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I’ve seen this book around for ages but didn’t dive in until I saw @alaroro_books repost a review of it back in January. I was intrigued and jumped on it through Nigerian bookselling bae @OkadaBooks. Side-note the #OkadaBooks Android app is unfathomably better than the iOS version. (Please upgrade the iOS app too!!!)
This is one of those books that you finish and you’re still not quite sure what exactly it was about, but you know you liked it. From the second page in, I already KNEW! I KNEW I would love this book! For a Nigerian book, it is remarkably quirky, whimsical and a little off-beat in a way that doesn’t take itself too seriously or feel like it’s trying too hard to be “high art,” if you know what I mean. The premise of this is an old lady, Dr. Morayo DaSilva, an elderly Nigerian transplant living in Los Angeles, trying to age gracefully, cling to the relevance of youth, live her best life, and reminisce about the past without becoming “THAT” old lady.
This is an incredibly witty and astute book. The heroine is imperfect and there are cracks in her facade, yet she is graceful and a total bada$$ of an old lady- very wise, kind and matching to the beat of her own drum. I like that we get impressions about her from other characters because sometimes it wasn’t quite clear what was reality and what Dr. DaSilva had rationalized in her mind to be real. This book features themes of race, African culture, Nigerian identify, belonging, nostalgia and aging, isolation and connectedness.
My only negative about this book is that it was a little disjointed and random. There were lots of breadcrumbs dropped but just left there. But it’s almost like the vagueness is on purpose so you accept it and roll with this really good book like Dr. M does in Buttercup. Click here to read it on OkadaBooks
Reviewed by @la_jits
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