Rock the Vote!

Dabwaha is getting down to the nitty gritty.  Voting is going on for the second half of the Elite 8.  If you haven't already, I'm going to ask everyBetty to go vote for Fair Game by Josh Lanyon.  It was a good book, better IMO than it's competitor, and Lanyon is an excellent author in general.  Plus, I'd really like to see a m/m title make a good showing again this year.  (Last year a m/m title, Zero at the Bone by Jane Seville, made it to the final two.)

So if you would, head on over to http://dabwaha.com/ and cast a vote.  Lanyon's behind right now, but he can catch up with our help!

Review: I Do Not Come to You By Chance by Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani

Review by London Betty

It's hard to find English language fiction about sub-Saharan Africa, by authors who were born and still live there, so this book is a good find for this reason alone. The book takes place in Nwaubani's home town and the areas where she's lived. 

I Do Not Come to You by Chance (I love the title) is about Kingsley, a young man from educated but poor parents, who can't find a job even with his university degree. As the family falls deeper into poverty, he finally ends up working "419" scams--those famous Nigerian emails we've all received--and naturally the book's tension hinges on both his moral dilemma of being a scammer, and the inherent danger of the activity. 

While the author isn't very good at descriptive writing--I didn't get that "Ooh I want to see Nigeria!" feeling--she's great at everyday detail. I learned a lot about daily life (public transportation, placing a long distance call, education, dating, village vs city life, names, money, etc.)  I think if you were Nigerian you wouldn't be bored/feel like she was writing for foreigners, but as a foreigner I was able to learn a ton about life in Nigeria. Super super interesting. And of course I learned about 419s. Nwaubani's done her research, and I never found the topic tiresome. The variety of scams being run is simultaneously fascinating, sad, creative, and funny. And I had to love the gangsters with their names like Cash Daddy and Protocol Officer and World Bank.

In the beginning I put this book aside for several weeks, because the start is slow. She's carefully trying to establish Kingsley's character, and why and how he would end up in 419s, but I think she could have shortened the front end of the book, and elaborated a bit in some other areas. For example, we don't witness his actual transition into scamming at all--it's a fait accompli when we hit Part II of the book. And towards the end, when we reach the inevitable point of having to choose between his new criminal lifestyle, or returning to the poor and honest path chosen for him by his parents, the choice would have felt more difficult if (a) the author had better maintained his connection with his mother, and (b) if the romance in the latter part of the book had been introduced earlier, and handled differently. The book's first romance is really heartbreaking, and this later romance could have had that potential.

On the plus side, Nwaubani's writing is really entertaining. The last book I read was also by a first time author, and he too was attempting to write a humor book about his nation (Canada); and though he was obsessed with proper English (he admits to this obsession) I found his similes and descriptions unoriginal and long-winded. Nwaubani, on the other hand, uses words in odd ways, and her writing is a bit sloppy; yet her similes and metaphors were creative, and her descriptions were funny. I don't have any quotes 'cause I can't underline on my ereader, but here's a good one someone posted:

"Then came my father’s diagnosis. For a poorly paid civil servant to get caught up in an affliction like diabetes was the very height of ambitious misfortune."

Also, I loved Kings. His character arc was realistic, he was a good kid, and I was rooting for him. I was curious to see how Nwaubani would choose to end the book, and I'm giving the book four stars solely on the basis of the last chapter (epilogue). It was perfect. It is so so SO rare to find that perfect of a last chapter. It was tight, it was funny, it answered all my questions, and it was satisfying.

I will definitely read her next book.