Oyinda Loves Books

Title: Odufa

Author: Othuke Ominiabohs

Rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Buy Odufa – Buy Odufa/Aviara Box Set

Wow! This was such an amazing book! I loved every second of it! Many thanks to Masobe Books for providing me with a free copy in exchange for my impartial review.
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TW: Domestic violence and physical/emotional abuse!
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Odufa follows Anthony and Odufa(the titular character) as they navigate their love and relationship in a world, it seems, that is destined to make them fail at loving each other. It certainly doesn’t help that both of them are extremely crazy and toxic. Their relationship is one that has been destined to fail, but they keep at it, resulting in really disastrous outcomes different times during the course of the book. Other characters in this book also never seemed to help matters, as all they did was fan the flames of the destruction of Anthony and Odufa’s relationship. They were all terrible (not terribly written, just inherently terrible and callous people), and none of them had a single redeeming factor. In the midst of all of their madness and drama, they hardly ever stopped to consider how their selfish decisions would affect the people around them. It was impossible to root for any character.
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Odufa and Anthony were really bad for each other, but somehow, neither of them seemed to be able to let go of the other until it was way too late. There were so many instances of toxicity, physical abuse, emotional manipulation, entitlement, and unhealthy sacrifices/compromise. One thing I noted was the power dynamics in the relationship, and how it shifted Anthony to Odufa. This shift of power came with so many subtle changes to their relationship and to the book.
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Set in Nigeria, there were so many themes that I could relate with in this book. One of these themes is tribalism. Stereotypes rooted in tribalism, as well as the opposition of Anthony and Odufa’s marriage because they’re from different tribes are some of the instances of tribalism.
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The author’s writing style was absolutely beautiful, and he spun words together in such a poetic way. The addition of poems to certain parts of the book is something I really loved. In the midst of all the madness and drama, there were so many points where I laughed out loud because he infused so much humor in his writing.
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I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and I highly recommend it to everyone!

Blurb:

When Anthony Mukoro discovers he cannot father a child, his whole world comes crashing. In a desperate bid to sire an heir, he plunges into the reckless life of a pleasure-seeking libertine. But everything changes when he meets and falls head over heels in love with Odufa, a beautiful young girl with a past. Their coming together is fraught with obstacles and challenges that pits them against everything; from tradition to stereotyped beliefs. But nothing is as it seems as they both get entangled in a love affair so intense and toxic, it quickly begins to spiral out of control.

In his debut novel, Ominiabohs graphically chronicles the entire gamut of emotional experiences of a tumultuous affair of young lover’s. A page-turner.

The Author:

Born and raised in Southern Nigeria, Othuke is a writer, poet and dramatist. A graduate of Computer Science from the University of Benin, Nigeria, he writes, dredging from experiences and influences from the land of his birth.

To his name is Odufa, a play that got him shortlisted for the Wole Soyinka prize for Literature. Odufa: A Lover’s Tale, his first novel, also got shortlisted for the Association of Nigerian Author’s Prize for Prose Fiction and the Grand Prix of Literary Associations in Cameroun. He is the author of the acclaimed novel, A Conspiracy of Ravens. Aviara: Who Will Remember You is his third and latest novel.