I received a free copy of this book from the author. Thank you Adesuwa.
‘The Farm and Other Stories‘ is a collection of five short stories (the first story is basically a novella) with diverse themes ranging from love, friendship, loss, betrayal, to child trafficking, girl child marriage, the Boko Haram Insurgency and poverty. The stories were descriptive, relatable and very relevant in today’s Nigeria. I was pleasantly surprised at how I was slowly pulled into the stories and got hooked until I was finished. The first story (The farm), was a slow burn, but as soon as I got into it, I was completely sold out. The characters were believable and the elements of mystery around them made it more intriguing. I am glad that stories such as this are now being told and I applaud the author for doing a good job at it. My favorite stories were ‘Elusion‘ and ‘Residue‘ because of how the first one showed the type of beautiful and loyal friendship that can exist between two people from different cultural and religious backgrounds while the second story, though heart wrenching was a reflection of the how girl child marriages and the Boko Haram insurgency have changed the lives of many innocent young girls in northern Nigeria. I really enjoyed reading theses stories.
On the down side, I found two of the stories too short to make much out of them and they left me unsatisfied as if they still had more to say or I had just read stories which were somewhat incomplete. I would have loved them better if there was more. Nevertheless, I enjoyed reading this collection and I recommend it to all lovers of fiction especially Nigerian fiction.
This book is a quick easy read that can be read in one sitting. If you love short stories that are vivid and relatable, then this will be a good choice.
Rating: 4 Stars
Published: 2017 by Satayaa Press
Pages: 179
Genre: Short Stories
Buy: Okadabooks
The Author:
Adesuwa Ehinome Iluobe studied law at the University of Abuja from 2004 – 2010. In 2011 she became a member of the Nigerian bar association. She further attended Ahmadu Bello University for her Master of Business Administration – MBA and Human Resources Management/Personnel Administration, General – MBA.
Adesuwa Ehinome Iluobe has a career as a HR personnel and Administrator, and is also a writer and editor who loves fiction and satires. She founded Satayaa Africa, a community that helps writers and readers succeed. You can follow their activities @satayaafrica on Instagram, Facebook and twitter or via their website – satayaa.com. She also recently launched her first book – The Farm. In addition to these, She is a fashion designer, She is constantly birthing new ideas and assisting businesses in strategizing.
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