had to be Grandma, because she was a wise woman, despite the fact that she was uneducated.
You can obtain this novel Here

Christie Watson
P.S; Check out my favourite quotes page xx


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