Swallow by Sefi Atta | Book Review

Swallow is set in Lagos, Nigeria and Sefi Atta does a commendable job of describing the city and the way of life of its residents, who come down from all parts of the country, in search of a better life. The protagonist, Tolani and her friend and roommate Rose, are on a bus ride to work when we meet them. Like many of the city’s residents, Tolani and Rose are dissatisfied with work, their romantic interests and life in the city. Rose is an untidy, loud and willful young woman from a dysfunctional family. Tolani is long-suffering and reserved. When Rose is fired for insubordination, she refuses to search for another job and decides to make a trip to an European country as a drug mule. Tolani is against the idea from the minute she hears it, but changes her mind much later when she feels she can no longer stand sexual harassment from her boss, malicious gossip by spiteful colleagues and when her boyfriend gambles her life savings on a shaky business deal. It’s interesting to follow Tolani’s journey throughout the book.

A little into the novel however and a lot of things begin to sound cliché. Atta’s characters sometimes sound like she’s using them to teach the reader about the customs, traditions, patterns and life styles of everyday people. There are a lot of tribal stereotypes and superstitious beliefs that Nigerians will find very familiar. It’s as though Atta is trying to mirror the Nigerian society. One moment it seems like you’re reading about everyday Nigerian people and the way they react to certain things, the next moment Swallow seems to be bursting with hackneyed terms and situations. There’s the clever business man whose limit is the sky if only he can lay his hand on a financial loan; the lowly masses irritated by the widespread corruption they see everyday and don't speak out for fear of being manhandled. Swallow is engaging but until I read Everything Good Will Come, Atta's first, I can't draw any comparisons.

People reading Atta’s work for the first time might have to flip through a couple of pages to discover Atta’s gift, evident in Tolani’s humourous narration of events and Atta’s unpredictability and descriptive power. From the book title you’d think swallowing drugs or being a drug mule is the main plot, but it’s just an episode in the book, another on Tolani’s list of troubles. Swallow’s unpredicatable plot line and unpredictable ending doesn’t make Swallow stirring or confusing, it makes it somewhat unsatisfying.
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READ Everything Good Will Come by Sefi Atta - My Thoughts

[Image via CafeAfricana]