Shortlisted for the 2015 Man Booker Prize, The Fishermen, by Chigozie Obioma, is the story of four brothers living in a small town in Nigeria. When their father leaves home for work, the four boys start to skip school and go to the local river to fish, despite the river being forbidden territory. On one occasion, they encounter a madman who predicts that the oldest brother will be killed by one of his siblings. This affects the eldest brother enormously, and he starts to retreat into himself, isolating himself from the perceived danger of his once inseparable siblings. Despite everyone's efforts to dissuade him, he firmly believes that his destiny is set and that it is only a matter of time before the inevitable happens. What follows is a litany of tragedy for the family involving death, revenge, imprisonment and breakdowns, all of which is set against the backdrop of political upheaval in the country. Told from the point of view of nine-year-old Benjamin, this is a tour-de-force of story telling. Yes, there aren't many laughs, but it is gripping and has an almost fairy tale quality at times. The relationship between the four brothers is beautiful to begin with, but falls apart in a way that is desperately sad but also very relatable. The language is both dreamlike and childlike, and carries the reader along to inevitable ending. It's like a ride that you want to get off all the time you are on it, but once it's over, you can't wait to get back on board. Memorable for the writing, but also, in my case the expressive narration of Chukwudi Iwuji, I can heartily recommend the audio edition. NB: Tissues not included!
My STAR rating: FIVE.
Length: 304 print pages.
Price I paid: £2.98
Formats available: print, unabridged audio download, audio CD, ebook.
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