Ghostroots: Stories - 'Pemi Aguda - ★★★★

AUTHOR: 'Pemi Aguda

GENRE: Speculative Fiction Short Stories

PUBLICATION DATE: May 7, 2024

RATING: 4 stars.

In a Nutshell: A beautiful OwnVoices collection of short stories set in Lagos, Nigeria. The locational feel as well as the writing is outstanding. Each story feels unique. An excellent debut, much recommended, especially to speculative fiction and dark fantasy lovers.

The highlight of this collection of twelve stories is its setting. Each narrative is based in Lagos, a city that juxtaposes the modern as well as the traditional, the African culture with a sprinkling of Western modernity. (Probably, a bit like India in this sense. We have the best of both worlds – traditional roots and modern wings.) The stories have an authentic vibe that immerses you in the location and makes you feel Lagos and its sights and sounds.

The cover, with the inherent contrast between the serene smile and the gush of blood, ought to prepare you for the content. Most of the stories are a combination of the routine and the supernatural. Characters are portrayed in ordinary situations, but their ordinary itself is extraordinary, what with sentient houses and macabre babies and women turning into birds. If you expect straightforward or traditional stories, this book isn’t for you. But if you like the twisted, the dark, and the speculative, you will relish this creative set.

Each tale is primarily a chronicle of human struggle, whether against the sins of the past or the oppression of the present or a threat of the future. You see a granddaughter who suddenly finds her late grandmother reincarnate in the weirdest way possible. You see a servant girl who is kidnapped by someone least expected to commit such an act. You see a street full of fearful families as a strange virus takes the life of its sons, going linearly from one end of the road affecting each house in numerical sequence. The stories generate varied emotions, not just the negative ones. There is a fun and happy undertone as well in a couple of the tales, but most of the stories stay firmly rooted on the darker side.

A majority of the stories come to us from the female perspective, which seems to be the common situation in African writing. However, there are a couple of really strong tales with male leads as well. All the main characters feel relatable to us in their responses, even if their situations are too wild to be within the normal realm of human experience.

I am truly impressed that this is a debut work. The writing is so vivid and polished! I love how the author takes the heart of Nigerian culture and blends it seamlessly with the bizarreness that is spec fic. None of the stories repeats themes or plots, so every story feels distinct in content as well as impact. Nothing in the writing makes it seem like it required further polish or proofing. The endings are apropos to the speculative genre, so they worked excellently for me, but they aren’t for readers requiring happy endings.

The only thing I wish this collection would have incorporated is an author’s note. My friends know my fondness for authors’ notes, especially in collections/anthologies. Knowing the author’s intent behind the stories or even getting an idea of the theme connecting the stories prepares a great preparatory foundation, helping us know what to expect from the book.

As always, I rated the stories individually. Of the twelve stories, only two stories failed to touch the three-star mark, and that too by a narrow margin. The rest were all at 3.5 stars and above, leading to a great reading experience. These were my top favourites:

🧿 Manifest - When a pimple manifests on the narrator's face, it's the first sign of a greater manifestation. Creepy and gripping. I anyway have a soft corner for the second person pov, so this was an easy winner. - ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨

🧿 Breastmilk - Not so speculative as much as psychological. The titular breastmilk plays an important role in this story about a woman struggling to let go, in more ways than one. - ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨

🧿 The Hollow - What is a house? Protection, secrecy, shelter, imprisonment? All this and more. I love it when speculative fiction combines the inexplicable seamlessly with reality. - ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨

🧿 Things Boys Do - When you read the title, would you expect the story to be about a group of new fathers trying to fit into their new role? And when I tell you that it's about these new dads, would you expect the story to be one of love or one of guilt and terror? Full marks for surprising me with the plot and satisfying me with the ending. - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

🧿 Masquerade Season - It's an open secret that I am very dense when it comes to reading metaphorical/allegorical content. I know for sure that this story is in that category, and the deeper meaning of it went above my head. But the writing is so beautiful and so poignant that it ended up as one of my favourites. - ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨

All in all, this has been a brilliant and satisfying OwnVoices work, even more impressive when you remember that it is a debut offering. The plotlines, the emotions, the cultural setting, and the strangeness work in harmony to create a mesmerising yet haunting effect.

Strongly recommended to all short story lovers who enjoy African speculative fiction. If you love content that challenges your mind and leaves you restless, this book is made for you. I am definitely going to keep a keen eye on what this writer will pen next.

4 stars, based on the average of my ratings for each story. (If you are familiar with my ratings, you will know that an average that goes to 4 stars and beyond is outstanding for an anthology.)

My thanks to W. W. Norton & Company and NetGalley for the DRC of “Ghostroots”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.