This book was recommended to me at a bookstore I visited a couple of months ago and I placed a priority on reading it because I was intrigued by the blurb. This is my first by the author although I was gifted a copy of his other novel last year which I haven’t still gotten around to reading.
This book follows Ifenna, a young journalist who is sent to cover the unveiling ceremony of the ‘Harvest of Joy Church’s’ new cathedral. One of his questions to the founder of the church, Pastor Nicholas Adejuwon rubs him the wrong way and this leads Ifenna down a path of secrets, lies, betrayals, deceit and self-discovery. This is a story that mirrors today’s church, it’s leaders and followers especially in Nigeria.
A few chapters into this book and I was already excited and couldn’t wait to see how the story would unfold. With it’s colorful and familiar characters/places, it seemed well paced and had all the elements a good story promises you. However, after a while it began to drag a bit and the climax was delayed to a point that when it came, it didn’t give the required punch for this type of story line. I would also have preferred a different end to the story and with that perhaps it may have been a book I would be raving about by now but unfortunately it didn’t turn out that way.
This was still a good read as I enjoyed the humor in the protagonists’ narrative therefore If you love contemporary fiction and satires you may love this story. I recommend.
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Published: November 3rd 2021 by Regium
Pages: 376
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
The Author:
Sylva Nze Ifedigbo writes fiction, creative non-fiction, and socio-political commentaries. He has published a novel, My Mind Is No Longer Here (2018), a collection of stories, The Funeral Did Not End (2012), and a novella, Whispering Aloud (2007). His short stories have appeared in various publications, including Prick of the Spindle, African Writer, Maple Tree Literary Supplement, Saraba, Kalahari Review, True Africa, AFREADA, and Thrice Fiction Magazine. Sylva believes the calling of a writer is to study humans explicitly and document this in simple, memorable stories. He lives in Lagos, Nigeria.
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