It’s a cool Thursday morning, and what better day to host Lawrence Amaeshi as he talks about his expository novel, Sweet Crude Odyssey?
As I said in the announcement, the book exposes the inner workings of the illegal bunkering going on in the Niger Delta, and leaves you wondering about two things: how did the author know so much about the business and how does the Niger Delta, and in fact, the country rid itself of this chaos?
Before we go further, let me share an excerpt from the book:
I felt uneasy. I couldn’t shake the thought that someone was watching me. Someone was.
The man staring at me was European, probably British from his stiffness. He wore a long sleeve shirt rolled up at the cuffs with corduroy pants. The smile on his face said he knew something he wasn’t willing to share.
He wasn’t alone. There were two women with him, clad in tight-fitting clothes – miniskirts and transparent blouses. Their table was heavy with drinks and food, but he was more interested in me.
The bar’s clientele was split between indigenous and expatriate oil workers, all in search of a good time. It was a melting pot for lovers of local music, drinks, aquatic delicacies, and assorted meat sourced from the thick mangrove swamp. Women of the night hung in the shadows along the drive-in.
It was way past midnight and guests had begun to leave alone or with company.
The clock hit 2:00 a.m. Daisy, my companion, had already retired to the hotel room, and I reluctantly rounded up for the night as well. Nocturnal insects hovered round the incandescent light bulbs and mosquitoes converged in the darkness under my table. They would have to find another victim tonight. I was done.
Then the white gentleman sat down at my table, opposite me. His cologne was a heavy, flowery fragrance with a touch of cider.
“Hi’ya, mate?” His cockney accent was thick.
I was not in the mood for small talk; I was plastered from downing two bottles of Hennessy. I looked on at the deep orange glow of my cigarette as I inhaled, aware that the bar almost empty, and brushed off a beetle that had fallen on my shirt.
“The name’s Steve,” said the Brit. “I couldn’t help but notice you. Can I bum one off you? I’m out.” He helped himself to a cigarette from my packet, lit up, and took a deep drag. “Been watching you.” He let the smoke out of his mouth as he spoke. “Judging from the way you guzzled those bottles, I can tell you need a life coach.”
He glanced around the bar, his distaste visible. “Continue down this path, my friend, and you’ll burn out fast. This is the land of not enough – near misses, misery, and strange bed fellows, ain’t it?” He jerked his head at the prowlers in the shadows. “Only so much your body can take. Would be a waste of the wonderful life you’ve never had the chance to enjoy. The one I know you’ve dreamt off everyday, Bruce.”
My head jerked up in reflex. How did he know my name?
“I can make you rich. Richer than you’ve ever imagined.”
I was dead sure I had never met this stalker before – drunk or sober. Was my situation so dismal everybody could see it? “Mister, did I ask for your help? Mind your business.”
Steve didn’t flinch. “You are my business.”
You’ve just met Bruce, the protagonist of the novel who gets embroiled in the dangerous world of illegal bunkering. Now, meet General Jojo in this audio recording:
The book intrigues you with vivid imagery, efficient language and plot twists. I could hardly set it down until I was done with it.
The author, Lawrence Amaeshi writes prose fiction and non-fiction. His first novel, Sweet Crude Odyssey, was published under the Prestige label of Kachifo Ltd. His book has been featured on Vanguard, Kirkus, Clarion, Creative Writing News, Reader’s View amongst other renowned literary review critics. He is rounding off a long-distance learning novel-writing course in Stanford University. He lives in Lagos with his wife and kids. He is working on his second novel.
The amazing Sweet Crude Odyssey by Lawrence Amaeshi is now available on Barnes&Noble, Amazon and Okadabooks.
A review of the novel was recently published in the Arts and Culture section of the Vanguard Newspaper.
Now’s the time to welcome the author, I hope you’re ready with your questions!
As I said yesterday, the book is an exciting mix of mysticism, romance, and suspense. The story is spun around the Guardian, the eponymous character, and keeper of a picturesque forest and waterfall in Agbokim village, in Cross River State, Nigeria. The Guardian is a force, a deity of some sort, which exhibits formidable powers, including shape shifting (appearing as a child, an old woman, an owl, a snake, a satyr-like creature, and a goat with a baby’s face). It attempts to match make its messenger, Erom, with Ken, a developer who wants to build a resort near the falls. Erom, with no say in the matter, is chosen, as a messenger of the Guardian; Ken’s parents decide his profession, university, where he’ll work and even the day he should start work; and the Guardian, through dreams and visions, essentially pulls Erom and Ken together, which, upon introspection, asks the philosophical question – how real and true is human love if it is predestined and fated by the gods? I particularly enjoyed the author’s style of writing and found her descriptions vivid. I have quite a lot of questions for her, but first, here’s an excerpt from page 58 of the book.
living in the bustling city of Lagos. As a member of the Literary and Debating Society of her secondary school, Umari served as the director of poetry and also wrote stage plays for the society. Her first book, a novel, ‘Twilight at Terracotta Indigo’ won the ANA/NDDC Flora Nwapa Prize for Women Writing in 2011. Her second book, a collection of poems titled ‘Inside My Head’ won the ANA Poetry Prize the following year in 2012. As a social commentator and gender activist, Umari has also published several articles published in both traditional and online media platforms.
