I received an eARC of Masquerade from the author in exchange for an honest review.
As a proud member of one of the most culturally dominant tribes in Africa, I'm pleased to see an increasing trend of artistic works based on Yoruba myths and histories.
O.O. Sangoyomi's debut novel is a compelling historical fiction that examines feminism through the eyes of one of the genre's most divisive MCs.
The main character, Ododo, is kidnapped by a warlord, none other than the Alaafin of a Yoruba empire at the zenith of its might, and forced to become his bride.
She is thrust unprepared into the heart of court politics and intrigue, disadvantaged by her status as a lowborn commoner and a generally-derided "witch."
As time goes on, the realities of life as the object of a powerful man's interests begin to dawn on her, and she must eventually choose to either live forever in a gilded cage or attain a novel position of strength borne of the sacrifices that facilitated her very ascent.
There's much to say about Masquerade, but I, unfortunately, can't pen down all of my thoughts, as they would contain a lot of spoilers. Still, I can say a few things about the following aspects of the book:
Unlike many of the new breed of books that seek to capture the dynamics of Yoruba myths and histories, O.O. Sagoyomi manages to avoid the unfortunate trappings of predominantly YA themes, which do nothing but water down the significance of various elements of the plot.
So, unlike distinctly YA books based on Yoruba myths, such as Deborah Falaye's Blood Scion and Tomi Adeyemi's Children of Virtue and Vengeance, Masquerade dwells less on mushy, dewy-eyed characters and steamy scenes and more on the conflict at hand.
As such, the story appeals to a more mature audience despite its themes of romance and the main character's youth.
But, as far as the plot goes, that's all I find genuinely impressive. I thought that the story was going quite well until the confusion of the second half of the book, where plot holes gaped with every new chapter. I felt that the author was eager to bring the story to a particular end and failed to allow the story to tell itself.
The main character's development suffered as a result, as she went from fairly-steady-and-slowly-finding-her-feet to wildly unpredictable and, finally, downright dangerous in the final few pages.
No one becomes a warrior overnight, and while extreme circumstances can force the most unlikely actions out of people, there's always a clearly defined evolution or devolution leading up to the breaking or turning point.
In terms of cultural appropriation, Masquerade does a far better job of accurately adopting historical and contemporary Yoruba elements into her historical fiction debut.
It's not Afro-Fantasy, but there are allusions to the Yoruba pantheon. While certain depictions and references to deities are a bit off the mark, it's still impressively done.
Masquerade is a character-focused book, so while you'd expect tons of world-building, seeing that it's based on Yoruba history, which is myth-rich, there's actually very little development here.
I was given an eARC of this to read, so I don't know if it came with any maps. If it did, I'd be very interested in seeing it.
While several references to historical places like Oyo, Ile-Ife, Timbuktu, and Gao are made, there's very little in the story to suggest that the author has actually been there or understands the lay of the land. Still, I'll hold back on any criticisms of the world-building because I don't know whether maps were involved.
Regardless, my dissatisfaction here is reminiscent of one of the primary concerns of writing Yoruba history and myths into fiction, as has become the trend with African authors today, especially those based in the diaspora.
More effort should be put into researching not only the cultures and traditions but also the geographic locations. Too many people in the Western world remain ignorant of the fact that there are more than 50 countries in Africa. As such, any depictions of parts of the continent in fiction should be done to reflect not only the cultural diversity but also the geographic scale. It's only a novel, but it still contributes massively to the global perception of the continent, especially since it is primarily marketed to Western audiences.
Some readers don't care about these details, but as a writer of African historical fiction or African fantasy, correct names, dates, places and distances matter. It's a different thing if the entire world is straight from the author's imagination. But, if they're drawn from real places, histories and cultures, the least that indigenous readers like me (with backgrounds in Archaeology, Anthropology and History) expect is some accuracy.
Still, I'd say that Masquerade beats Tomi Adeyemi's works, hands down, in terms of cultural accuracy. At least, here, the names are highly appropriate and even creatively used where they are not, which is still laudable.
It's quite sad that Masquerade is a standalone, as I believe there's plenty of material in the story to spin an even better sequel.
Still, it's kudos to O.O. Sangoyomi, who penned such a fine story with a memorable MC bearing such a lovely name.
