Review of Forgotten Breaths

[Harty Muli]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Forgotten Breaths" by S. Haya.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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In Forgotten Breaths, S. Haya recounts his life experiences in verse. It’s a collection of poetry and lyrical pieces that focus mainly on lost love, evil, freedom, religion, conservation, death, and taboo subjects, like incest, female genital mutilation, and abortion. As the poet declares in Depression, his sapphic writing gives him grounding as he’s lost interest in things that he used to love doing. Moreover, as suggested by the title, some poems point to a bygone era, e.g., There was No Darkness. In this poem set during the Kenyan freedom struggle, his grandmother narrated to him how the colonialists forcefully introduced sugar into the natives’ diet, and how the natives’ belief systems and identities were vilified as primitive by the white man.

Even though most of Haya’s poems are free-form, a few, such as The Dinner Guest, have rhyming lines and meter. By employing dark humor in this piece, Haya forces the reader to contemplate the reality of the devil and his “reward,” or lack thereof. On the other hand, the free verse and satirical piece The Nairobian is about a certain religious woman who is oblivious of the harm she’s causing to her marriage by leaving her husband’s catering needs to her underage housemaid. At the same time, while on her way to church, she ignores the plight of poverty-stricken girls located at a certain Nairobi suburb she passes through frequently, yet she donates lavishly to her pastor’s car kitty.

I liked that I could connect emotionally with Haya through his first-person narrative. A poem like the Children of Nairobi River, for example, had a theme that resonated strongly with me. I found myself shocked by the sheer number of aborted babies (fetuses) that found their way into a river that traversed the breadth of the capital city of Kenya, Nairobi. Furthermore, the figurative language that Haya used, where he likened the river to a mother welcoming her children, was as disturbing as it was horrifying. Similarly, in yet another poem—The New Normal—like most city dwellers in developing countries, I found myself disillusioned by the effects of the coronavirus as it meant that I couldn’t “travel to the village… to see our (my) grandparents.”

Overall, as evidenced above, I thought that the greatest strength in Haya’s poems was the diversity of its themes. In one instance, he could be talking about a “Jini” walking “from the sea bottom to the shore” full of “fury for her (whoever this is) in the brick house”; whereas, in another instance, he would be praising the birth of the savior of mankind. Because of this alternating viewpoint, I was held captive by some superstitious beliefs that were featured throughout his writing. A favorite one involved a ritual that was administered to Pokot warriors before they raided a neighboring tribe.

In terms of negatives, I didn’t find anything dislikable about this book. However, I came across instances where I thought the author’s grammar was deficient. I, nevertheless, attributed those instances to his idiolect or use of a poetic license. For full disclosure purposes, even so, I kept a record of those instances where I thought the author erred in his choice of words; so, for this reason, I don’t think the book was professionally edited. I, thus, rated the book 4 out of 4 stars, as the number of errors was fewer than ten. Lastly, these poems are best suited to a reader looking for something novel and African. At the same time, they may be less suited to a reader who is averse to diverse experiences in his/her book.

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Forgotten Breaths
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[Mbenma Esther 080]

I love the fact that the poem covers broad interesting themes. The use of dark humor also contributes to the themes. Thanks for the review.

[Brett Linette]

It's refreshing to see a book talking about topics that aren't talked about enough. I wonder what the author's take on said topics are; it's always interesting to see another person's take, whether you agree with it or not.

Thank you for the review!

[Hani97]

The fact that a novel is poetry, this is the first time I see this, but it will really attract readers in this way, regardless of the topic

[Raluca_Mihaila]

I love free-form poems, so I might give it a try. Thank you for your interesting recommendation!

[Ekezie1998]

Have always been a great fan of poetry. Would definitely love to have this book on my shelf!

[Adeola Taiwo]

Love the poetry

[Apple 7]

The instances of lost love, taboos, evil and the likes, seem to give this book some complexity...nice review

[Nonso Ok]

Novel and African in the same sentence is the perfect invitation for me.

[kirthana_shivakumar]

This looks very interesting. It's also one of my favourite genres so I'll definitely give it a try. Thanks for the review!

[Suleiman Mangi]

Wow! A rare gem. Kudos to the author for being courageous enough to thread the path on which many dread. These things affect us most in our current society but are swept under the rug. Sad but true. I recommend this book especially for our current generation. Enlightening

[Paluk Pathania]

Firstly, no wonder I loved the book's title. The ideas that are discussed in the poetry appeal to me. I'm guessing I'll have a lot of fun with them. Great review, thanks.^^

[Susan Gibbs]

Some of the themes in this book sound a bit disturbing for me: incest, female genital mutilation, and abortion. Nonetheless, this very personal and dramatic work from the author will appeal to some readers.