This was one of the books that I read late last year when I returned to my roots as a bookworm. So here is the review I have been meaning to do for (more than) a few months for The Knife of Never Letting Go...Shout out to Sankofa for lending me this book when she went to Ghana. She knows me too well; I trust her taste in books!

Title: The Knife of Never Letting Go (love the title by the way, it caught my attention straight off the bat)

Author: Patrick Ness

First published: 2008

Plot summary: Todd Hewitt is a boy in Prentisstown, where all boys become men at the age of 13. Todd has one month to go, and as far as he knows, Prentisstown is the only settlement in the world. After a native group known as the 'Spackles' released a germ, all the women have died, meaning that the men of Prentisstown are a dying race. As a side effect of this germ, the remaining men in Prentisstown can hear each other's thoughts, known as the ever present cascade of ‘Noise’...Find the rest of the plot summary here.

Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I cannot say that it was the easiest read. But sticking at it paid off, I love the way in which Ness creates a whole other universe and something about the story reminds me of Malorie Blackman’s Noughts and Crosses and Margaret Atwood’s A Handmaiden’s Tale, two all-time favourites of mine. I think it’s the whole broken world thing they all have going on. The story line is complex enough to keep you reading but straight-forward in a way that it needs to be so that you understand the plot. Oftentimes, in a book that creates a whole new world complicated plots make the book a long and tiresome read, however this book does not suffer from such a failing. Perhaps, because it is young adult literature (a favourite genre of mine) the author holds back from over complicated story lines. The concept behind the book was a real winner, no so much that Prentisstown is loud and male. But I love that Todd and Viola have to learn to communicate around silence and noise. It’s an important lesson. I love how Todd is initially intimidated by her silence and has to learn to overcome this. A true coming-of-age book in every sense, not just Todd but the whole world literally has to come of age in order to defeat Mayor Prentiss. One thing, however, that did strike me as a failing was the books’ conclusion. I feel like in Ness’s bid to get a follow up book deal, the end of the story was mistreated. It felt like a rushed, contrived ending which was totally unnecessary. I had a moment at the end of the book when I wanted to punch something coupled with a weird sense of déjà vu. I really felt for the protagonist, like, here we go again. The poor boy will have to wade through this lunacy for another 400-odd pages in part two! In my opinion the book would have benefitted much more from ending the story of our protagonist right there. However, having said that if you bought me the follow-up *hint, hint*, would I read it? Hell yeah!

Rating: Another four Nsoromma’s out of five.

4/5 stars

With everything that has been going on recently, I had not been able to get this post out.

I have walked to the ends of the earth

After visiting Pen Powder's blog the other night, I started thinking (yet again) about the plight of mother Africa as a whole. How can the most resource rich continent be so abjectly poor, governed by dynasties of despots who reinforce the illegitimate actions of their fellow tyrannical despots through lavish gifts the likes of which most of their countrymen will never see? I know it's nothing new and has been going on since we started to gain our independence but it came upon me again, and I was enraged (you will start to see a pattern with me, I get enraged and then I feel you must know about it! Sorry!).

When I was still in school and the term 'third-world country' was still politically correct (if you don't know, it is no more, instead we now have LEDCs - Less Economically Developed Countries - get to know!) I learnt that Africa was the ONLY continent on God's good earth that was 100% third-world. Yes, people the WHOLE thing including the likes of Egypt and South Africa, who were not classed second-world like Brazil was (the mind boggles...). Anyhoo...after President Obama (Omama) came to Ghana and spoke to the people about Africa solving her own problems many Africans were outraged. How can our brother come and say such things to us? Does he not realise that our continent was ravaged and pillaged by the colonial powers and they still have us in chains?

Now, don't get me wrong I have sympathies with the neo-colonial arguments. There is barely anywhere in Africa you can look without seeing American, British or French neo-colonialism, you only have to look at Liberia, Angola or Sierra Leone (to name a few) to be slapped in the face with it. And in much the same way that African-Americans can still complain about the effects of slavery crippling their people the same can be said of Africa's neo-colonialism.

