Official Review: Spirits of the Land by Mark Gomes

[Nhien Vu]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Spirits of the Land" by Mark Gomes.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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In medieval Africa, when black mambas roam freely on the floors of brick houses, two powerful Kings rule two opposite banks of the Niger River. There is King Sumaguru of the Sosso, who uses his wicked magical power to invade and raid other clans, forcing them to submit to his insidious will and cater to his boundless greed. Meanwhile, King Kon Fatta of Niani is celebrated for his leadership, excellent hunting skill, and generosity towards his people. As a result, he is the only hindrance to Sumaguru’s ambition to conquer the whole land.

However, Kon Fatta’s troubles come from his own home. In a fit of jealousy, his first wife, the regal Sossuma, whose beauty matches her poisonous mind, forces him to marry an ugly woman called Sogolon to mock him. Fortunately, Sogolon turns out to be a blessing in disguise as she is a gentle sorceress and gives birth to a bright son named Sundjata. Sossuma’s foul mood sours even more and threatens to harm the innocent little boy. Spirits of the Land narrates Sundjata’s journey, which spans many years and many cities, to become a worthy leader and unite his people to battle against King Sumaguru.

This book is Mark Gomes’ effort to retell the legend about Sundjata Keita, the founder of the Mali Empire and the great-uncle of Mansa Musa. The story’s universal plot will remind you of your own culture’s heroic legends. Sundjata is deemed “the chosen one” to fight against evil. After being threatened and betrayed at a young age, he embarks on a journey and eventually, after acquiring valuable skills, he comes back to exert his revenge and fulfill his destiny. This age-old formula works in Heracles, in Star Wars, and in Spirits of the Land as well. On the other hand, the book still has plenty of distinct African traditions, rituals, and spirit. This duality works to place the readers in such a foreign yet familiar bygone time.

Folklore often has a different standard from contemporary literature, and Spirits of the Land is a shining example of this principle. It features a large but uncomplicated cast of characters to represent basic ideas about heroism, evil, envy, shrewdness, loyalty, and greed. There is no need for twists and turns since the story would rather employ a straightforward and fast-paced progression. It offers insights about how we should live, fight, and persevere in an unforgiving world and highlights the importance of courage, traditions, and family. All in all, folklore’s simplicity constitutes its popularity and standing power throughout hundreds of years. The book can be used as a bedtime story or an alternate teaching method to deliver moral lessons, delighting children and adults.

The battles are quite impressive. I particularly enjoy them because they are not excessively violent and do not contain any kind of twisted mind games that we see so often nowadays.

The novel is not perfect. It’s a long book with irregular pacing: sometimes things move too fast, but sometimes important details are skipped over. It has an overly long buildup to the final confrontation. While the story is not boring since small events will hold your attention, this is still a weird progression. The novel is clumsily edited; most of the mistakes are obvious misuse or absence of punctuation marks, making me question the attentiveness of the editor.

Finally, I have a small suggestion for improvement. There are a few minor details about African custom that might be unfamiliar to Western audience. For example, the characters keep mentioning a game called Mancala, which plays a significant role in one chapter, but I have no idea how it is played. Therefore, a few explaining footnotes are welcomed since I would love to learn more about the culture to get a better understanding of the story.

I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. Spirits of the Land is an enjoyable adventure with a refreshing perspective to explore the beauty of medieval Africa. It will delight readers who favor the folklore-styled storytelling and tales of heroic warriors. It contains violence and explicit sexual content, so if you are sensitive to these details, please consider carefully before reading the book.

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Spirits of the Land
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Like SpencerVo's review? Post a comment saying so!

[kandscreeley]

I don't think I've heard this legend before. It doesn't strike me as a book that I would particularly enjoy, but I admire the author for trying to retell a bit of folklore. Thanks!

[IamShing]

Cool. History teaches us valuable lessons.

[Crazyreader01]

I love legends and stories relayed down through the generations. However, I don't think I would enjoy the length of it. Thanks for the review!

[Prisallen]

This sounds like a good way to learn about the legend of Sundjata Kieta, which I have no knowledge of. It does worry me that it is a long book, though. Great review!

[bigscarythingy]

Fascinating subject matter in need of some editing, it seems. I'm a sucker for folklore and African stories like this are few and far between. This really piques my interest. Excellent review.

[Eko hasanudin12]

good, this book teaches us to know history and can take lessons from that history.
because a great nation is a nation that respects history

[Kibet Hillary]

This is an awesome story. I like the way the story shows that in the fights against evil, good will always triumph. King Kon Fatta is an admirable characters and I like his traits. Thanks for the review.

[Nyambura Githui]

The review is interesting. I love African stories, probably because am African, though I've never heard of such a legend before.

[Espie]

Legends are fascinating. You've done this piece great justice through your honest and insightful review. Thank you.

[Juliana_Isabella]

This sounds like a good way to dive into another culture's folklore.

[SunVixen]

This sounds like a great story. Thanks for the review!