Rate this book

Foreign Gods, Inc. (2014)

by Okey Ndibe(Favorite Author)

2.75 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

1616953136 (ISBN13: 9781616953133)

languge

English

genre

Fiction

publisher

Soho Press

review 1: There was a short time in the early pages when I wondered if this would be a book that I set aside as just a bit "too much" - but I am certainly glad I stuck with it. The premise of a Nigerian-American NY cabbie (with a good degree) heading back to his home to steal a religious relic to get him out of his financial woes seem beyond comprehension. I shall have to ask of my Nigerian colleagues from Moscow days whether any/all of this stands up to the reality of Nigerian emigrants. But the author seems to have entered into that scene with a good sense of what life is like in that realm. The part that snagged me back into the story was the flashback to the early missionaries and their often ham-handed treatment of those to whom they were to ostensibly minister. Really, an... more excellent story - and without spoiling a lot, it seems not to end well, which would be about right.
review 2: Poor Ike (pronounced E-Kay). After making his way from his native Nigeria, he manages to settle in the US and even get a degree in economics from a prestigious college. But on graduation, finds he has to drive a cab to make ends meet since he can't land a job in his field. With insurmountable debts increasing expotentially, and having his meager resources gutted by his greedy, mercurial ex-wife, he concocts an audacious plot to steal his village wargod to sell to a tony Greenwich Village gallery dealing in totemic figures sacred to foreign tribes. With this as a framework, Ndibe explores heavy issues such as the struggle for immigrants, no matter how high their qualifications, for acceptance, and the distorted perception of life in America of those in other countries. A scene that actually had me both laughing and cringing involved villagers in Nigeria watching a Bulls basketball game from the mid-90's, admiring Michael Jordan not for his beauty and skill of playing, but for the fact that he brings down pots of money just for "throwing a ball through a hoop." This is fiction at its best -- thought provoking and intuitive. There was only one misstep that I could see (will not reveal due to possibly being spoiler), which kept this from a solid 5 star rating. less

Download links for: Foreign Gods, Inc.

Advertising