Well , just came across this title and decided to share.I am so in love with the title I am sure going to get a copy , you should do same dear reader.
About the author
Chioma Okereke was born in Nigeria and came to England at the age of seven. She started her writing career as a poet before turning her hand to fiction. Her writing has been published in Bum Rush the Page and The Callaloo Literary Journal. Additionally, her work has been shortlisted in the Undiscovered Authors Competition 2006, run by Bookforce UK, and in the Daily Telegraph's, write a Novel in a Year Competition 2007.
About the book
Bitter Leaf is a richly textured and intricate novel set in Mannobe, a world that is African in nature but never geographically placed. At the heart of the novel is the village itself and its colourful cast of inhabitants: Babylon, a gifted musician who falls under the spell of the beautiful Jericho who has recently returned from the city; Mabel and Melle Codon, twin sisters whose lives have taken very different paths, Magdalena, daughter of Mabel, who nurses an unrequited love for Babylon and Allegory, the wise old man who adheres to tradition. As lives and relationships change and Mannobe is challenged by encroaching development, the fragile web of dependency holding village life together is gradually revealed.
Source :bookshy
Review by Belinda Otas
Welcome to Mannobe, a village with its own personality. It is clear from the onset that Chioma Okereke is a wordsmith, which shines through as her narrative is rich in language. From the sights and sound of Mannobe village, to its exotic taste and colourful characters, with unusual names like Allegory, Jericho, Driver, Guitar and Babylon, Okereke paints a story canvass that pulls you in and makes you want to know each person.
Bitter Leaf is a story which revolves around life in Okereke’s imagined village of Mannobe, a community that is African in nature but not specific in geography to any African nation. A tactical writing skill which makes Okereke’s themes universal as she writes about a community where each person is on a journey to find that ‘thing,’ which brings them fulfilment as represented by Jericho’s longing to escape to the big city and Babylon’s hunger for her love.
Chioma Okereke weaves a poetically evocative story, rich in texture and vivid descriptions as it is emotionally accessible and moving. If there is a fault to be found, it is the fact that it takes a while to get into the story as Okereke takes time to lay the foundation. This could put a lazy reader off but if you are a person who likes to be challenged by a book, once you get into the story, you do not want to drop it. All in all, this is a delightful and impressive debut novel.
Review by Chielozona Eze
"Jericho, (who's female by the way), is a beautiful young woman. She's curious about the outside world so like many before her, she's taken the brave step of sampling life in a big, bustling city. She returns to her home village with some rather pretentious airs ... and a rich suitor in tow. By sheer coincidence Jericho's mother had attended an interview in her past at her daughter's new boyfriend's family home. A veritable mansion with ... sweeping rooms that took longer than a river to cross. What a lovely way of describing luxury in an essentially poor area of Africa. Everyone thinks the next natural step is marriage and babies but is it? "
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