The Famished Road

By: Ben Okri

Narrated by: Hugh Quarshie

Winner of The Booker Prize 1991

So long as we are alive, so long as we feel, so long as we love, everything in us is an energy we can use.

He is born into a world of poverty, ignorance and injustice, but Azaro awakens with a smile on his face. Despite belonging to a spirit world made of enchantment, where there is no suffering, Azaro chooses to stay in the land of the Living: to feel it, endure it, know it and love it.

This is his story.

©2019 Ben Okri (P)2019 Audible, Ltd

Soul Medicine

One of those books you have to read more than once. totally new way of looking at life, full of images that make your head spin and make you want to listen to them again and again.

Provides exceptional insight into part of Nigerian culture

I had the opportunity to visit West Africa many years ago. Had a read this book prior to going, I would have had a much better under of the spiritual beliefs of some living in this part of the world. I encourage people from around the world to read The Famished Road. Understanding how others believe will help humanity to come together to face the global challenges we are all now facing. Excellent book! Excellent reader!

confusing

it was very hard to follow and had no connecting thread between chapters. overall, it seemed to be too long

Too many supernatural elements for my taste

I listened to roughly the first third f the book, and then stopped listening. I may go back to it, but I stopped listening because i became impatient with the succession of supernatural moments or experiences. I appreciate that this may well be an authentic expression of the outlook and experiences of people in the culture depicted. Indeed, I chose the book in order to learn something about this. But my interest in the story simply flagged because the appearance of supernatural elements often seems arbitrary, with few constraints on what is allowable. I also began to tire of the unpleasantness of most of the characters–their greed, and status anxiety. Still, the writing is very powerful, and the reader is very good. I'll probably go back to it.

Immersive enchantment

Okri’s ability to paint sensory imagery with words is absolutely incredible, and, in my opinion, comparable to that of Coleridge, Blake, or Wordsworth. He makes you see, touch, and smell the world he is painting with words. This novel is a deep dive but it is a worthwhile journey.
Regarding the audio book — the narrator was excellent; the pace, the tonal inflections, accent variations. I wish he had recorded the other two novels in this amazing trilogy.