The year was 2019, and I had just begun the process of reclaiming the act of reading for pleasure.
I remember stumbling into 24' Alhaji Williams Street and being lost in reveries of wonder at such fine storytelling. I wanted more. It would take five years, but in Ghostroots, it has finally arrived.
Ghostroots is a debut short story collection by the talented Nigerian writer and O'Henry Award Winner Pemi Aguda. Here, we encounter twelve stories, unique in structure, theme, and narrative style. Yet, strange and uncanny incidents are familiar backdrops against which the narrative unfolds.
The first story follows a spiralling young woman as the malevolent spirit of her dead grandmother makes a comeback. In another, the acceptance of a new member into a closed group of prudent women results in catastrophic consequences.
In similar fashion, the rest of the stories traverse human and spectral territories in very unsettling but oddly satisfying ways.
Pemi's prose is crisp, elegant and deeply emotive. She's a wordsmith in every regard. I admired the diligent application of gothic language to create a strong sense of place in the stories, a world where ominous trajectories don't quite result in gory, spine-chilling denouements but come close enough.
As a result, the plot is wildly immersive and engaging. The character development is just as spectacular, with a lot of empathy and grace afforded to both humans and ethereal beings.
There are a number of devices at play in Ghostroots, but the use of irony was utterly delightful. From the title of the collection to the names of the characters and the unravelling of the plot, there's a lot to reflect on.
Can a thing that exists in a vacuum have roots? How does a little boy control a trio of Masquerades? Why does the daughter of a very vocal feminist struggle with docility? Why does the sullenest character bear a name that boasts of happiness?
In the same light, even though there is an abundance of strangeness, the overarching theme interrogates humanity in all of its complexities. This concept is not only familiar but also universal, and readers will relate to these stories distinctively.
I found that stories like 'The Hollow,' 'Contributions,' and 'Bird Woman' filled me with a flurry of thoughts on how the systems we set up for our protection can quickly become tools for our immurement. In 'Manifest,' 'Breast Milk,' 'Imagine Me Carrying You,' and 'Girlie,' women attempt to untangle the knots twisted by fear, betrayal and resentment in their relationship with family.
Then, there were other stories like 'The Masquerade Season,' 'The Dusk Market,' and '24' Alhaji Williams Street,' which I enjoyed simply because of their aura and unpredictability.
Undoubtedly a brilliant collection of short stories, Ghostroots is the perfect read for anyone who enjoyed What It Means When a Man Falls from the Sky by Nneka Lesley Arimah.
Ghostroots is an exciting addition to the growing list of contemporary and speculative fiction in African literature.
