Lessons by Ian McEwan, one novel with way too many ideas. Individually the different prose could have been exceptional. But I was left wanting, left confused and left wondering if I just listened to all of that, for ‘all of that’. (Side note, I may have enjoyed this a lot less due to having the ARC from NetGalley on Audio, for me, with literary novels audios don’t always connect (personally)). 

Rewinding now, Roland Baines… Let me start by saying the premise of starting the book when his life is all but falling part and then going back to his childhood and onwards to adulthood, had the foundations to be really interesting. Especially given that early on you are thrown into a highly immoral situation with his female piano teacher… I’m just going to say sexually assaulting him. As a young teen he believes himself to be in love and believes that she too loves him. This is off the back of been abandoned to a boarding school and receiving carless, loveless letters from his mother. In other words, this novel is about childhood trauma, that should have moved me to my core. 

 

There is so much to unpack with what Roland went though and as a result how he lives out the rest of his life. Roland’s childhood “Distorted his relations with women”. And although you follow him on many of those relationships you don’t really get a deep and meaningful insight into any of them. On top of that, coinciding with the stream-of-consciousness of his tumultuous but utterly stagnate daily life you come across larger matters such as everything from World War II to the fall of the Berlin Wall, and finish with the Pandemic…. As well as, following what his run a way wife Alissa was up to, how she found herself, became a successful novelist and so on… So much happens, but none of it moved me. 

 

In summary, I love books that are purely an interesting stream-of-consciousness, especially if the charter is going through major emotional growth. I also love books on World War II, and major political moments in history…. Something about Roland as a character and the backdrop of this book was just too stale for me.  The writing style was long winded and tedious at the best of times. Ian McEwan’s, Atonement is one of my favorite books of all time, so I never expected to be wishing for this book to end. On that note, the ending does pick up but I’m rating this book on my overall experience from start to finish, not how I felt when I finished it. 

Do not read this book in one go. That is my advice. And if you find yourself in a reading slump, jump to Orin and you'll be refreshed and keen to pick it back up again. 


Overall I think the flow and order of the short stories just didn't really work for me. At the half way mark I lost nearly all interest in continuing because I felt like I was reading the same story in varying forms. Re-structing the order would have a great benefit. I have read other reviews where people didn't enjoy the traditional interpretations followed by the modern voices (not liking the modern takes in particular). I personally didn't mind this, two of my favorites where at polar opposites on the time line. Including Scheherazade (modern) and Attem (traditional). 

It would have been more impactful if four or so stories where removed and the endings of others flashed out a bit more. On an average they all felt a little rushed into the end, putting the pacing off, causing the endings to feel jarring rather than complete and whole.  

Positives overall 

- Learning new Mythical Tales and tales from different cultures
- How empowering many of the stories where for women including moments of venerability 
- The way Bolu Babalo had so many different voices/writing style; poetic and lyrical to sharp and sassy with quit whit. 
- The roll that music and dance played in so many of the stories as a tool for expression and communication 
- The representation! Not limited to race or colour but conditions, "class", gender, sexual orientation and so on. 

Negatives overall 

- Biggest one is that a fair few of these story stories did not suit the format. Nefertiti is the best example of this, it had all the makings of a really cool plot line and story however it didn’t lend it self to be written in the space of so many pages, its a 300 page novel not a short story. 
- It would have been better to remove a few of the stories and extend the endings, as the majority finished very abruptly. And although you technically got closure it was extremally jarring at times.
- A lot of the stories had the exact same progression, they meet- fall in love - move on - come back together. It was a little repetitive at times. 


Individual Reviews (Some star ratings and reviews expanded on from my first thoughts and feelings). 

Book 1 - Osun ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

“Murderous fire would turn to amorous flame, angry gusts of air into soft billowing breath. She would take his hand and lead him out of his own chaos.”

What an unbelievable start. That writing was stunning. Enchanting. Magical. Poetic. Lyrical. The story its self lent its self really beautifully to a short story - however if Bolu Babalola decides to turn this into a novel ill pre-order that poetry before its even been tilted. 


Book 2 - Scheherazade ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“All the iron in my blood drew together in blocks and dragged me down to the floor”

I can not believe that in twenty pages my heart has been torn out of my chest. I’m left grieving and wondering if this book is going to completely shatter my soul or piece it back together. Its the ending that made this what it was, out of all the entries, this is possibly the one that has stayed with me the most. 


