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Summary: A Reading Journey
Review: I have enjoyed few books as much as I have The Famished Rd. Although at times the descriptions of the child's spiritual jouneys can get a little tedious, ultimately this book is a beautiful journey, a must read for anybody who appreciates aesthetic uses of English. Already in the opening chapters the lyrical quality enchants the reader. It's a fat book, but persevere, it provides great solace for those who are doubting whether life is worth living if one is not materially well off, as it deals with poverty and brutality in a way which shows that one can remain unaffected as the boy in the story, who frequently enters a completely different dimension of consciousness, as we too feel we are being initiated into African folklore and spiritual wisdom.
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Summary: Breathless imagery, stunning language, enchanting story
Review: Ben Okri's use of language in "The Famished Road" is breathtaking. His vivid and enchanting journey takes you to a world that is half magic/half reality. (How he blends the two seamlessly!)The beauty of Okri's world is almost stunning in scope. Hope, Spirits, Desolation, Magic, Innocence and Joy are all themes explored in this lyric tale of a unusual child. The universal message and the beautiful imagery will take you in and make you look for the magic in your world.
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Summary: The Famished Road"
Review: Ben Okri has succeeded with The Famished Road, where most others fail, in giving humankind one of the absolute pleasures in life - great storytelling. It is at once a tragic fairytale mixed with wondrous humour and a mad twist of irony lurking within the pages. This fabulous book is one for those who enjoy the wonders of a beautifully crafted story. I consider The Famished Road the greatest story ever told (no disrespect to the Bible intended).
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Summary: Magnificent Desolation
Review: Astronaut Buzz Adrin could have been speaking about "The Famished Road" as well as the moon with his now-famous "Magnifcent desolation" quote. This book is like a quilt that wraps you in unusual but comforting prose. Spiritual and hopeful, the descriptive language weaves a beautiful story. Please read this. It just may change how you view the world.
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Summary: Spellbinding!
Review: I was amazed by the exquisite intricacy of this novel--Ben Okri takes the reader on a journey where the lines blur between the spirit world and the "living" world, richly described. At times, I had to put the book down to stop and absorb the world described, which I had never before explored, but that certainly wasn't due to lack of interest! I highly recommend this book, but warn that if you're looking for a fast-moving plot, this probably isn't the best choice...exquisite character, place, and realm sketch is more like it.
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Summary: Surreal
Review: I found this book by accident a while back...as I rummaged through some huge bookstore. I read it. It brought back memories of home: the superstitions of Nigeria. Tales of "Mammi Water" (sirens), Ogbanjo (ghost children, or children who are reborn only to die young), Gbomogbomo 9kidnappers). Our versions of boogie-men. It also reminded me of the beauty of oral tradition and the invincable spirit of tenacious, flamboyant, determined, ever witty Nigerians. The tale is mesmerizing, fantastic, fantabulous, and beautiful. Now if I could only get my mother to relinquish it so I can re-read it, I could die happily!
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Summary: A Dream
Review: The entire book is made up of litte stories of a boy who is stuck between the spirit world and the "real" world. It's an interesting look at the different types of people that populate this world (I don't know if Okri intended this). It also makes you wonder which character you are and which character you want to be. The book is just lots of little stories, without a defining end. He just flows from one story to another, never telling you when he is finishing one story and beginning another; like dream sequences. And his words flow so smoothly that you don't mind!
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Summary: The Only Book You Need
Review: A feast of beauty, love, and joy. Every page is a poem. The best book I have ever read. Reading this book made me feel so exultant---it affirmed everything I believe, that love and beauty and joy are the reasons for living---that I handed out copies to everyone I knew who enjoyed reading (it's a long book, and not an "easy" read, but the language is exquisite). I was so filled with joy that I wanted them to share it, too. Then the weirdest thing happened: THE BOOK ACTS AS A MIRROR. It strongly moved everyone who read it, but apparently you take from it what you bring to it. I don't know how this magic works, but it seems that the message you respond to in the book is the message that your soul is attuned to. My environmentalist friend, for instance, was appalled at the destruction of the land; she saw nothing beautiful in the book. The friend who'd lost her mother was so moved by emotion about mothers and children that she took to bed for two days. The adoption-agency friend was angry about the plight of the children. The egocentric friend never saw any further than the surface of the plot line about power. The friend who tends toward the paranoid talked for weeks about alternate motivations for the characters. The adventurer friend was inspired to visit Africa again. And on and on. I couldn't believe it. What I had thought was a beautiful, heart-filling affirmation of love and beauty and joy in the everyday, no matter what the circumstances, turned out to be a message only I was hearing. The book seems to reveal or affirm its readers' personalities in ways I and they didn't expect. I've reread The Famished Road several times now, and it still resonates as strongly as the first time, from the very first line. One quick excerpt to give you the flavor: "My son, there is a wonderful wind blowing in my mind. I drank the moon tonight. The stars are playing on a flute. The air is sweet with the music of an invisible genius. Love is crying in my flesh, singing strange songs. The rain is full of flowers and their scent makes me tremble as if I am becoming a real man. I see great happiness in our future. I see joy. I see you walking out of the sun. I see gold in your eyes. Your flesh glitters with the dust of diamonds. I see your mother as the most beautiful woman in the world." This book is so rich with hope and so full of beauty that it makes me weep. Ben Okri, you are a genius. Thank you.
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Summary: not your ordinary book
Review: Those people who grew disappointed because they were looking for a "plot" and "character development" were looking for the wrong things. This is a book about consciousness, point of view, and how the world is seen from a standpoint of sacredness. The little boy is not so much the narrator as the consciousness that filters this world to us. No, there is not much in the way of plot, although many things happen. "Going somewhere" is not what this book is about. Rather, "being somewhere", and viewing that place in a different way, is what it is about. This the author accomplishes stupendously, with vivid, imaginitive prose, a startlingly original worldview, and an amazing eye for detail. If you like unique books that challenge your ordinary perspecitive on things, this book is for you. If you usually read Stephen King or Tom Clancy, forget it
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Summary: A book I'll never forget.
Review: This is one of the best books I have ever read! I carry the images with me all day and dream of them at night. You cannot help but be touched by the spiritual writing of Ben Okri and the experiences of the spirit-child Azaro. Just like the book "I Never Promised You a Rose Garden" exposed the world of a mentally ill girl in a beautiful and horrible way, The Famished Road shows poverty and the struggles of a Nigerian community in a way you will never forget. This book changed the way I view the world.
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