Review: Modern storytelling drawing on African myth
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 01 26, 2014
This is the story of young Mamuke and the unexpected trials she and her family must endure when she accidently offends the gods. The rituals and mythologies involved in the telling of the tale were interesting and had the ring of authenticity. Descriptions through the book helped me to feel like I was right there viewing the scenes as they happened. You really get a good sense of the richness of the traditions and culture the book draws upon.The book will not be for everyone -- the prose is older in style than the modern novel -- think Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book stories rather than Disney's Jungle Book stories. In a sense, this is storytelling rather than novel writing. If you enjoy the descriptive style of older mythical storytelling like Kipling or the Arabian Nights tales, this will be right up your alley.I give this novel 3.5 stars. I enjoyed it, but I felt that the book went on beyond the natural conclusion of the story (at the point where the family curse theme and the romantic theme of the story had both been wrapped up). Although some exciting and interesting writing eventually occurs after this point, I felt like it probably should have been a second book because it wasn't really the same story. At that point, I felt like I was plodding along for quite a while, which decreased my enjoyment of the book overall.I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.