The Whispering Trees
Abubakar Adam Ibrahim
Description
The Whispering Trees, award winning writer Abubakar Adam Ibrahim's debut collection of short stories, employs nuance, subtle drama and deadpan humor to capture colorful Nigerian lives. There's Kyakkayawa, who sparks forbidden thoughts in her fathers and has a bit of angels and witches in her; there's the mysterious butterfly girl who just might be an incarnation of Ohikwo's long dead mother; there's also a flummoxed white woman caught between two Nigerian brothers and an unfolding scandal, and, of course, the two medicine men of Mazade who battle against their egos, an epidemic and an enigmatic witch.
Review
This was a collection of bizarre stories that might leave you shocked. Some of them barely have closure but they were all interesting. There was a story about painful sacrifice, a melancholic reincarnation, political apathy, a journey to the ethereal and two stories I can't even explain but it left me hanging. There's just a way this was written like folktales and poetry; and I love it.
Here are a few excerpts I loved:
The Garbage Man
"What happened to your granny's avocado trees?" Laraba asked at last.
Zainab looked at her friend but Laraba stared straight ahead. For a while, Laraba said nothing and Zainab began to wonder if she had even asked the question.
"I think they are still there, apart from the male one. It was chopped down several years ago, she said at last." "Some of us are like that tree, you know. We only watch others blossom and yield fruits. Not all trees are meant to blossom anyway."
The Whispering Trees
The next time she came, she had something important to say. She was restless and uncomfortable. She said, "I am getting married, Salim."
I felt the stab in my heart and I gasped. I could imagine the blood gushing out, soaking my skin, my shirt and then trickling down to the floor where it collected into a pool.
She was still talking, "I know it will hurt you, but I thought I should... tell you... personally. I am really sorry"
For the second time in my life, I died.
Closure
That night, while Barira was snoring in bed, Sadiya got up and locked all the doors and windows. She drenched the furniture and curtains with fuel from the generator.
Then she solemnly struck a match.
Review date:22nd September, 2024
