Book Review: Side Babies: Contemporary Women In Africa by Zainab Omaki

The Blurb

A man and woman begin an intense romance and find their lives unexpectedly linked to the rise and fall of their disintegrating nation, propelling them fight against fate to hold onto each other. From the moment she is born, a woman is taught who to be; as she hits a low point in her life, she learns to shed all she has been taught and bravely find out who she is for herself. In a deserted town, a woman is captured by militants and held captive at a young age. She transcends her painful past but struggles with the scars it leaves behind. A woman in the throes of traumatic heartbreak attempts to contain her grief and slowly learns to move on. In the titular story, a dynamic musician and a talented groupie take a journey of both love and music, creating history the world will not soon forget. 

Set in contemporary Africa, the seven stories in this debut collection center on men and women navigating the complexities of love, journeying to self discovery and seizing the courage to carry on amidst tumultuous personal and political atmospheres. 

My Review

In a book of short stories, I’m usually able to pick out a couple which are my absolute favorites. I couldn’t do that with this book. I loved all of them all. The stories were so different and varied in their style. The writing was exceptional.

The book flew by as I devoured every story. The emotions ran the gamut of light and funny to heavy and anger evoking. But they each had their own message to share.

Ms. Omaki shared the culture of Nigeria in a way that suited each short story. Very well done.

I give this book five out five drum shaped chocolate bars.

I purchased this book from Amazon.