Rating: 
Summary: brilliant
Review: Rarely do you stumble upon a novel of this magnitude. Okri's imaginative plot and mysterious characters make this book one of the most intense reads. Okri writes about deep political and social issues affecting modern Nigeria through experiences of a 'spirit child'. Truly a literary triumph. Reccomended to anyone in need of inspiration.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing
Review: This is definitely one of the best books I have read to date. Okri's style is somwhere in between the writings of Salman Rushdie and Arundhati Roy. Okri is brilliant with words and has the ability to transport you into his world and get you totally engrossed and lost in it. There is not even one boring sentence in the book. Okri's lyrical prose is truly captivating. I stumbled upon this book by mistake in a store and it has been the best find of the season for me.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic - once you put in a bit of effort!
Review: This is one of the most evocative pieces of contemporary writing I have encountered since Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children. Like Rushdie, Okri takes us to far-off places and evokes the spirit of the time and the place. Unlike Rushdie, he allows the reader the space to interpret his work which is, undoubtedly, difficult going in places - but these were (and are) difficult times. This book led me into Okri's more difficult writing (e.g. Astonishing the Gods)as well as his less elusive work (Dangerous Love, his latest novel.) I'm hooked and as a direct result of Okri's writing I have put West Africa on my list of "places I must visit soon." A bit of perseverence is necessary to keep up with the book it's worth it. A treasure trove!
Rating: 
Summary: Terrible Book
Review: This book is so bad that I stopped reading it half way through (something I never do). The begining is intriguing, only to let loose on page after page of confusing, tedious nonplot. The story goes nowhere. This book is not easy reading.
Rating: 
Summary: Tests your version of reality
Review: Okri has written a beautiful piece brimming with hyper-realistic, spiritual passages that leave you wondering just where on this earth you actually are. Takes an effort to read but once you are connected to the book that effort diminishes. Overall very impressive and interesting reading.
Rating:
Summary: A frustrating read
Review: Considering how highly acclaimed this book is I am utterly astounded at how impenetrable I found it to be. I am a huge fan of the genre and yet I think this novel is one of the weakest and most unendurable I have ever encountered.
Rating:
Summary: Ben Okri- the new generation of African Writers
Review: The Famished Road in a sense, heralds a new era in African writing. The language and the sensibilities portrayed in the book are, for anyone who has lived in West Africa, so real. It is impossible really for a middle class person to fully understand the trials of a life of extreme poverty and the types of emotions faced by those who have no other experiences than poverty. Somehow,Ben Okri manages to open a window for us to try to understand what it is like. Anyone who has had a serious bout of malaria can understand a lot of the dream sequences. The humour in the book in the face of the grinding poverty is also a welcome change from the grimness of the subject matter. It is worth a read, if only to try to get a completely different perspective on life.
Rating:
Summary: A lyrical African epic
Review: Nigeria has produced some fine writers, and Ben Okri is certainly one of the finest. His voice is distinctly African and startlingly original. Although he has written several preceding works, winning the Booker prize in 1991 for The Famished Road has finally created for him the wider audience he deserves.This is the story of Azaro, a spirit child , and one of a group who spend their time in paradise, leaving only intermittently when they are summoned to be born into the world of the living before dying and returning to paradise again. Azaro however, decides to break his pact with his fellow spirits and stay in the world of the living in an attempt to make his mother happy, and his life and the struggles of his family form the basis of this beautiful, intricately worked novel. Ben Okri shines with his depiction of life in an African slum: the grinding poverty, starvation and frequent illness and death, the corruption of the politicians and the thugs they employ, and the discouraging tendency for each endeavor attempted to degenerate into chaos, but above all this soars the courage and bravery and persistence of people who manage to live and love in the face of overwhelming odds. The narrative weaves like a long, hallucinatory epic poem with a truly African flavor. Azaro is constantly tempted to return to the spirit world, his father, once the strongest man in his village, struggles with increasingly degrading jobs and his mother battles to feed her family and maintain her dignity as a street vendor. Then there is the powerful, mysterious Madame Koto, owner of a shebeen and brothel and occasional patroness of Azaro, a woman who is prepared to sacrifice all to her burning ambition and subsequently becomes a little too involved with the local political thugs and the evil side of the spirit world. At times this book, like Africa itself, can be a little overwhelming in its darkness and pain. But like Africa, it is magical, lyrical and intensely inspiring with a brilliant ending. I highly recommend i! t.
Rating: 
Summary: Disapointing
Review: For those of us who don't have time to read everything (ie. everyone) it is tempting to rely on awawrds and honors to point us in the right direction. Once again the "literary" folk who dole out prizes point us towards an artful book with little substance. I found this book to be long and tedious with no redeeming qualities. Surely there are better book on Africa and its rich character(s) and sensibilities.
Rating:
Summary: A fascinating world of angels and demons in West Africa
Review: I find this book increadibly fascinating. It shows a reality where angels and demons mix in the lives of individuals and in the development of a country in West Africa. Time and reality are changeable according to each person's understanding of time and the different shapes of life and death. The space of each individual's soul also depends on that person's understanding and as Ben Okri says, if you can SEE you will discover that some people have a soul which is three kilometers wide. The book is a positive challenge to the reality of a Western mind!
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