However, just like I feel African-Americans use slavery as an all-encompassing excuse for social degradation and low achievement so do Africans. Firstly, Obama is your brother? Really?!?!?! His Dad originated from Kenya, he is half-white and fully American, is it so surprising that he came out with that view? Think about it, as a high-achieving black American I'm sure he's heard all the complaints about 'the white man keeping us down' and has decided that a lot of the time they are excuses. But just as the whole 'Cambridge officer acted stupidly' incident indicated, he is not unaware of what black people face in his country. In the same way with his connection to Africa, I doubt he is unaware of how thoroughly his country has colonised his father's continent.

However, he did see it as an excuse for Africa to blame their plight on other people and I think to some degree he is right. We are all too ready to blame other people for our problems, while we are in in a position to do something about it. I'm a firm believer that its the little things that we do which create the stage and pave the way for bigger movements and change. This is no less the case when we are dealing with the mammoth task of making out continent more self-sufficient. Tell me how on earth can we complain about Africa begging for handout's when on a local level we perpetuate the very same type of behaviour. Are we (as in Africans abroad) not in anyway responsible for this 'give me, I want, I need, you owe me' attitude when many of us are killing ourselves over here to feed and clothe those who are more than capable of doing it themselves?

Now before I am inundated with personal attacks about not understanding poverty, blah-de-blah, consider...I know a family of six living in a teeny, tiny flat, in a bad area who are really struggling for basics. A 2 bed flat and one of the rooms is a half room really, can't make ends meet and merely existing exacerbates their poverty. Yet they are in abrokyrie (tr. abroad) and so life is great? Hmmm, so supporting 8, 9 people in Ghana who claim to want need, etc. new laptops and mobile phones to show off with is understandable? Repeatedly sending 'school fees' only to be told school fees have not been paid and now are desperately owing or else poor little Kojo can't finish school? They do not live in shoddy housing and many do not work because abrokyrie will provide? Consider, my mother's younger sister in Ghana has four kids and a husband, a shop my mum got for her and a house abrokyrie money built for her. All her children will be able to go to school to the highest level. But she doesn't work and yet when she needs things and abrokyrie should provide?

If we do not stop such fuckeries on a local level then Africa will never stop it on an international scale either. Since cutting off my Aunty's requests for 'needs', the woman has been slowly learning self-sufficiency. It's long, painful and at time she makes damn silly decisions but she must make them in order to grow.

So do you agree that:

• We (as in Africans abroad) are in part responsible for this 'give me, I want, I need, you owe me' attitude?
• Effecting a change in abrokyrie-relatives-back-home dependency will benefit our continent?

Didn't I promise you a part 2? Get your box of kleenex and your cup of tea ready. Here we go:

6. Lesson Learned- Alicia Keys ft. John Mayer

One of the highlights of As I Am and a bonafide "break-up song". Ms. Keys and Mr. Mayer give us pure perfection in this melancholic song.


7. The ice was getting thinner- Death Cab For Cutie

Perfect example of the type of songs to expect from the poster kids of the emo movement. Documents the point in a relationship when you realise that the whole relationship was built on air and there's no longer anything to hold on to.

Funnily enough the guy I wrote the last poem about got into contact. Some background: We had issues, timing was always off. I wasn't over my ex, then I was bereaved then he was bereaved. So we had a total break from each other for a few months, saw other people. But then we hooked up again and decided we wanted to try again. We were sorting out our issues when she pops up, told him she was pregnant (3 months gone) and keeping it and determined to make a go of it. He refuses to be with her and she's been doing some pretty amazing things to get him to be with her. But he is a stubborn goat and gets her out of the situations she gets in, tells her its for the sake of the baby and then reminds her they are not together. I'm sure she has a voodoo doll with my name on it. Anyways...

My stupid MSN Live Messenger is always logged in because I always ignore it I was not too bothered until I saw the dreaded flashing orange bar with his name on it.

Being either brave or stupid (you decide) I decided to reply and hi. This is what I hear: His whore is overdue, if she's not given birth by next week she'll be induced and he'll be someone's daddy. It's my fault I confess I asked him if he was a daddy yet so what did I expect? Then he is like oh am I married yet? What's that supposed to mean. He saw me in town with a guy added two and two and came up with 75. Anyway he decides to let his feeling out about how he's sorry he hurt me and he never meant to. I believe him, I've had the unfortunate experience of dating some pretty big assholes who have enjoyed hurting me and he was never like that. But who cares? It's the same result if I'm hurt isn't it?

