It is only few people that won’t be captivated by the title
of this collection on seeing such on the shelf. I must say I judged the book by
not only its facade. I fell for its title; but I find it surprising that ‘Seun
fails to give account of the creativity I have come to ascribe to him in works
such as this and this. A
good editor could have helped matters.
I have read this collection of eight stories three times and
I find it really disturbing that such would be churned out by such promising
writer as ‘Seun. This is not about ‘Seun trying to experiment with this
collection just like other writers do with their debut works. Nothing is
experimental about this work. It is just the normal short story collection,
devoid of the freshness I expect. The simplicity of ‘Seun’s use of language could
have been one of the strengths of the collection. However, it comes out without
flavour on many occasions, deficient of sound
images.
THE SON OF YOUR FATHER’S
CONCUBINE: A NIBBLE
Kweku’s Return
Here is a Ghanaian story that could fit into any other spatial
setting the moment the characters are re-christened in the context of the novel
setting. It doesn’t go beyond that.
It is a reality that throws ferocious punches at the readers
that the drug pushing twist ‘Seun adds to the story towards the end is not
researched at all. I don’t want to ascribe his silence on this very sensitive
issue to the desire to achieve brevity. Concision is a character of short
stories, but such issue as drug pushing is such that is so germane
to this society that our writings are not meant to scrap its details.
I recommend On
Black Sisters’ Street, on the ground of the research work its author - Chika Unigwe - puts into it to ‘Seun Salami.
Though fast paced, ‘Kweku’s
Return’ leaves more than enough for the reader to imagine. With that, it trivialises
the details the reader would have found instructive about drug pushing. The
creative touch that could have been infused into the drug-pushing aspect of the
story is murdered to satisfy the ambitiousness of the story.
A good editor could have avoided this:
“Good morning mama!” He bellowed to her in the distance.
(Page 9)
Nothing could have necessitated such expression in the scene
Seun describes. ‘Bellow’ is rather heavy for a greeting.
Licentious Romance
This is a story I consider purposeless. It could have been
rescued in the resolution only for it to suffer another swipe: VAGUENESS.
Pastor Jay Is Dead
‘Pastor Jay is Dead’ is an account of the life of a prominent campus clergy who
meets his death in the discharge of his ministerial duties. His demise helps
the narrator take in the reality of death’s imminence.
The inconsistency in the naming of the major character in
this story is an issue. I find Pastor Jay and Pastor Joshua reading almost
differently. Though unintentional, it can easily mislead the reader, especially
one who is not accustomed with the act of replacing a name with its diminutive.
The Son of your Father’s
Concubine
This is a synthesis of salient issues among which are rape
and religious hypocrisy. It describes, though in a tacit way, the history a
particular extended family has with rape. The last rape recorded in the family
turns out to be the handiwork of the son of the narrator’s father’s concubine.
A pastor.
Nothing best captures the situation in the text than the
word ‘knotty’. Its significance is in its recountal of what rape victims pass
through in our society.
Greenland Reverie
In a situation where all seems not to be in tandem with
one’s desire, a day dream might just help in fulfilling such thing one hankers
after. At least, on some utopian plane. The consolation a reverie is meant to
give is not what Segun gets from his.
What I like about this story is the inventiveness of the
author in capturing a futuristic image of Nigeria.
Quarter Past Midnight
The worst way to trivialize the power names have is to say ‘What’s
in a name?’It is ‘just a name’ that earns Gabriel a ticket to eternity.
At an odd time.
Thunder From The Gods
This story is a demonstration of how religion prevents us
from accepting things for what they really are. If only a group of corpers will
consider what their exploits in their Rural Rugged Evangelism spells for the
remaining gods left in Obosima, they will not link their losses and sufferings
to diabolical phenomena. It is nature at work.
The following description in the story is monotonous:
‘…He looked really rough, the one they call ‘Prayo’.
He was
very slim and very tall. He had bathroom slippers on and looked like he had not truly
eaten good food in three days. The other one that came behind him was the one
they called ‘Rugged’. That was his official name and he looked just like that. He had tribal marks
and said ‘hall’ instead of ‘all’. He asked the sisters if they brought ‘heggs’…’
(Page 101)
Passport Office
The Passport office could be one of the locations that
afford a free display of the level at which nepotism and corruption have both
scoffed equality in our society.
Narrating this story in the second person earns it a footing
in analysing contemporary social order. The ‘you’ can be anybody on the
receiving end of the scourge. Anybody, who laughs at the failure of moral ethos
in his society.
Here is a peep into the situation:
‘…Then the officer
responded in a bogus baritone, “Better mind your business. This one is oga approved oh! Order from above…”’
(Page 113)
***
I refuse to define Seun Salami by this book. He is more than
this. I await his next book.
