The best…and worst books of 2010
Nights of the Creaking Bed, Toni Kan’s newest work is testament to Lagos as raw material depot for writers. But not any writer can tell tales of much-loved/much-reviled Eko as deftly as the super-cynical Kan. In Nights, the writer tells the stories of ordinary Nigerians living out a drama of their lives in ways that […]
Nights of the Creaking Bed, Toni Kan’s newest work is testament to Lagos as raw material depot for writers. But not any writer can tell tales of much-loved/much-reviled Eko as deftly as the super-cynical Kan. In Nights, the writer tells the stories of ordinary Nigerians living out a drama of their lives in ways that are at once touching and provocative and pleasing. This is Kan’s magnum opus of sorts, expressed in lucid detail, full of items and at the same time clean and spare.
Take the opening of one of the stories, for instance: “My mother was a kept woman. It was something we knew. We – my cousin Meze and I. The sort of knowledge that creeps up on you and without announcing itself, makes your acquaintance.” The resulting tale is begging to be read, and should be.
Mainly dealing with people in Lagos, it also points out how men will always be men behaving the way they do – most times badly – so, too, women engrossed in their own schemes. Deft writing makes them as human as can be. Oh, and there’s the sexual tension, present even when it appears the author is avoiding it.
Another major plus for this book is the way the stories all seem related, even though they are not. Nights of the Creaking Bed is pure, unadulterated, bohemian storytelling at its achingly sad, masterful best. Kan, with this book, reminds the world why Nigeria continues to be a source for great literature.
Decoded by Jay-Z
To start with, Decoded is a well-designed book, supervised by Jay-Z himself, benefitting immensely from gorgeous layout, well-put-together photo-montages and fine drawings. It is obviously designed to appeal to an upscale, trendy crowd, but it succeeds in imbibing the street sensibilities of hip-hop.
Love or hate him and his music, Jay-Z is a success story. Born into poverty and involved with drugs and violence from a young age, he switched to success as a rapper into an entrepreneurial career that may have made him a billionaire. While it sounded like one, Decoded has succeeded in being more than just a self-aggrandizing project. Part lyrical anthology, part biography, the craft and intelligence behind it allows it to rise.
While it gets self-aggrandizing at times, it’s written with a tone that suggests restless intelligence and self-examination, as well as a tone that skilfully melds the traditional braggadocio of hip-hop with the authoritative confidence of a business leader. Especially when the rapper writes about his genre’s effect on global retail culture.
The book’s structure is simple, but clever. Each part features the rapper talking-up aspects of his life—childhood, his rap career, politics, street life, etc. —and ties into a clever self-analysis of a song or two from his discography, shedding light on that theme. Decoded’s autobiographical sections read much more like they’re authentically in Jay-Z’s voice, making them the best part of the book.
That Thing Around Your Neck by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is widely believed to be a writer of exceptional talent. Her first, Purple Hibiscus, won the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for the best first book, and her second, Half of a Yellow Sun, was awarded the Orange Prize for fiction. Fortunate few writers possess the rare quality of inspiring a reader’s confidence within a few sentences.
Adichie’s narratives have a compelling allure, intimate and strange in the same breath, of a juicy eaves-dropping session. In this, her collection of short stories, Nigeria is almost always the place from where her characters set off to seek education and wealth in far distant places, the home for which they yearn when they are away, and which she conjures up for readers in a weave that’s like a fine tapestry.
The Confession
by John Grisham
Young writers, experts agree, should study him. His pacing is masterful, more so here. A murdered cheerleader, a falsely accused football star and a convicted sex predator with a guilty conscience set in motion an instant classic from master storyteller John Grisham.
The book is about Travis Boyette, an evil, ill parolee with a secret he has to share. The serial rapist picks minister Keith Schroeder for his confession to the decade-old murder of a high school cheerleader. But will it save the falsely-accused man’s life? You have to read this book to believe the extent of excellent pacing it boasts of.
Freedom by
Jonathan Franzen
Media blitzes aside, Freedom by Jonathan Franzen, for its first few pages seems uncomplicated. But a little down the way, finally, is a well-paced, big-hearted novel about the death of liberal America.
Moments, especially, in the embattled domestic career of trailblazing would-be supermom Patty Berglund, whose son Joey has scandalously moved in with Connie, the girl next door, are a joy to read, often proving to be jaw-dropping.
The strength of the amazing Mr. Franzen’s latest offering lies in the well-rounded characters he creates, adding layer upon layer to them.
Say You’re One of Them by Uwem Akpan
Uwem Akpan’s book is the first collection of short stories to receive the honour of being a major selection in the much-respected Oprah Book Club, garnering the praise of book critics and readers alike. The Nigerian author’s debut work has made its mark in the world of literature and in the hearts of people across the globe. Akpan moves readers to an Africa unexplored by Western minds and tells stories from the view of children, voices seldom heard.
The book is loaded with political and cultural themes and messages. Akpan, an ordained priest, tackles religion in several of the collection’s stories. The stories are obviously filled with pain and heartbreak so intense that many people say they would rather avoid it, but that is where the heart – and beauty – of the book lies.