Wait before I depart into ramble mode, I need to let you know the fuckeries. The whore got kicked out by her mum and guess who she's living with now? It's like rubbing salt in my wounds, they r living together like cute little family unit. This shouldn't hurt but it does. And the worst, worst, WORST thing is I haven't spoken to him in a couple months and I was dreaming that in that time she would lose her baby, so I could be happy again. Now he's telling me he's so sorry and he didn't want to bring his drama into my life. Then he tells me he loves me and has done for a while. So I'm crying now because I do still care about him, I'm crying because she really is going to have his baby and I'm crying because I wish I could find it within me to not wish such horrible things on a pure innocent party that I secretly wish was mine.

Fuckeries.

This is something I wrote to help me start getting over someone who I was never with but have been finding it really hard to get over. It's ALWAYS the ones you don't expect...

Should I just let it die.

This thing we've tried

I poured myself into you

I tried so hard.

And you could be the medicine to my pain

But you can't

I thought maybe I could be your love

And I can't

I thought it would work.

But it's not.

I don't think you're not ready.

I think that it's just me.

And you.

We don't quite fit.

But maaaaaaaaaaaan seeing you with another will kill me,

I'll be so jealous,

Because I think you will try,

But you wouldn't with me.

I think you'll love her

But you couldn't love me.

Why is the timing always wrong?

My ex? Your Uni? Your Baby?!?!?!

It's not meant to happen.

It's just not.

I thought it would work.

I thought one day I would be your love

And I can't

And you would medicate my pain

But you can't

I did try hard

I poured myself into you.

But this thing we've tried

We should just let it die.

Nsoromma...Child of the Heavens

I was browsing one of my favourite sites a the other day and stumbled on a discussion of songs that made people cry and it led me to think about mine. SO here's a list of my "favourite" songs to weep to. I don't if it's right to class them as "favourites" since they, by definition, make me cry. But here goes in no particular order of preference:

1. Bitter- Me'Shell NdegeOcello

This song kills me. It really does. I first got into Me'Shell my freshman year of college in America after a particularly nasty introduction to the truly messed-up minds of supposedly "nice" guys. I didn't leave my dorm room for three days and played this song on repeat. It's a wonder I'm still here for it deserves to be filed under "Music by which to slit your wrists" (It should be a genuine genre I assure you...). It's sombre and impossibly beautiful. It's a deceptively simple song (it's quite short with basically one verse) but the haunting quality of Me'Shell's voice just takes it somewhere else entirely.


2. I Can't Make You Love Me- Bonnie Raitt

I heard the George Michael version first when I was about 16 and played it to death. It perfectly fit in with the romantic notions I had conjured up of my unrequited crush at the time (Will Barnes holla! lol). I was such an angsty teen (some may argue that I still am). Anyway, I hunted down the original and discoverd that it was far superior to old George's version (no disrespect) and just like that it became an addition to my iPod's "Dust and sackcloth" playlist.



3. Raining in Balimore- Counting Crows

I'm not a hundred percent certain what this song is about nor do I have any particular attachment to Baltimore apart from the fact that one of my Aunts lives there but this song just makes me incredibly sad. It doesn't make me cry per ser, but it makes me feel a bit depressed and just generally verklempt.



4. Say Hello, Wave Goodbye- David Gray

I could pick a number of candidates from White Ladder but David Gray's cover of Soft Cell's classic just rises above the rest for me. It's a perfect 8 mins and 58 secs snapshot of a deteriorated relationship. We get disbelief, loneliness, anger, bitterness all in a few short minutes. Here is a rare example of a cover surpassing the original. It's perfect and I love it. Oh yeah, it also makes me cry.


5. When She Loved Me-Sarah McLachlan

Yes, it's from Toy Story 2 and it's about an abandoned rag doll's love for her previous owner. Shut up. It still makes me cry. I remember seeing this in the cinema and being horrified that my eyes were pricking with tears when this song came on. But oh well, it is what it is and it's here on this list!



Part two coming up (when I get around to it...)