I decided to pick this up in order to expand my reading of African writers. I have read a couple of contemporary Nigerian authored novels, but I was recommended this as a classic since 'The Palm Wine Drinkard' was the the first African novel published in English outside of Africa and received much acclaim and criticism. I had no idea what to expect going into it, having no familiarity of Yoruba folk lore or culture.

Overall, I enjoyed it! The storyline is adventurous, surreal, and moved quickly, and it was refreshing to read about an (overly?) confident protagonist. It took me a while to get used to the style, it reads as quite simplistic and repetitive, I think it sounds better being told orally, like most fairytales/folktales.

I didn't understand the cultural significance/symbolism of all of the events and supernatural beings that the protagonist encountered, but I generally enjoyed reading about them and I think the purpose behind some of the tales may be to generate discussion. Certain events and beings stood out more than others.  My favourite beings were: the complete man who was also a Skull, the farmland owner of Wraith Island, the Spirit of Prey, and the visual imagery painted by the Red-Lady and the Red People.

The story became a little repetitive in the structure... travel onwards... encounter a new being... friend or foe?... use some juju or luck to escape and continue the journey. There was only a little direct text addressing how our drinkard felt in any one moment, and I felt the overall journey ended quite abruptly. However, I enjoyed the journey, I'm glad to have read this, and I would recommend to others.