The Bibliophiles' Emissary

Author : Yewande Omotoso My Rating : 5 Stars Genre : Fiction Year Published : 2016 ISBN : 978-978-54604-2-1 Date Read : 18/01/2018 SUMMARY Hortensia and Marion are next door neighbours in a charming, bougainvillea-laden Cape Town suburb. One is black, one white. Both are successful women with impressive careers behind them. Both have recently been widowed. Both are in their eighties. And both are sworn enemies, sharing hedge and hostility pruned with zeal. But one day an unforeseen event forces the women together. Could long-held mutual loathing transform into friendship? Love thy neighbour? Easier said than done. MY THOUGHTS   The story is centered around Hortensia James and Marion Agostino; two women who appear different on the outside, but who have quite a number of startling similarities. The first thing, other than all the mini instagram reviews I read of this book, that drew me to it was the fact that the protagonists were elderly. I recall th...

Author : Osisiye Tafa Year of Publication: 2015 Genre : Biographical / Fiction Number of Pages : 270 My Rating : 3 Stars Date Read : 14/04/2016 SUMMARY Sixty Percent of a True Story’ is a window into the different realities of three undergraduates. Osisiye arrives the University of Lagos on a windy morning with dreams of high grades but must explore the fleshpots of the city, freedom of the campus and spiritual diversity of the bustling city of Lagos, Nigeria. Will he find a balance soon enough and will his dalliances with drugs, women and new friends be his undoing? The story moves on to Korede, a depressive introvert. He takes one through the vagaries of growing up as ‘different’ in a society that sees things in black and white and does not forgive men who do not act as men. Chris is a staple in Nigeria’s urban lore, the internet fraudster. Through his eyes, we understand the various motivations for this career choice and explore the process that births such d...