Ofodile by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
My rating: 4/5 cats
WELCOME TO DECEMBER PROJECT!
boilerplate mission statement intro:
for the past two years, i’ve set december’s project aside to do my own version of a short story advent calendar. it’s not a true advent calendar since i choose all the stories myself, but what it lacks in the ‘element of surprise’ department it more than makes up for in hassle, as i try to cram even MORE reading into a life already overcrammed with impossible personal goals (live up to your potential! find meaningful work! learn to knit!) merry merry wheee!
since i am already well behind in my *regular* reviewing, when it comes to these stories, whatever i poop out as far as reflections or impressions are going to be superficial and perfunctory at best. please do not weep for the great big hole my absented, much-vaunted critical insights are gonna leave in these daily review-spaces (and your hearts); i’ll try to drop shiny insights elsewhere in other reviews, and here, i will at least drop links to where you can read the stories yourselves for free, which – let’s be honest – is gonna serve you better anyway.
HAPPY READING, BOOKNERDS!
links to all stories read in previous years’ calendars can be found at the end of these reviews, in case you are a person who likes to read stories for free:
2016: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show…
2017: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show…
scroll down for links to this year’s stories which i will update as we go, and if you have any suggestions, send ’em my way! the only rules are: it must be available free online (links greatly appreciated), and it must be here on gr as its own thing so i can review it. thank you in advance!
DECEMBER 12
Mrs Igwe asked, “Where is your son?”
For a moment, my mother looked startled. Mrs Igwe’s eyes were hard, black pebbles and in them was something of an accusation.
“He’s asleep. He’s not feeling well.”
“Since that day?” Mrs Igwe asked.
“Yes,” my mother said firmly and turned back to Doctor Igwe.
chimamanda ngozi adichie is amazing, always has been, always will be. when i discovered she had a story i could use for this project, my heart SOARED. i knew that i could come home from a long tiring day and be rewarded with fluid prose and baller storytelling. and even though i have no idea how this makes guardian’s christmas ghost story list, unless they are broadening the definitions of two of those three words, or unless both ‘christmas’ and ‘ghost’ mean different things across the pond, like ‘lift’ and ‘jumper,’ i’m not going to quibble about classification. i’m just going to thank the angels for adichie and this unexpectedly creepy family story that gave me the sad horrors but also made me really hungry for catfish pepper soup. my words are useless tonight.
read it for yourself here:
https://www.theguardian.com/books/201…
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