Review : The Famished Road by Ben Okri

Tittle   : The Famished Road
Author   : Ben Okri
Publication date  : May 1st 1993 by Anchor
Audience : Adult

Okay, first, this may not be the newest book, but I don't care. I'm going to spill it out anyway. This is the first African literature I read and I LOVED IT! Just to be clear, I read the translated version of this book, however it was so good and I have to applaud the translator for his great job! I read this book back in 2007, I was attracted by the synopsis. The translated version of The Famished Road is thick, about 800 pages or so, so it took me quite a long time to finish it.

The story itself is about a boy named Azaro, who was an abiku which in Nigerian culture means trapped between life or death. For your information, this book is far from nowadays' paranormal stereotype. I thought about some mystical stuffs that might be the signature of The Famished Road, but I was wrong. yes, there are some of them, however that's not the point of the story.

Okri did a good job by creating extremely strong characters in his story. The life and customs of the people there is also graphic. The hunger, poverty, bad politicians, he described it very well. He also has a very good sense of humor which makes The Famished Road even more impressive.

Please not that the this book may not be an easy read. You need to absorb every words of it. For those of you who lives easy reading (like me), this book may be a burden, however is you keep reading (like I did), it'll get better. To be honest, this is also the best book I've ever read so far, and I'm sure to include it in my one of my favorite books of all time.

As for the rating, of course I'll give it high 5!

Are you a fan of literary fiction? Have you read  The Famished Road?