Book 3 - Psyche ⭐️⭐️⭐️

“I've been grinding my butt here for two years, and nobody's actually grinded my butt for almost as long.”

I must say that Bolu Babalola’s writing style is undeniably diverse. Each story has thus far been a completely new voice. This entry was a bit long winded however, and didn't feel new or unique. It approached topics that are very much current, defiantly still important to be written about. Just in this case it felt a little forced, more so than other topics approached in later entries.  


Book 4 - Attem ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“It reminds me of a dream I had of the woman I would one day fall in love with. Her curves, he tapped the dip in the back of the metallic creature, 'are as smooth this. She has the leopard's savagery and elegance. Eyes that.’”
…
“eyes that look like the night wrapped around the sun"

The power of fighting for one’s self, one’s family and one’s soulmate. I didn't know how I was going to feel about this at the start. But the poetic voice was utterly enchanting. The message of this was really well executed, and my feelings towards this short story have only improved after reading it. 


Book 5 - Yaa ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

“The question stilled Ya as she lifted up a bottle of perfume to spritz on her wrist. The question was so foreign it made her mind buck and recoil. It raked against life as she knew it.”

...A mass of harsh realities “How do you know?” I debated quoting a moment about a deep kiss that makes it’s way to your heart. But the one above truly summaries this story… and life. Yaa's story was so relatable, as was her characters voice. This was a story I felt like a friend could have been telling me, it had flow, and emotion, it wasn't dramatic, it was just simply real and raw. 


Book 6 - Siya ⭐️⭐️⭐️

“Life was fragile and quick and the only way to slow it down, to give it some semblance of fortitude, was to revel in the heat of it all the joy of it all.”

This story had so much potential! It was just so dam short, and quick. The ending was harshly abrupt. I know this a set of “short stories” but for me this one could have been perfection as a longer entry or novel. It was a world I was one hundred percent ready to commit myself into, and a story line that is everything I find to die for. It just did not work as a short story. 


Book 7 - Nefertiti ⭐️⭐️✨

~ no quotes ~

The premises of Nefertiti would make for a very, very cool 300+ page book. But I didn’t enjoy this as a short story either. The writing was far too descriptive and it didn’t overly flow. It wasn’t nearly as poetic as previous entries and considering the pacing at the start, the end came to a conclusion far too quickly with none of the plot twists being surprising due to the rushed story line. I mean the concept of Nefertiti in this modern setting, honestly I and so many I know would eat that shit up. A women's club, a sanctuary, a place where bad men get their balls handed to them (literally). This could be a 3 book series. It just should never have been a short story. 


Book 8 - Naleli ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

“Blinded by the fact that he was beloved he assumed that everyone’s default was to be kind, not knowing that their kindness was dependent on weather they saw you are their kind.”

Of all the entries I found the quotes I highlighted in this one to be the most powerful, moving and impactful. There's more than one message being told here and they are all beautiful, I absolutely loved it. The friendship, of that had me, to have a book that represents kindness and acceptance, supporting your friend and being there, it is so powerful. The love story told I actually have a lot of appreciation for, because when kids are young, they can be blinded by their social circles and this portrayed that quite poetically. Finally the representation of Vitiligo was stunning. It didn't feel forced, it felt unique and emotional and the message could be applied to so many circumstances. This short story was beautiful, 'young' and 'innocent' but beautiful. 


Book 9 - Zhinu ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

“this song is called magpie” *nearly made me tear up

The humor in this shorty story was very different from the others, I did think the charters where a lot younger than the intended age was but? Although the banter between Zhinu and Zhou was very funny, the relationship with her mum and not brother? I didn't love it was a lot of extra information that took up so much of the story. The serious undertone being told was was a nice change, they both had their own individual challenges both past and present. And sometimes you need someone that doesn't have a clouded view of you to help you find the confidence to be you. The ending and structure was different from the rest of the stories so that was also refreshing. In the end but it wasn't an overly memorable entry. 


Book 10 - Thisbe ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ maybe ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“This is between me and her.”
“Really? Right now it looks like it's between you and her door.”

I loved these characters voices! Reading this was experiencing the slow realization of the reality surrounding you. I have many smiles for this story. I also love when I read a book that encompasses music. Both Thisbe and Pyramus expressed their emotions with playlists and that to me was bliss. It was funny, it was light, it was playful. I'm into rom-coms but if was to read one it would be one like this. I loved the tropes and the way they communicated, and grew as characters. I would read it, happily if this was turned into a 300 page rom-com. 


