Review: The Fishermen

First of all, my apologies for not releasing blog posts in a while. I feel like I have made these apologies way too many times🤦🏽‍♀️. I have been overwhelmed with work and recently, school. Trying to find a balance between all the things I love doing, making a living and growing up isn’t as easy as I thought it would be when I was 9. Thankful for long bus rides like this where I get to write posts!

I had originally made a video of this review but for some reason, the computer refused to export my video fully & the sound quality wasn’t the best. (I even updated the iMovie software. Tips on how to resolve this would be very much appreciated).

Now that you are somewhat caught up with what’s been happening in my life, here is my review of the book, The Fishermen by Chigozie Obioma.

What is the book about?

In a nutshell, the book narrates the events that happened to a family after the predictions made by a mad man, Abulu. At the end of the book, some of characters lose their lives, some- their sanity and, others their freedom & identity. I enjoyed reading this book and hope you get inspired to read the book (if you haven’t already), join the conversation or read it again. 🙂

Some lessons from the book:

• The power of words- It was interesting how the words Abulu prophesied over Ikenna’s life immediately came true. Words are very powerful. What you speak has the tendency to come true!

Death and life are in the power of the tongue… – Proverbs 18:21a

• The influence of other people on our lives.- Obembe pressured Benjamin to assist him in committing murder. However, Benjamin was the only one of the two brothers who ended up going to jail. A lot of times we do things because others are doing it or because it seems cool (doesn’t always have to be negative things such as committing murder). It is good to remember to not let others influence us or our actions, most importantly, stay away from negative influences. What am I saying? Do things for you, because you want to, not because others are doing it.

Do not be misled by what you see around you, or be influenced by what you see. You live in a world which is a playground of illusion, full of false paths, false values and false ideals. But you are not part of that world. -Sai Baba

• As Chigozie wrote, fear might be the strongest emotion. Avoid fear at all cost. Although this is purely fictional, I strongly feel like Ikenna could have lived a little longer and enjoyed his life a bit, if he didn’t let fear over power him.

Courage is never to let your actions be influenced by your fears. -Arthur Koestler

Questions I had for the author

– Why did Boja die?

– Could going to church save Ikenna from the madman’s prophecy?

I hope you enjoyed this post. Have you read the book? What were you thoughts? And if you haven’t read the book, I hope you are motivated to read the book now.

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Talk soon,