Oil on Water by Helon Habila | Book Review

I expected Oil on Water to be a gripping tale about life in the oil rich areas in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. I expected that it would follow the life of a protagonist who lives in abject poverty while oil companies mine billions of dollars worth of oil from his ancestral land. I wanted a deep, gripping, soul-crushing story of dead dreams, dead fishes, and dead bodies of innocent villagers caught in crossfire between militants and government soldiers. This isn't that story. At least not really. Habila's tale covers that from a different, grossly underwhelming narrative angle. In Oil on Water a young ambitious journalist Rufus, volunteers to go on an assignment to the islands in the Niger Delta to report on the kidnapping of the caucasian wife of an oil company executive. Rufus signs up because his career hero Zaq, will be going on this assignment. Zaq is a renowned journalist who was very prominent back in Rufus college days but now he's a washed up, reclusive alcoholic. Rufus gets this chance because none of the more capable journalists at The Reporter want to risk their life pursuing this story. This kidnapping story could be the big break he needs to jumpstart his fledgling career. It's also helpful that the community where the militants are supposedly holding the white woman at ransom is similar to the community he was born and raised in. The one he left behind years ago in search of a better life in Port Harcourt. The journey of Zaq and Rufus form the rest of Oil on Water.

As I read Oil on Water I kept wondering if a Nigerian journalist would go to the lengths Rufus does in order to get the scoop on a story. Oil on Water is not unputdownable. It's just there. I admit that I approached this book with different expectations for the storyline but that doesn't change the reality of what this book is. I think Oil on Water was meant to be something weightier and complex in its tackling of Nigeria's big Niger Delta problem. If that's the case then I believe it falls short of achieving its full potential. This is my third Helon Habila novel and if I had to rank all three of them Oil on Water would be my least favorite.
---
READ:
Measuring Time by Helon Habila - My Thoughts
Waiting for an Angel by Helon Habila - My Thoughts

[Image via Amazon]