Book 11 - Tiara ⭐️⭐️⭐️

“He was looking at me and into me in, I suspect, much the same way I was looking at him and into him, and I didn't have time to lock him out of me.”

I like this story, but it wasn’t my favorite with the slang, and pop culture references. It was cute and sweet, but personally not as memorable as the others. It followed a lot of the same progress as previous entries I think it others hadn't been included I would have rated this entry much higher. 


Book 12 - Orin ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“Raphael, do you think this date is going well?”

I’m astounded I can’t believe how funny I found this. My mouth was agape the entire time, I was either laughing or grinning I cant express that enough. The internal monologue of Orin was brilliant she was so smart, bitchy and sarcastic, and brutal in her wit. This to me was the definition of a brilliant short story the pacing was even, and flowed effortlessly. In saying that, if Bolu Babalola decides to turn this into a novel, arghhh !!! YES. But it was still perfect as it was. It approached the issues of dating in our modern age, how do you meet someone, what are peoples intentions, are they even listening?! It was all kinds of perfect. This should have been a halfway entry as it has a comply different structure to the other short stories and was just a good time. If your in a slump and finding Love in Colour hard to pick back up I would recommend jumping to book 12 having a laugh and then continuing back on. 

*side note there where pop culture refences, however they did fit into the story really well, oddly I didn't have an issue with them in the way they where used as I feel as though the specific references in ways would be no different to referencing Marilyn Monroe for example. Rihanna and Beyonce and just simply iconic. 


 Book 13 - Alagomeji

“Time and love are intertwined, they are both measures of life, they are the two clocks. And, for love to operate as it should, it is imperative that the timing should be right. Just as it is in this story.”

You can tell this was a very personal story, the way it was written was not my favorite. But it was beautiful. And too personal to give an independent rating too. I don't have too much to say on this one, it didn't fit as well as the other stories, however if you read the Authors introduction followed by Alagomeji it sits beautifully. 

I find this book immensely personal. And the world building within the first hundred pages is beyond anything I could imagine someone has the ability to create. Piranesi summaries this book perfectly when he says 

“It has a strange atmosphere that is difticult to describe precisely. It is majestic, mysterious and at the same time, full of Presence.”

I read this over the course of one day, and the entire time I was equal parts captivated and enchanted by the world and equal parts stressing over what is about to unfold. There is a mystery, and the plot does flow ever so calmly, but there are moments when your heart does race. However this it truly it is all about the vibes. Susanna Clarke could remove the plot all together and I would still rate this novel and just want to explore the many halls.

To summarise; this book is written for people that seek the beauty in nature, in the stars and moon, in marble sculptures, coal and bodies of water both still and turbulent. If listing to the ocean brings you peace, than I think you will truly get lost in this tale and never want to leave. 

“I spent two or three hours putting them back in, all the pretty things that I have found or made: seashells, coral beads, pearls, tiny pebbles and interesting fishbones.”

Typically when I read books I think back on them and want to lower my rating. I have a feeling that this will be the opposite. The more you sit and reflect on the life that you just read, the more it stays with you, on your mind, in your thoughts. I think the bio doesn’t do this book justice because in a way Alethea doesn’t come to a cross-road where she gets to decide who she wants to be, she really is just a woman that has survived horrific situations time and time again and is living her life the best way she is knows how to. I was not expecting this to end the way it did and part of me hates this novel for that. The other part of me will decided once I have thought about it more. (I don’t mean the last few pages I mean what comes before that). 

I would like to stress that the TW in this are very confronting especially the child abuse, physical and sexual assault. And they more graphic as you continue. 

This is a very very important story to be told, for myself personally never having experienced domestic abuse the more I read novels both fiction and non-fiction it opens up a window that I will never be able to ‘understand’ not having lived it myself but to be able to support and have a deeper sympathy towards people going through it, knowing that it is never just black and white. 

Novels like this are so powerful, and Alethea as a character is so strong despite all of her trials, looking in on isolated situations you could easily assume she’s week and the all to common “why would you chose to stay”. Alethea has a beautiful soul, is strong, independent and a survivor. I love her for what she represents and I loved her friends, they truely where a beautiful backbone’s to this novel. 


I will say the writing style is very jarring but it doesn’t take long to find your rhythm, very quickly I began to not even notice the unfamiliar worlds and slang. I listened to the sample of this on audio so I had a voice in my heard whilst reading, I would highly recommend doing that before you start.