Uchenna Awoke is a Nigerian writer whose short stories have appeared in various publications. The Liquid Eye of a Moon, which is his debut novel, is a coming-of-age-story distinguished by the unique social, political and religious structures of today’s Nigeria.

Dimkpa is a 14-year-old Nigerian boy who lives with his family in a rural village. They can endure their poverty-stricken existence only through the anticipation of his father’s promised ascendancy to the role of village elder. However, because his family is decreed to be ‘ohu ma’ (outsiders) through an esoteric caste system, his father is passed over for what he’s always seen as his destiny, bringing shame on the family.

Dimkpa has always cherished an ambition to attend university so he can become learned and eventually find a lucrative position to support his family. He also dreams of being able to give his late aunt, with whom he shared a spiritual bond, a fitting burial.

But his struggle to achieve his dreams is fraught with continual mishaps, some of which are the result of his own unwillingness to accept what seems to be his doomed inheritance. He finds it impossible to tolerate the recurring pattern of his life that sees him repeatedly victimised by factionalism and violence.

Awoke depicts a lifestyle dominated by Igbo spirituality, ancient customs, traditions and cosmology, an understanding of which would have enhanced the reading experience. However, his portrayal of Dimkpa is compassionate and resonates with a deep understanding of how an individual can be shaped and moulded by cultural and societal prejudices and superstitions beyond his control.

Reviewed by Anne Green

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Uchenna Awoke lives and writes in Nsukka, Nigeria. His short stories have appeared in Transition, Elsewhere Lit, Trestle Ties, Oyster River Pages, The Evergreen Review, and other places. He received fellowships from MacDowell and the Vermont Studio Center in 2017 and 2019 respectively.

He is an Artist Protection Fund Fellow and the inaugural Arkansas International Writer-at-Risk Residency Fellow, currently living in Fayetteville, AR. He is also a 2019 Graywolf Africa Prize finalist. The Liquid Eye of a Moon is his debut novel.

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