Comments on: 419, by Will Ferguson

By: KevinfromCanada

KevinfromCanada — Thu, 25 Oct 2012 19:15:51 +0000

BiP: I certainly agree with your last statement — I’m always intrigued by how my opinion of a novel changes in the weeks or months after I have read it. Sometimes it improves, sometimes gets worse — and there is no predictable pattern.

By: BuriedInPrint

BuriedInPrint — Thu, 25 Oct 2012 18:22:38 +0000

I share your concerns and, yet, I felt that the “Nigerian portion” of the story was more of a draw for me; I felt as though Laura’s narrative was a practical choice, allowing Western readers to be invited into a story that many might have let sit on the shelf if it had begun with Nnamdi or Winston. The more that I thought about it, the more that I felt there was a stronger unity of theme underscoring the novel, whereas initially it felt quite simply plot-heavy, so I enjoyed it more as time passed, after I’d read it. Funny how that happens with some books, isn’t it.

By: KevinfromCanada

KevinfromCanada — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 13:45:00 +0000

Tom: The “cyber” part works just fine because the author does keep it “recipient-oriented” — I suspect a lot of us are intrigued by just what might lie behind those endless emails that fill the spam cue, whether or not the author has got it right. I had different issues when I approached the book — I confess to a bias (well, concern at least) on North American writers telling us about how things work in Africa, e.g. how oil companies are upsetting the traditional way of life, conflicts between tribes. That bias is probably reflected in the fact that it was those story lines that were least successful for me — the ones involving Laura and her family worked quite well.

By: acommonreaderuk

acommonreaderuk — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 07:55:03 +0000

Fascinating review even though the book does not appeal to me all that much (from what you write about it). I find its generally bad news when anything “cyber” comes into a book as very few writers know enough about the topic to write accurately about it. However this one seems to work from what you write. I’ll be interested to see what Kim says about it and will now go and have a look . . .

By: Lisa Hill

Lisa Hill — Sat, 20 Oct 2012 23:46:38 +0000

Yes, I agree, authors can’t make the assumption that people are informed about The Rest of the World, and so too wide a canvas can result in the problem you’re identifying. But (in general, not commenting on this book because I haven’t read it) I usually like the attempt. Right from when I was a little kid reading a children’s series about twins who lived in different parts of the world, I’ve liked learning about other places through fiction. Maybe this was because I was a bit of a world traveller myself as a kid, but I like to think that most people are interested in the world beyond their own backyard.
But as you say, not at the expense of a well-constructed story.

By: KevinfromCanada

KevinfromCanada — Sat, 20 Oct 2012 16:45:12 +0000

Lisa: For me, widescreen novels work best when the author uses the various settings to develop a variety of characters (Cloud Atlas is an excellent example of one that worked for me). They tend to struggle when the various stories and the need to establish them overtakes the people inside them — the reader has to spend a lot of time getting backgrounded for something that just doesn’t happen and the book becomes more about the author’s ambition than his/her ability to realize it.

By: Lisa Hill

Lisa Hill — Fri, 19 Oct 2012 21:38:07 +0000

I do like the concept of what you call the widescreen novel. Yes, it runs the risk of ovesimplifying things and authors can too easily make mistakes when they’re writing about a culture not their own, but I like the wider vantage point that shows the reality of a global world.

By: KevinfromCanada

KevinfromCanada — Fri, 19 Oct 2012 14:45:05 +0000

Lisa: Thanks for that link. For what it is worth, I think Ferguson carries off that aspect of the novel better than he does some of the internal Nigerian ones. The oil development story line is over-simplified and its impact on his characters adds little to the overall book.

By: Lisa Hill

Lisa Hill — Fri, 19 Oct 2012 08:51:57 +0000

Hi Kevin,
For a Nigerian take on thsi Nigerian scam, I Do Not Come to You By Chance by Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani http://wp.me/phTIP-ZS is a terrific read.
Cheers
Lisa