Ben Okri

Advantages: Beautiful characterisation and style.
Disadvantages: Not for Harry Potter fans.

...The Famished road is a book telling us of the early life of a spirit Child, Azaro, who tries to survive in the rlm of the living, rather than rejoining his companions in the spirt world. This would be diffivult enough in the disease ridden environment portrayed by Okri in this book without the help of Mystical elements drawing him towards death. Okri's style is fascinating. He manages to give the reader the impression that they never quite know where they are. He builds on this sense of alienation to give a picture of modern Africa and its struggle to free itself from its past while embracing the future. Okri shows the middle ground of this, a clash of cultures, where survival is the first thing on everyones mind. Admittedly I didn't find the narative too griping - although the sheer originality of his style and ideas make up... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful

Advantages: Escapism
Disadvantages: none

...The Famished Road – Ben Okri The Famished Road takes you on a journey through the hearts and soul of Africa where adventure is the meeting of dreams and a reality that is described so poetically that you can taste the food and smell the forests. Azaro is a spirit child who defies the wishes of his companions to return to the spirit world and has to battle with the tormentors whilst dealing with the hardships of life. This book was first published in 1991 and was the winner of the Booker Prize that year. This is a unique book, which first intrigues and then overwhelms you with the passion that grows as the story is told. There is a series of sequels to this book with Songs Of Enchantment being the first.I have yet to read these. Prior to the Famished road Ben Okri had written seven books and he has also written a collection... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful

Advantages: Beautiful, haunting prose
Disadvantages: You may not always know where you are.

...The haunting, nightmarish world of the spirit child Azaro makes for one of the most spectacular and beautiful novels I’ve ever read. ‘The Famished road’ won the 1991 Booker prize for Ben Okri and in the very first paragraph I began to see why: “In the beginning there was a river. The river became a road and the road branched out to the whole world. And because the road was once a river it was always hungry.” The opening pages start creating prose that makes the reader think of poetry, line after line jumps to life on the page with magnificent imagery and beautiful metaphors, like “The wind blew spells across the sea.” Some readers may begin to be put of by this because I know many lovers of prose that cannot stand or ‘get’ poetry. All I can say is that although this novel has the power and beauty of an epic poem it still manages... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful