Review by Winter Swan -- Leaving Dahomey by Jude Shaw
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Review by Winter Swan -- Leaving Dahomey by Jude Shaw
[Following is a volunteer review of "Leaving Dahomey" by Jude Shaw.]
Leaving Dahomey by Jude Shaw is the first book in the Friendlytown Trilology, a series that follows the lives of five generations of women of the same family between 1840 and 2024. Leaving Dahomey by Jude Shaw is a historical fiction novel that tells a story of young girl born in the village of Atongo in the country of Dahomey (Now called the Republic of Benin) in the 1800s. Adehoa who is known as an outspoken critic of the Dahomean social structure and and certain policies that are put in place by the Dahomean King to avert the minds of the Dahomean people from the high taxes, the constant slave wars and criticism of the King and how things are run, joins the anscestor cult of the language of the Drums – a cult that exists to tell the ‘oracle story’ and keep it alive in the hearts of the people lest they forget. A decision that sealed her fate and turned her world as she knew it upside down.
This book was indeed an enjoyable read as the athur shed light on the culture of the Dahomean people and thus letting the readers see through his penned down words a fraction of how the Dahomean people lived, loved, danced and grew up. It opened my eyes to how fast in the times of old people grew up and how teenagers took charge of their lives and worked, loved and married. Adeoha, at the young age of 15 had already planned out her future and went forward to actualize her dream of being a trader, not just any trader but one of which stories of her trading feat were written about. That is a feat that not many younger people of this time can boast of achieving.
Jude Shaw also potrayed some strong themes such as; friendship as was seen between Adeoha and her first friend Sewextu; hard work as was seen in Adeoha’s dedication to her trade and; love – as was seen in the case of Aheoha’s father Tobutu and her mother Lamtaala. He also addressed the issue of how people are kept in the dark about what is happening around them. In Dahomey, the people were encourage to seek fulfillment and constant joy through hard work, a measure that worked effectively to avert the people’s mind from the constant slave wars and high taxes. As an African, this resonates very well with the happenings of today in Africa where the constant preaching of hope for a better tomorrow and absolute belief in one God or the other and how happiness can only be gotten from being subservient and docile to keep the people in check and prevent us from asking too much or prying too much into the business of our leaders, both religious and political.
Leaving Dahomey was a short read with an interesting story line and minimal grammatical and historical errors. One of such historical error was the author’s use of the name Nigeria a number of times in the story. It must be noted that the entity called Nigeria came into existence in 1914 when Lord Luggard amalgamated the Southern and Northern Protectorates to form a single country. Before then, tribes, cities and states as we know them today existed independent of each other. Where the author wrote “…and even in the legendary cities of Kumasi in Ghana and Benin in Nigeria…”, it must be noted that Benin which is currently the capital of Edo State in Nigeria today, existed as a lone Kingdom before 1914. Also, Ghana wasn’t in existence until 1957, when the Gold Coast, Ashanti, the Northern Territories and British Togoland were unified as one single independent dominion within the British Commonwealth. These are little historical facts that the author got wrong, but these flaws didn’t in anyway affect the story line or make it less interesting to read. The ending of the book left me itching for and wanting more and I thank God that there is a sequel.
I’m giving Leaving Dahomey a rating of 3 out of 4 stars and I recommend this book to anyone who loves a quick read of historical fiction. I promise that you’ll be left wanting more at the end of this book.
******
Leaving Dahomey
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Leaving Dahomey by Jude Shaw is the first book in the Friendlytown Trilology, a series that follows the lives of five generations of women of the same family between 1840 and 2024. Leaving Dahomey by Jude Shaw is a historical fiction novel that tells a story of young girl born in the village of Atongo in the country of Dahomey (Now called the Republic of Benin) in the 1800s. Adehoa who is known as an outspoken critic of the Dahomean social structure and and certain policies that are put in place by the Dahomean King to avert the minds of the Dahomean people from the high taxes, the constant slave wars and criticism of the King and how things are run, joins the anscestor cult of the language of the Drums – a cult that exists to tell the ‘oracle story’ and keep it alive in the hearts of the people lest they forget. A decision that sealed her fate and turned her world as she knew it upside down.
This book was indeed an enjoyable read as the athur shed light on the culture of the Dahomean people and thus letting the readers see through his penned down words a fraction of how the Dahomean people lived, loved, danced and grew up. It opened my eyes to how fast in the times of old people grew up and how teenagers took charge of their lives and worked, loved and married. Adeoha, at the young age of 15 had already planned out her future and went forward to actualize her dream of being a trader, not just any trader but one of which stories of her trading feat were written about. That is a feat that not many younger people of this time can boast of achieving.
Jude Shaw also potrayed some strong themes such as; friendship as was seen between Adeoha and her first friend Sewextu; hard work as was seen in Adeoha’s dedication to her trade and; love – as was seen in the case of Aheoha’s father Tobutu and her mother Lamtaala. He also addressed the issue of how people are kept in the dark about what is happening around them. In Dahomey, the people were encourage to seek fulfillment and constant joy through hard work, a measure that worked effectively to avert the people’s mind from the constant slave wars and high taxes. As an African, this resonates very well with the happenings of today in Africa where the constant preaching of hope for a better tomorrow and absolute belief in one God or the other and how happiness can only be gotten from being subservient and docile to keep the people in check and prevent us from asking too much or prying too much into the business of our leaders, both religious and political.
Leaving Dahomey was a short read with an interesting story line and minimal grammatical and historical errors. One of such historical error was the author’s use of the name Nigeria a number of times in the story. It must be noted that the entity called Nigeria came into existence in 1914 when Lord Luggard amalgamated the Southern and Northern Protectorates to form a single country. Before then, tribes, cities and states as we know them today existed independent of each other. Where the author wrote “…and even in the legendary cities of Kumasi in Ghana and Benin in Nigeria…”, it must be noted that Benin which is currently the capital of Edo State in Nigeria today, existed as a lone Kingdom before 1914. Also, Ghana wasn’t in existence until 1957, when the Gold Coast, Ashanti, the Northern Territories and British Togoland were unified as one single independent dominion within the British Commonwealth. These are little historical facts that the author got wrong, but these flaws didn’t in anyway affect the story line or make it less interesting to read. The ending of the book left me itching for and wanting more and I thank God that there is a sequel.
I’m giving Leaving Dahomey a rating of 3 out of 4 stars and I recommend this book to anyone who loves a quick read of historical fiction. I promise that you’ll be left wanting more at the end of this book.
******
Leaving Dahomey
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Protectors of the Black Prince by Curtis Stephen Burdick
