Review of Leaving Dahomey
Posted: 01 Sep 2021, 04:40
[Following is a volunteer review of "Leaving Dahomey" by Jude Shaw.]
Traditions and culture are very present and important in the life of a lot of people that are very attached to them and that's what Leaving Dahomey by Jude Shaw is dealing with by narrating the story of Adeoha a young woman that a simple tradition changed everything in her life in a historical fiction novel mixing magic, African folklore and coming of age in a 168 pages novel divided into 10 chapters that happen at the colonial period in Africa.
In this story, we follow Adeoha Adetoye a hammock-borne fifteenth years old girl that has been nominated for membership in an ancient ancestor circle known as the Language of the Drums by her first friend Sewextu and after two months of being part of a group of spiritual dancers that keeps the memory of a long-ago African and meanwhile she lives the group because she was only interested in learning her family history by joining them, they realize that she may be the chosen one that the prophecy talked about. The story of this book is happening in an ancient African Kingdom of Dahomey that's been ruled by a king that always inspired fear in all his subjects and that particularly cherished lord Tubutu, the father of Adeoha who is been accused of trying to overthrow the king using the popularity of his daughter.
I've enjoyed the plot of the book, the characters are well-developed, and we get attached to them easily. I’ve liked Adeoha, she's a strong and independent young woman, she is brave, and she takes risks to success even if a lot of obstacles seem to stand in her way, and she is an example of empowerment to many young girls. This book is well written, a perfect page-turner that didn't take a lot of time to be read. The African folklore mentioned in the book is very interesting, also the story is very fluid and easy to read. The addition of culture, history, and politics makes the story richer than ever. This book talks about the importance of maintaining your culture and taking care of your friends
I give this book 3 stars out of 4 , I’ve enjoyed reading this book that I found fascinating, and I recommend it to you if you like historical fiction novels with a touch of magic. This novel explores African culture that's unfortunately often under-represented in the literature.
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Leaving Dahomey
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Traditions and culture are very present and important in the life of a lot of people that are very attached to them and that's what Leaving Dahomey by Jude Shaw is dealing with by narrating the story of Adeoha a young woman that a simple tradition changed everything in her life in a historical fiction novel mixing magic, African folklore and coming of age in a 168 pages novel divided into 10 chapters that happen at the colonial period in Africa.
In this story, we follow Adeoha Adetoye a hammock-borne fifteenth years old girl that has been nominated for membership in an ancient ancestor circle known as the Language of the Drums by her first friend Sewextu and after two months of being part of a group of spiritual dancers that keeps the memory of a long-ago African and meanwhile she lives the group because she was only interested in learning her family history by joining them, they realize that she may be the chosen one that the prophecy talked about. The story of this book is happening in an ancient African Kingdom of Dahomey that's been ruled by a king that always inspired fear in all his subjects and that particularly cherished lord Tubutu, the father of Adeoha who is been accused of trying to overthrow the king using the popularity of his daughter.
I've enjoyed the plot of the book, the characters are well-developed, and we get attached to them easily. I’ve liked Adeoha, she's a strong and independent young woman, she is brave, and she takes risks to success even if a lot of obstacles seem to stand in her way, and she is an example of empowerment to many young girls. This book is well written, a perfect page-turner that didn't take a lot of time to be read. The African folklore mentioned in the book is very interesting, also the story is very fluid and easy to read. The addition of culture, history, and politics makes the story richer than ever. This book talks about the importance of maintaining your culture and taking care of your friends
I give this book 3 stars out of 4 , I’ve enjoyed reading this book that I found fascinating, and I recommend it to you if you like historical fiction novels with a touch of magic. This novel explores African culture that's unfortunately often under-represented in the literature.
******
Leaving Dahomey
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon