The Fishermen | AAGP library | TinyCat |

2024-05-01 9:08 am

The Fishermen

by Chigozie Obioma

Paperback, 2016

Status

Available

Tags

fiction, Africa, Nigeria

Genres

General Fiction

Description

Fiction. Literature. HTML:A striking debut novel about an unforgettable childhood, by a Nigerian writer the New York Times has crowned "the heir to Chinua Achebe." Told by nine-year-old Benjamin, the youngest of four brothers, THE FISHERMEN is the Cain and Abel-esque story of a childhood in Nigeria, in the small town of Akure. When their father has to travel to a distant city for work, the brothers take advantage of his absence to skip school and go fishing. At the forbidden nearby river, they meet a madman who persuades the oldest of the boys that he is destined to be killed by one of his siblings. What happens next is an almost mythic event whose impact-both tragic and redemptive-will transcend the lives and imaginations of the book's characters and readers. Dazzling and viscerally powerful, THE FISHERMEN is an essential novel about Africa, seen through the prism of one family's destiny.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member kidzdoc

This novel is set in Akure, Nigeria in 1996 during the military regime of General Sani Abacha, and it is narrated by Benjamin, the fourth child of six in a stable and content Christian Igbo family. The authoritarian head of household works for the Central Bank of Nigeria, and one day he is told

that he will be transferred to a branch in a distant city, one which was torn by sectarian violence against the Igbo tribe earlier that year. He decides that it is too dangerous to move the entire family there, so his unhappy wife is left in charge of their five boys and one infant girl in his absence.

Despite their parents' pleas to behave themselves and stay away from the Omi-Ala River in town, which for many years had been forsaken by Akure's residents, who believed that it was an evil place populated by ritualists and malicious spirits, the four eldest boys decided to start fishing in the river after school. On one day they encounter the town's madman, Abula, who was feared for his dark but often accurate prognostications about those who crossed his path. After the boys taunt Abula, he casts his eye on the oldest brother, Ikenna, and he tells the boy what his fate will be.

From that point forward the lives of Ikenna and the rest of the Agwu family are affected by Abula's dire prophecy, as the family's Christian's faith comes into conflict with long held village beliefs, in a topsy turvy version of Chinua Achebe's classic tale Things Fall Apart.

The Fishermen was a well written and enjoyable coming of age story, which would work well as a young adult novel but is a bit too simplistic for the Booker Prize longlist, IMO. It's a worthwhile read, but I'll be very surprised if it is chosen for the shortlist.

LibraryThing member ozzer

This allegorical novel, based on the biblical story of Cain and Abel, serves as a metaphor for Nigeria in the 1990s, when it was under a military dictatorship and corruption was widespread. The novel is set in the village of Akure and is narrated by 9 year-old Benjamin Agwu. He tells the story of

his brothers–Ikenna, Boja and Obe–who become involved tragically with Abulu, a village madman known for the accuracy of his prophesies. Their father is discontented with the Nigerian government but believes that it can be redeemed by education and professionalism. His sons become ensnared, much like fish and people who live under corrupt governments. Obioma uses this mythical tale to explore themes of the random nature of adversity, the human need for revenge, the roles of superstition and paranoia in the acceptance of hardship, and the potential for redemption and escape.

This story of how a madman destroys the lives of four innocent boys and their family expresses a dark vision, which is unrelentingly pessimistic. Obioma’s writing is lyrical and quite lovely but the insights and imagery often seem unusually precocious for a 9-year-old narrator. For instance, Ben imagines members of his family as animals: although poetic, these thoughts seem advanced for a boy of his age.

LibraryThing member Dreesie

The Fishermen are the 4 oldest brothers in a family of 6 children. They live in 1990s Akure, Nigeria (where the author is from, originally). They live in house with a compound, and their father works for the Bank of Nigeria. When he is transferred to a less-safe city a 15-hour drive away, the

family stays put while he visits regularly. And it is at that point that the family begins to come apart, as narrated by the youngest of the Fishermen, Ben. The local madman makes a prophecy, and the oldest begins to fear.

This story illustrates the interesting mix of of religions in Akure: Christianity (of several denominations, the Fishermens' family attends the Assemblies of God Church), Muslim, and an underlying belief in signs, prophecies, and superstition. This book is certainly interesting, but as the mother of teenage boys, I could only relate to the mom in this book, and I felt so much for her. And I could understand her--and I really just wanted all the bad stuff to go away.

LibraryThing member sparemethecensor

I really liked it, but I agree with other reviewers that it is somewhat too simplistic to win the Booker Prize. I think this is a risk that is always run with books where the narrator/main character is a child. It's hard to give a novel narrated by a child a high level of complexity without

destroying the voice.

I also thought it suffered from pacing problems that I think are associated with it being a debut novel, but not so much I couldn't finish it in two days. I don't think this will be shortlisted, but I liked this book and I'd read more by this author.

LibraryThing member chrisblocker

My favorite of the 2015 Man Booker Prize contenders (barring possibly The Year of the Runaways, of which I was unable to acquire and evaluate), The Fishermen is an engaging tale with the weight of a biblical narrative or the power of mythology. This is the story of brotherhood, first and foremost;

Obembe and Ben, Ikenna and Boja: these are stories that seem to follow in the wake of Cain and Abel, Isaac and Ishmael, Joseph and his brothers.

The narrative is simple, but beautifully drawn. The brother characters aren't particularly the most memorable I've come across, but their relationships with one another really add to the story. The most memorable characters are the “antagonists,” played by the imaginations of the brothers, voiced by the local madman. While it is the madman's prophecies that threaten the family, it is each family member's fears and illusions that really begin to tear at the seams. Forming a chain of events that never becomes tiresome, The Fishermen reaches a very satisfying conclusion.

Obioma's debut novel tackles several issues—family, mental health, discipline, religion, justice—but at its core it is the story of brotherhood. It's not the most original or epic of stories, but it kept me thoroughly entertained. The Fishermen is a magnificently crafted debut and a thrilling and lyrical fable.

LibraryThing member klburnside

The Fishermen is the story of brothers growing up in Nigeria in the 1990s. A neighborhood madman makes a prophecy about one of the brothers, and their lives are forever changed.

Obioma is obviously a very talented writer, and the prose is for the most part engaging. I found at times it was almost a

little overwritten, with too many metaphors that didn't exactly work and sentences that were more complex than they needed to be.

I appreciated that fact that while this novel took place in Nigeria amidst political turmoil, it wasn't about that. While the political situation was mentioned, the book was primarily a story about the brothers and their relationships to one another.

The novel was told from the point of view of the youngest brother, recalling his childhood as an adult. I thought the author did a good job with this format, combining the innocence of a child narrator with the wisdom given by time.

3.5 stars

LibraryThing member missizicks

Initially, this was difficult to get into. I found Ikenna and Boja, the two older brothers, difficult characters to empathise with. I found it easier to understand Obembe and Ben. The writing is very good, and the detail about the political situation in Nigeria in the 1990s that runs in the

background was interesting. There was a coldness to the story, though, that made it difficult to empathise with the characters. Maybe because, for me, it describes a very different culture and I had to work to get my head into the same place as the author. It's an interesting, well written book, even a good book, but I didn't find it an amazing one.

LibraryThing member Tanya-dogearedcopy

The Fishermen: A Novel
By Chigozie Obioma
Narrated by Chukwudi Iwuji
Ⓟ 2015, Hachette
9 hrs and 51 mins
LITERARY FICTION

The Fishermen is a lif-fic novel set in Nigeria in the mid- to late 1990s, and features four brothers who decide to take up fishing at a nearby river… As innocuous as the premise

sounds, that one decision sets off a series of events that underscore pride, loyalty, extreme and graphic violence, superstition, vengeance, and ideas of redemption. You don’t need to know anything about Nigeria to get the setting; but it may be helpful to know that during the time period of the novel, Nigerian politics were extremely corrupt and led to civil unrest.

The narrator is Nigerian and reads the text with native cadences, bringing the various characters to life. Of particular note, are the voices given to the father and priest, characters whose voices are delivered with immediacy and heat that reflect the mood and personalities of the characters vividly. Iwuji also reads the textual cues expertly; so when the author writes that a word is stressed a certain way, the narrator actually takes it as direction instead of blowing it off. Iwuji gives a really great performance. There’s a smattering of Igbo (one of four official languages of Nigeria), and the English spoken is based on the Queen’s English (so there are some seemingly odd stresses to words to American ears like “tarpaulin”); but the authenticity of the narration cannot be denied.

OTHER: I purchased The Fishermen: A Novel (by Chigozie Obioma; narrated by Chukwudi Iwuji) from audible.com. I receive no monies, goods (beyond the audiobook) or services in exchange for reviewing the product and/or mentioning any of the persons or companies that are or may be implied in this post.

LibraryThing member gypsysmom

My library book club chose this book to read for March 2016 and even though I am not going to attend the meeting where we discuss it I thought I would read it as well. I believe this book was one of the ones on the Man Booker prize short list in 2015. The author was born in Nigeria where this book

is set and the entire novel is saturated with the Nigerian countryside.
This story is narrated by Benjamin the fourth child of Mr. and Mrs. Agwu who lived in Akure, Nigeria. Mr. Agwu was employed by the Central Bank of Nigeria and when Benjamin was nine years old the bank transferred him to a distant city. The mother and all six children stayed in Akure. The oldest, Ikenna, was the natural leader of the four oldest children who were male. Taking advantage of the father’s absence Ikenna convinced his brothers to go to the Omi-Ala River to fish although it was forbidden for anyone to venture there. One day coming back from the river the children encountered the local madman, Abulu. Abulu prophesied a violent death for Ikenna at the hands of a fisherman. Ikenna took this to mean that one of his brothers would kill him. From that time on things went from bad to worse for the Agwu family. This complete transformation is chronicled in detail by Benjamin.
In a way this book reminded me of a Dickens novel or perhaps a work by Thomas Hardy given the feeling of doom that pervades it. That is high praise from me because Dickens and Hardy are some of my favourite writers. It is rather a strange fancy because this book is so obviously not set in England but the details of Nigeria are rendered as completely as England is in Hardy’s and Dickens’ books. Mind you, this is a first novel so there are a few flaws such as some unnecessary characters and plot details, so it isn’t a great work. However, I fully expect that in years to come Chigozie Obioma will write some amazing novels. Also a word of caution: the details are not always for the faint of heart.

LibraryThing member thewanderingjew

The Fishermen, Chigozie Obioma, author: Chukwudie Iwuji, narrator
In the bible, Jesus speaks of making ordinary fishermen, “fishers of men”. In this book there are four brothers who briefly become fishermen. Tragedy follows when they become “fishers of men”, but not in the way encouraged in

the bible. The oldest, Ikenna, was nearly 15, Boja was a year younger, almost 14, Obembe was 11, and Benjamin was 9. Benjamin, the youngest of these brothers, narrates the story about his family during one fateful year and its aftermath in their home town Akure, Nigeria.
The sophisticated and successful patriarch, Mr. Agwu, was employed by the Central Bank of Nigeria. He had high hopes for the future of all his children; for his sons he dreamt of professions; one would be a lawyer, one a doctor, one a professor, one an engineer, one a pilot. For his daughter, he had no great concerns since she was, after all, only a girl. When a job transfer forced him to commute back and forth to his home, spending weeks at a time away, his wife, who ran a food store in the open market, begged him not to take the promotion. If he became a part-time parent, it would be a great hardship on her to raise their six children alone. He could not take them with him because the city he was going to, Yola, was unsafe with warring factions and armed revolt. When she begged him to return because she was losing control of the boys without his firm hand, he ignored her pleas. When he did return, things had already gone from bad to worse. The moment had passed to restore order.
Mr. Agwu wanted his children to be “fishers of the mind”, go-getters, not the simple fishermen that they had become in his absence. He beat them all severely. However, he believed that their defiance, when they briefly became fishermen, showed a kind of courageous spirit even though it was forbidden and dangerous. He had not known that on one day, when the fishermen brothers were returning home from fishing, they had encountered the resident madman, Abulu whose visions and curses frightened many of the people in their town. Abulu had been seriously injured in an accident and had become unstable afterwards. He was feared as a prophet of doom since often when he cursed people or prophesied their futures, his mutterings became reality or self-fulfilling prophecies. When the brothers came upon him, he called out to Ikenna by name and began to spew out prophecies and curses. He announced that one brother would turn against another and take his life. Ikenna, the eldest, was consumed with a fear that he was the one to be murdered for how could Abulu have known his name if he did not see the future. He grew angry and remote, suspicious and accusatory. He couldn’t eat. Soon, his fear focused on his younger brother Boja and the two began fighting, each fearing the curse referred to one of them. They believed that one would kill the other; they just did not know who would be the victor. Soon the fear of the prophecy consumed the lives of the brothers and their dreams of the future were dashed.
Avenging wrongful death was considered the duty of brothers, and since Abulu was the cause of all the trouble, he becomes the “fish” Obembe and Ben seek out to catch and punish for all their suffering. They believe they are reckoning the books for their older brothers. They were young boys, not yet men, who clothed themselves in a maturity they did not have and followed their angry instincts and religious superstitions rather than their intellect, common sense or their father’s advice. Benjamin decided, belatedly, to follow his father’s advice and to think of his mother before he acted. He refused to run away with Obembe. He returned home to face judgment. Each of the brothers became a victim in his own way, but Benjamin seems to have borne the brunt of punishment for the sins they committed. Was it because he was the most sensitive? Did that make him the weakest or, ultimately, the strongest? In the end, the Nigerian justice system made a mockery of the definition of justice and illustrated ignorance, backwardness, superstition, and injustice.
The climate of the times was no better. It was one of rebellion, political upheaval and civil war. People were murdered for being on the wrong side of an issue. They feared the soldiers and the rival factions against the government. Growing up under such tense conditions was a trial for the entire family. Their mother who was unable to handle all the stress and loss that life handed to her wound up in a mental hospital for an extended period of time until she recovered. She had visions of spiders which superstition dictated inhabited houses of grief. Their father, who returned after tragedy struck, removed the spiders from the house, which helped somewhat with her mental state, but it was only the beginning of their suffering.
The political atmosphere, backward culture and religious beliefs that had not yet entered modernity highlighted the difficult environment in Nigeria that the family faced and endured. The author clearly portrayed the scenes so that the brutality of the government and revolutionaries came alive. The author’s prose made abundant use of metaphors and similes that worked wonderfully to knit the story together and to create realistic images for the reader to imagine. A running nose was made to sound poetic even if the image was almost a bit too realistic. The narrator, because he was a native Nigerian, spoke with the appropriate accent and stress, making the story so much more realistic and authentic. Whether he described the locust season or the violent scenes, it was real. He understood the culture and the moment, and so he read it perfectly to impart the appropriate meaning and message. The reader was a participant rather than an observer and it was often disheartening as the politics of the day and the suffering of the family became clear as was their helplessness to bring about change.
Benjamin, in telling his story, gives his family members nicknames describing their personalities. His mother was a falconer; in order of their age, Ikenna was a sparrow, Boja was a fungus and Obembe was a moth. The book is filled with symbolism, legends and superstitions that illustrate the rhythm of their lives, lives governed by a good deal of erroneous belief in myths, religious misconceptions, and childish notions about the need for retribution when sins are committed. Ben remembered a story about Eagles and eaglets which is referred to as the Cain and Abel syndrome. Because of hunger, the eaglets turn against each other while the adult eagles stand by and do nothing. Cain and Abel are brothers in the bible who turn against each other, as well, with Cain killing Abel. The novel is moving and poignant. It is well told and well worth the print or audio version.

LibraryThing member dougcornelius

I found this to be moving story of childhood in Nigeria. The young protagonist battle religion, prophecy of a madman and danger on the streets.

LibraryThing member johnwbeha

This is not a book that I would normally have chosen to read, but it was picked for our book group, and I am very glad that it was. It tells us a lot about Nigerian post-independence politics, but in a very clever way through the eyes of an ten year old boy, who is sucked into a tragedy of Greek or

Shakespearean proportions. It deftly interweaves tribal feelings and history with western orientated ambitions; with the family patriarch's ambitions for his children being washed away by the town's river. Highly recommended!

LibraryThing member Jolynne

A haunting, heartbreaking and emotional tale of brotherhood. Beautifully written and rich in culture.

LibraryThing member kakadoo202

Haunting story of 4 brothers and their brotherhood that leads from one tragedy to the next. Vivid picture of life in Nigeria.

LibraryThing member trayceetee

This was a captivating story! I can completely understand why it would be considered for the One Book, One Lincoln winner. It was so beautifully written, and so descriptive. I really enjoyed following these fishermen.

LibraryThing member JGoto

I listened to the audiobook of this novel, read by Chukudi Iwuji, who did a wonderful job bringing the story to life. The tale of four brothers is a story of tragedy, which begets more tragedy, and is set in Nigeria in the late twentieth century. The prose is rich and full of imagery. It is

unsurprising that this debut novel was shortlisted for the Booker Prize.

LibraryThing member kemilyh1988

Won in a Goodreads Giveaway!

