Hello people.
The more books I read, the more I am
convinced that there is truth in the saying ‘Do not judge a book by its cover.’
Some books with beautiful covers have such badly written content that at the
end of the day, the only thing worth remembering about the book is its cover. Some books, on the other hand, have less than appealing covers but such rich
content that the reader cannot easily forget them.
Lalibela’s Wise Man belongs to the latter category. The first time I saw the book, I must confess that my interest was not piqued. First, the title did not sound very appealing and then the book cover itself did not help matters; it looked like it would be a book on African history - which is good if that’s what you’re interested in.
Anyway,
I read the book and I must say that I was pleasantly surprised.
Lalibela’s Wise Man is the story of a
young man named Christian who, in the beginning, was being groomed to take over
his father’s business empire. Christian receives a shocker, however, when his
father passes away unexpectedly and his will is read: he was left with nothing
but an instruction to visit the wise old man of Lalibela. Dazed and confused,
Christian leaves America and sets out for Lalibela, Ethiopia, where he encounters
the wise old man, learns some lessons and discovers a secret that will leave him
changed forever.
MY
THOUGHTS ABOUT THE BOOK
I like it. Initially, I found it
difficult to start reading the book due to its unappealing book cover but once
I started reading I got hooked.
The story is well paced and there’s hardly
a dull moment in-between. Starting from Christian’s journey to Ethiopia as well
as his encounter with the monks, the tale is quirky and one can’t help but
smile at some of Christian’s experiences. At some point the writer struggles
between showing and telling, but fortunately he wins the battle and allows
readers to get into the characters unhindered.
I also like the fact that the book is
very well edited. One can scarcely find an error in the book and this makes for
enjoyable reading as well as the possibility of recommending or buying it for
people, especially teens and young adults, without a moment’s hesitation.
The only issue I have with the book is
that the ending seems to have been a bit rushed. One image that sprang to mind when reading Lalibela’s Wise Man was that of chickens following a farmer as he left a trail of seeds for them on the ground. In Lalibela’s Wise Man, the author leaves enough information in each
chapter to keep readers hooked and eager to read the next chapter; in fact at a
point, you’re
literally begging; 'please break the suspense and let’s
know the purpose of each exercise that Christian was put through.'
The end, however, was a bit
disappointing, almost like eagerly anticipating a meal only to finally eat and
not be very satisfied with the food. Although filled with sage advice, I wish
the advice was spread out, maybe at the end of each exercise rather than everything
being left for the end. It just seemed a bit too easy.
After all is said and done, however, Lalibela’s Wise Man is
definitely a book worth reading and Matshona; an author to watch
out for.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Matshona Dhliwayo was born in Zimbabwe
but is presently based in Canada. His books include:
His books can be gotten on Amazon and from any major bookshop.
No comments:
Post a Comment