Offical Review: Gay, Black, African, Genderqueer and Proud

[joreasonable]

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Gay, Black, African, GenderQueer and Proud" by Daniel Ekine.]

The theme of the book is gay issues in Africa.

Short Summary: Daniel grew up, the only and oldest boy in a family of four children, from a young age he was different. With an abusive father, Daniel was constantly abused as he is effeminate, and this was not accepted in Nigeria, he was beaten on numerous occasions by his family and others, often in public, and no one came to his aid. He later moved to Malaysia to study, and he was still mistreated there. He now lives in USA, where is is awaiting asylum.

This is a short book, with around 200 pages, I read the book in one sitting, easy to read in terms of the words used but very difficult to read as it is covering a very difficult subject. This is not a book I would recommend for anyone, the reader needs to be aware of the subject and be able to accept the subject without judging. It is a sad book, unfortunately there is probably still plenty of this abuse going on in certain parts of the world and most of us a completely unaware it is going on on a daily basis.

The writing could be better, there are many jumps in the time line of the life of Daniel and it can get confusing, but if you can get over that then it is really the only issue I have with it. There are no spelling errors that I found, the photos in the middle are also helpful and bring the book to life as you are putting a face to the story. The title is too long, a little annoying, part of writing a book is getting the title right, for example, for me “Behind the Masked Smile” is long enough with all the extra before this.

What has happened to the author is awful, after all we are all human beings and this is unacceptable, he is an amazing person to still have positive thoughts, to still love others and still carry on with his life.

The book finishes at around 75 % and the rest are songs, poems and quotes of the author´s, some of which are thought provoking.

To say there is a favourite part in the book is difficult, but it would probably have to be that Daniel is currently waiting for asylum in the USA. It would be nice to know if he was granted or not.

I feel I can only give this book 2 out of 4 stars as it is confusing to follow and a subject that will only appeal to few.

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