Very powerful story. I am always fascinated by the way children (well and adults) choose to react to superstitions/prophecies. The four main characters in this story were all well developed and had their own voices. Heartbreaking an avoidable occurrences make this a page

turner. I will keep my eye out for more books by Obioma.

LibraryThing member Skybalon

This was really good. Well written with solid characters, the story was good but not the strongest part of the book. Worth the read.

LibraryThing member bookishtexpat

Holy moly this book is amazing. Obioma has such a powerful and beautiful voice, and the story he weaves is just phenomenal. I felt like I knew Ben and Obembe and Boja and Ikenna, knew what it was like in their house, knew their emotions. The story is heartbreaking but so wonderfully constructed. I

give it all the stars!

LibraryThing member DrFuriosa

A sort of modern-day Macbeth in which a set of brothers is unraveled by the power of suggestion in a madman's prophecy. Obioma is a very promising young writer, and I look forward to reading more of his work in the future.

LibraryThing member starbox

Gosh, this was good! Narrator, Ben, tags along with his three older brothers, when Father is away and they wag school to go fishing. An encounter with a local madman and his prophecy that the eldest will be killed by one of his siblings, has far-reaching and terrible effects, as a very normal

Nigerian family starts to find themselves in a kind of Greek tragedy.
I couldn't put it down; you have no clue where it's going. The characters are all very real and believable and you're on the edge of your seat. Really absorbs you in the world of smalltown Nigeria- its politics, culture and religion- but is also a compelling narrative that resounds with every reader.
Quite brilliant.

LibraryThing member Gwendydd

This is the story of a family in Nigeria in the 1990s. There are four brothers in the family who are fairly close in age, and who sneak off to a forbidden river to go fishing. On the way home from one of their fishing expeditions, the local madman prophesies that one of the brothers will kill the

other. The oldest brother is terrified of this prophecy, and the family is torn apart by his fear that it will come true.

This family turmoil happens against the backdrop of the political turmoil of Nigeria in the 1990s, and the conflicts between different religions and cultures.

This isn't an easy read. The writing is beautiful at times, but the events of the story are unrelentingly upsetting. The constant flashbacks to all the times when the brothers were the center of some improbable event in their town's history start to feel overdone. The narrator is a nine-year-old boy, but his voice never feels like that of a child: the metaphors are too sophisticated, the book feels too literary.

Despite all of that, the writing is beautiful, and the story is haunting.

LibraryThing member hhornblower

I quite enjoy Chigozie Obioma's writing. It seems so simple, almost simplistic, but there is such depth to his characters and the events that go on around them, to them and by them. This is essentially a story how a foretold event is brought about because the event that was foretold and then the

downward spiral of consequences after that event. A fascinating book. I do have to say I liked his second book, An Orchestra of Minorities, a bit more; which is probably a good thing, he's gaining experience as a writer. I can't wait for his next book.

LibraryThing member Castlelass

Story of four brothers living in Nigeria in 1996 to the early 2000s. They fish in a forbidden river, where they meet the local man who is said to be possessed by a demon. He gives them a grim prophesy and foretells death. It contains elements of Nigerian folklore and is representative of this

period in Nigeria’s history. It is a tragedy that contains one brutal episode after the next, including children being beaten, rapes, and murders. All this is described in gruesome detail. I found it very creative, but I am not a person that can handle this type of disturbing content, so clearly it is not a book for me. I think it is important to understand world history, but I prefer non-fiction rather than these types of relentlessly bleak narratives.

LibraryThing member CaroPi

This book is magical, the story is created little by litter by the comparison to animals, the descriptions are almost magic. The book almost demands you to read it from beginning to end in just a couple of seats (and that is what I did) . It has magic it has a great narration and the story develops

in surprising ways....

Awards

Booker Prize (Longlist — 2015)

Audie Award (Finalist — 2016)

LA Times Book Prize (Finalist — 2015)

PEN/Hemingway Award (Nominee — Honorable Mention - 2016)

The British Book Industry Awards (Shortlist — Debut Fiction — 2016)

Guardian First Book Award (Shortlist — 2015)

Center for Fiction First Novel Prize (Longlist — 2015)

Dylan Thomas Prize (Longlist — 2016)

9mobile Prize for Literature (Longlist — 2015)

Hurston/Wright Legacy Award (Nominee — Debut Fiction — 2016)

NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work (Nominee — Debut Author — 2016)

NPR: Books We Love (2015)

The New York Times Notable Books of the Year (2015)

Lariat Adult Fiction Reading List (Selection — 2016)

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