Book: Butterfly Fish
Author: Irenosen Okojie
Publisher: Jacaranda Books
Price: £12.99
Review by Yvvette Edwards
Butterfly Fish, Irenosen Okojie’s debut novel, is an impressive gargantuan feast of a tale that spans several centuries and continents, bringing together a vivid and memorable cast connected by a brass head artefact, forged in fire, in 19th century Benin.
When King Odion orders the death of his boyhood friend Ogiso, then demands his craftsman make him a brass head replica in Ogiso’s likeness, he provokes the anger of the gods and his ancestors, setting in motion a series of events that threatens the ruin of not just the Royal Palace, but Odion’s people as well.
In modern day London, Joy inherits the brass head after her mother’s death, along with her grandfather’s diary. Already a fragile outsider and unable to find her place in the world, Joy begins the process of unravelling her mother’s secrets on a journey that threatens to derail her sanity completely.
When mysterious gifts begin to appear around her home, Joy struggles to understand what is happening, who Anon is, the purpose of her visits and how to get rid of her. She wonders what exactly Anon is trying to communicate to her and why.
Butterfly Fish is a novel of epic proportions. Okojie recreates the Royal Palace in 19th century Benin in such meticulous and beautiful detail, that she brings it to life. It’s a place filled with the king and his eight wives, in varying degrees of discontentment, their courtiers and servants, councillors and guards.
She confidently reconstructs that world so vividly, that you are literally dazzled by the beauty, craftsmanship and opulence. You can smell the food and plants and ambition. And you can feel the vibrancy and suffocating heat.
Okojie also manages to create a plethora of fabulous characters, including a host of fully fleshed three dimensional, interesting and realistic women, including Joy. She is a psychologically challenged protagonist, whose upbringing and knowledge of herself and family have eroded her self-confidence to such a degree that she embarks upon a series of high risk behaviours. Joy is an unreliable narrator whose perspective is questionable, which is one of the factors which makes the novel such a compelling read.
There is much in this novel to admire. In the Benin timeline, Okojie’s writing is reminiscent of Chinua Achebe, filled with folklore, myth and superstition, and a luxurious dose of humour that had me frequently laughing out loud. Even the minor characters, like the medicine man, are memorably drawn.
In the present day sections, I drew parallels between Toni Morrison’s character Beloved, and Anon, a skilful merging of a character which successfully straddles reality and the spiritual world.
Then there is the writing itself, which is simply stunning. From sentence to sentence, Okojie conjures up acutely observed, beautifully-worded metaphors that resonate and delight. Despite there being many, they appear effortless and elevate this author to the lofty realms of a writer’s writer.
Butterfly Fish is a book about the detrimental impact of lies, of serving self interests, and of the capacity of guilt to destroy generations. It is an accomplished first novel from an exciting newcomer to the literary arena.
I fully expect to see Butterfly Fish on many an award nomination list. It is a fascinating read, and one I highly recommend.
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Yvvette Edwards is an award-winning novelist whose first book, A Cupboard Full of Coats, was longlisted for the Man Book Prize and won the Kirkus Best Book of the Year Award. Her latest book, The Mother, will be published in 2016.