Butter Honey Pig Bread - We rise to the Ogbanjes (Book Review)

With how the year started, my exams, the book slump and all, I had a feeling that if things continued the way they were then, I wasn't going to achieve my reading goals for this year. But since I finished my exams earlier this month, I have been spending my sweet time on books after books. This book I finished some day last week, and I'm about to review, was listed by someone as her favorite book so far. So, I downloaded it and decided I was going to read it last week. See if it's worth being my favourite.

Butter Honey Pig Bread is a 322 paged book by Francesca Ekwuyasi. It tells the story of Kambirinachi, a non-human spirit, known for dying in childhood and being born again (an ogbanje). After making the choice to stay alive to love her human parents she is separated from her kin and lives in fear of the consequences of her decision. Kambirinachi is mother to Taiye and Kehinde, two girls alienated from each other as a result of a traumatic experience in their childhood. Taiye, afflicted by her sister's trauma, decides to take it upon herself to be there for women and Kehinde, the victim finds it hard relating with her mother and sister after what happened. Each of the three women, whose lives are interconnected, must find a way to let go of the burdens from the past, and look forward to a new future. But where exactly do all three of them start from since forces beyond them, have a hand in their separation?

I was blown away by this book. Initially. Kambirinachi, being an ogbanje, was hilarious. And you know what made me have the feeling that I was in for a ride? The first chapter. The above, is a screenshot. Writing a poem for entities like the ogbanje, and making it the prologue in the book, made me pause to take a deep breath. I was preparing myself for a humorous ride. It's not everyday you come across authors that can spin tales out of literally nothing. As a Nigerian, I've heard tales about children that die to live and die again, but actually reading a book where the character is one fascinated me. Summarily, I loved the whole plot of this book. It was really fun to read.

I think this is my first time of reding this author's work even though I can't seem to recall where I've heard the name before. I enjoyed this particular work of hers and I loved her chaptering. There were four parts in this book. Each parts with chapters dedicated to the characters lives. The author gave each character the opportunity to tell their stories, from their different perspectives and how it affected the others around them. There were scenes where a character would describe a situation and you'll wonder why person A acted the way they did, then take sides. Only for you to find out that what Person A did was to save the narrator you initially picked sides with. Every character was so right in their own weird way and it was hard to pick a favourite.

I loved the three main characters. From Kambirinachi, to her daughters. They were flawed, yes but they still were so beautiful to read. I loved how each of them handled and processed things differently. Although it caused rifts between them sometimes, they were all able to scale through. What's the fun in a book where every character is jolly? I doubt there'll be any fun if there's no troublesome character. So, yes, in this book, there were troublesome characters that would not hesitate to rankle you but they all added to the beauty of the book.

This book would have gotten a very high rating from me had I not found the ending so unsatisfying. The ending was a happy one but not one that made me happy the slightest bit. I got to the second to the last page and the way things were going, I kept thinking that there probably was a sequel to the book. That probably explained why things are still like this at this point. But I read to the last page and found out the ending lacked every trait of the intensity portrayed at the beginning, the Middle and half way to the ending. I was disappointed because I was so sure this was going to make it to my list of favourite books but then, the author probably lost interest and decided to just finish for finishing sake.

I'll rate this book a 6/10. It was a very enjoyable read that didn't leave a taste of the enjoyable in me when I was done. I exhausted everything I enjoyed, trying to find a way to enjoy the ending. Yeah, it was that disappointing.

Thanks for reading

Images are screenshots from my e-library.

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