Review of Leaving Dahomey
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Brianna Frater
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Review of Leaving Dahomey
[Following is a volunteer review of "Leaving Dahomey" by Jude Shaw.]
Jude Shaw's Leaving Dahomey is an exquisite historical fiction novel set in Africa, Ghana. This is the first book in the Friendlytown Trilogy which kickstarts an exciting and addicting story detailing the adventures of a curious teenage girl by the name of Adeoha. With both her parents having their own independent wealth and from different backgrounds, they had good reputations and Adeoha was considered highly in the Dahomian society as well as amongst her peers. Seeing as both her parents hailed from different tribes, Adeoha and her siblings were raised prominently in the light of her mothers tribe and knew little of her fathers tribe.
While at her father’s plantain, Adeoha’s friend, Sewextu persuades her to become an new member in the language of the drum society in order for Sewextu to be accepted as well. As Adeoha predicted, she had an extremely difficult time while learning the dance techniques, however, with time, she becomes better and is able to perform the dance during the society's initiation day. Amidst all this, her desire to become a merchant never dies and soon she surpasses her imagination of her dreams. Feeling threatened by her increase in status, King Guezo becomes uneasy and believes that Adeoha’s father, Lord Tubutu, might take his throne. To quieten and somewhat release the tension and strain on the higher heads, Adeoha decides to leave Dahomey for her family's benefit.
The book was evidently well researched and very informative. The use of diction as well was immaculate yet easily understandable. The book covered a lot of themes and topics mainly as it pertains to the theme of culture and heritage and this really gave more insight into the African culture and their beliefs. I really enjoyed reading this book as I have recently started venturing into historical fiction and I am extremely pleased to have found another book of this genre that I thoroughly enjoyed. There were no grammatical errors as the author did an excellent job at making her work error free as well as well structured.
There were however minor errors in the first chapter with placement of punctuations for a character's speech. This was a little confusing at first as I was unsure if the character was speaking aloud or if they were thinking. But aside from this, the book is completely error free. I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars as I sometimes found it difficult to keep up with the difficult pronunciation of names as well as remembering the specific rituals. Regardless, this was an extraordinary book which I would recommend to anyone interested in learning about different cultures of historical references overall.
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Leaving Dahomey
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Jude Shaw's Leaving Dahomey is an exquisite historical fiction novel set in Africa, Ghana. This is the first book in the Friendlytown Trilogy which kickstarts an exciting and addicting story detailing the adventures of a curious teenage girl by the name of Adeoha. With both her parents having their own independent wealth and from different backgrounds, they had good reputations and Adeoha was considered highly in the Dahomian society as well as amongst her peers. Seeing as both her parents hailed from different tribes, Adeoha and her siblings were raised prominently in the light of her mothers tribe and knew little of her fathers tribe.
While at her father’s plantain, Adeoha’s friend, Sewextu persuades her to become an new member in the language of the drum society in order for Sewextu to be accepted as well. As Adeoha predicted, she had an extremely difficult time while learning the dance techniques, however, with time, she becomes better and is able to perform the dance during the society's initiation day. Amidst all this, her desire to become a merchant never dies and soon she surpasses her imagination of her dreams. Feeling threatened by her increase in status, King Guezo becomes uneasy and believes that Adeoha’s father, Lord Tubutu, might take his throne. To quieten and somewhat release the tension and strain on the higher heads, Adeoha decides to leave Dahomey for her family's benefit.
The book was evidently well researched and very informative. The use of diction as well was immaculate yet easily understandable. The book covered a lot of themes and topics mainly as it pertains to the theme of culture and heritage and this really gave more insight into the African culture and their beliefs. I really enjoyed reading this book as I have recently started venturing into historical fiction and I am extremely pleased to have found another book of this genre that I thoroughly enjoyed. There were no grammatical errors as the author did an excellent job at making her work error free as well as well structured.
There were however minor errors in the first chapter with placement of punctuations for a character's speech. This was a little confusing at first as I was unsure if the character was speaking aloud or if they were thinking. But aside from this, the book is completely error free. I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars as I sometimes found it difficult to keep up with the difficult pronunciation of names as well as remembering the specific rituals. Regardless, this was an extraordinary book which I would recommend to anyone interested in learning about different cultures of historical references overall.
******
Leaving Dahomey
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: The Most Unlikely Champion by Vera Koo
