Nigerian proverb: “However long the moon disappears, it must shine again.”
In 1958 vast fields of oil were discovered in Nigeria, changing the country dramatically. Tribes feuded. Villagers were forced from their land and, in some cases, massacred. This is the background of a powerful novel by Chris Creave: The Other Hand, published in 2008. It has sold more than two million copies worldwide. It is told in alternate chapters from the point of view of two women of completely different backgrounds: a refugee from a humble African village and a successful London working mom/wife. They meet on a beach in Nigeria and suffer and witness horror. I’m always impressed when a male writer convincingly imparts the lives of females. Creave has created characters of great depth. While reading, I was unable to pinpoint the gender of the author, which I didn't learn until I researched the name after I'd finished the book. Perhaps women would do so easily. I suppose it is politically incorrect to believe as I do that there are significant differences, sensibilities between genders, but I don’t care, and it has nothing to do with this wonderful novel, which is often riveting, especially the climactic passages. It is a bleak depiction of life, the world, but it ends in hope, perhaps one that is forlorn. Creave implies that the oil companies sanctioned the killings, encouraged groups to attack one another. I researched it on the web and there is certainly evidence of it. I didn’t want to believe it. I had to remind myself what American Indians, Jews and others have suffered in the ongoing battle of civilization, modernization, globalization. Mankind does not lack dark moments. Cleave’s prose and dialogue are exemplary. The 351 pages of the large Sceptre paperback flew by. I’ve been blessed with a lot of positive windfall running the floating book shop, not only in sales but donations of books I would never have heard of much less read. This particular one has been re-titled on Amazon to the far better Little Bee, the adopted name of refugee. On a scale of five, 4.25. My only quibble is the suspicion that the author believes the sins of those of us privileged to live in western society, where relatively few encounter the most heinous acts, are meaningless compared to the brutality third world peoples suffer. Less significant they certainly are -- meaningless, no. I’ve argued that the worldview of many screenwriters is that man is given to sin and it must be accepted, which I believe is simply a rationale, a shrug of the shoulders that attempts to relieve one of the responsibility of striving for decency. Another proverb appears on the last page of this particular edition, not part of the book: “If your face is swollen from the severe beatings of life, smile and pretend to be a fat man.”
The floating book shop was sidelined by the weather for the fifth straight day. I hope the old proverb, "Good things come to those who wait," still applies.
Vic's 4th Novel: http://tinyurl.com/bszwlxh
Vic's 3rd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3
Vic's Website: http://members.tripod.com/vic_fortezza/Literature/
Vic's Short Story Collection (Print or Kindle): http://www.tiny.cc/Oycgb
Vic's 2nd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/6b86st6
Vic's 1st Novel: http://tiny.cc/94t5h
Vic's Horror Screenplay on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/cyckn3
Vic's Rom-Com Screenplay on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/kny5llp
Vic’s Short Story on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/k95k3nx
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