The Fishermen

a novel

by Chigozie Obioma

297 pages

English language

Published Jan. 6, 2015

OCLC Number:: 886490811

(4 reviews)

"Told from the point of view of nine-year-old Benjamin, the youngest of four brothers, The Fishermen is the Cain and Abel-esque story of an unforgettable childhood in 1990s Nigeria, in the small town of Akure. When their strict father has to travel to a distant city for work, the brothers take advantage of his extended absence to skip school and go fishing. At the ominous, forbidden nearby river, they meet a dangerous local 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 its readers."--Dust jacket.

3 editions

Eduardo Santiago reviewed The fishermen by Chigozie Obioma

Review of 'The fishermen' on 'Goodreads'

2 stars

I wanted to DNF it by page 60. I wish I had. This just wasn’t a book for me: I found it irritating and depressing, chock full o’ superstition, violence (physical and emotional), ignorance, toxic masculinity, abuse, trauma. The so-and-so-is-this-animal comparisons felt forced. The story was annoying in other ways: not exactly an unreliable narrator, but (minor more a case of oh, I neglected to mention this super-important detail that happened a few chapters ago and completely changes the reader’s understanding of the situation). That was jarring and felt gimmicky. For me, a good storyteller will take themself out of the story so it’s the action and feelings that the reader focus on. This felt more like, look at me!