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The book, ‘Bitter
Leaf,’ revolves around a colourful village, thriving, and full of life,
still revelling in the unadulterated pseudo simplicity of rural life.
The author, a poet, celebrates the power of the written word in this
beautifully crafted novel throbbing with life – movement, activity,
colour, and spirit. The book explores a number of emotional dichotomies
that come together to move the plot forward, taking the reader on a
rollercoaster journey, into a familiar world, so much like, but
somehow, unlike; for the Mannobe village, the centre stage of most of
the happenings, is more finer and saner than the real one the reader
lives in.

The author
displays a mastery of the English word, crafting it in such a way that
the weight of the book rests lightly on the reader’s mind. The ability
to immerse the reader quickly into the complexity of the plot reminds
one of Ben Okri’s ‘The Famished Road’; indeed, a number of parts of the
novel, magical and poetic in description, attest to this.

The book presents
six main characters and many people whose characters are not fleshed
out but whose presence adds to the unity of the plot. The four women
and two men, whose lives intermingle to give the plot a healthy
wholesomeness, are used by Chioma Okereke to address issues of
rural/urban challenges; self identification; the rich/the poor;
spirituality/materialism; amongst others. These central characters had
to reconnect with the past in order to find peace in the present. Each
of them had a major issue revolving around their true identities which
they had to grapple with before they could eventually understand their
worth.

Jericho

The story presents
characters whose relationship with one another gently leads the plot to
a tumultuous climax that leaves the reader privy to so many secrets of
seemingly harmless looking people and situations. The exotic names of
some of the characters reveal much about them at the historical and
symbolic levels, thereby adding to the simplicity and sincerity of the
narration. Jericho and Babylon are the protagonists of the novel; the
former is a young lady whose restlessness and curiosity grow bigger
with the death of her father. It is these that push her to want to
experience the other life, far from the serene and flaccid life of
rural Mannobe. Her community is filled with people who generally care
for one another, but who also gossip a lot whenever there is a
deviation from the norm. The author describes Jericho as a woman of
unusual beauty, who is unaware of the effect of her physical presence
on others, especially on the male sex. Jericho is the name of a big
town in present day Palestine; it is known as the ‘City of Palm Trees,
for it is dotted with trees and many springs. In Hebrew, Jericho means
‘fragrant’.

It is these qualities of beauty and nature that add to her
allurement and mysteriousness, qualities that the village poet and
musician, Babylon, could not resist when he first laid his eyes on her.
She becomes an itch in his soul, so tempting that his music and
popularity could not distract him from doggedly going after her. The
biblical Babylon, now in present day Iraq, was a great kingdom ruled in
the year 606BC by an equally great, aggressive, and power thirsty King
Nebuchadnezzar, who conquered and captured surrounding and remote
kingdoms, until he was ruling almost the whole world.

Babylon

Babylon is a
handsome young man whose guitar, moves both the old and young to
emotions they are not aware they are capable of. He is also a ladies’
man, and has ‘conquered’ many so easily. Until he met Jericho. There is
a Daniel Dorique in Jericho’s life, whom Babylon had to work hard to
dislodge from her heart.

Constantly
exploring the strained discord between the rural and the urban, the
author shows the struggle Jericho put up in order to eventually find
her peace. The humanity of Babylon is in sharp contrast to the conceit,
lies, and urbanity of Daniel, who is no longer attractive to Jericho.
The author explores all the underlying emotions of these characters in
a maze of music, poetry, and friendships. Other characters too leave
large footprints in the story. There is the old man, Allegory, who
symbolises the positive aspects of tradition and a love for nature. A
lone man, he develops friendship with Babylon and the twin sisters,
M’lle and Mabel. The author uses him as the voice of truth in a
community that is beginning to lose its hold on tradition. More
importantly, however, the author successfully portrays a man who is
human, with his fears and affections, especially in his relationship to
Babylon and the twin sisters, even though his role tends to set him
aside from the others.

Then there is
Driver, the cart pusher, the community trader, who delayed the long
awaited union between Babylon and Jericho by bearing false witness
against Jericho. He also has many shadows and ghosts in his head that
he has to chase away. The twins also help deepen the plot of the novel.
They are the village cooks, who tempt the palate of the inhabitants
with the aroma of different dishes. Jovial, loud, and lively, their
jointly run restaurant is always filled with customers from every part
of Mannobe. But underneath their closeness lie secrets which if
revealed, would shatter into pieces the peace they have both managed to
build.

Conclusion

However, many of
the secrets, some dark and foreboding, are revealed to some of the
characters through the help of the village spiritualist, Venus Oracene.
The ferocity and shadows of their secrets and musings chase them –
Magdalena, the daughter of Mabel, Jericho, Babylon, at different times
– into the warm abode of Venus. Through the use of the tarot and some
powdery substance, these characters are able to wrestle these ghost of
their past lives, the shame, fears and anxiety to emerge strong,
refocused, and at peace with their selves and the world.

This is a very
interesting book, racy, and well written. The author describes complex
scenes and characters so well, in so few words, that the plot naturally
races to a conclusion which is, unfortunately, not different from what
the reader expects. Just like Nigerians can predict the ending of many
Nollywood films, the conclusion of the novel too comes to a predictable
one. However, the complexity of the characters’ lives, their everyday
living, and the secrets they carry for many years keep the novel from
sliding into a boring and predictable read.

The setting of the
novel is not clearly stated, as no particular country is mentioned. So,
the reader is a little confused about whether the characters are
Kenyans in one breath and Nigerians in another. It sounds a bit odd
hearing a character that looks so Kenyan, Ugandan, or Ghanaian in
attitude, using words or clichés that are strictly Nigerian. Words like
‘sha’, ‘a beg o’, ‘ewo’, to mention a few, all seem out of place in the
general feel of the setting.

The title of the novel, ‘Bitter Leaf’, is apt, as the novel explores
the bittersweet experiences of the central characters. Just like the
bitter leaf soup common to many parts of West Africa, its initial
bitter taste gives way to a lingering sweetness at the end. The human
spirit rises from the ash of the past to a new dawn, a hopeful present,
which brings a fresh sweetness when it is shared with loved ones.