No One Dies Yet by Kobby Ben Ben

I lived in Ghana for four years, and No One Dies Yet took me down memory lane with vivid descriptions of the Makola market and the delightful Twi language.

Warning! If you know you don’t fancy detailed queer books, avoid this book. If you’re staunchly religious, No One Dies Yet isn’t for you.

I buddy-read No One Dies Yet with @local-girl, and while there were a couple of things I enjoyed, there was a whole lot I didn’t fancy.

The story is told from two POVs (Kobby &Nana) and tells about a group of queer friends who visit Ghana during ‘The Year of Return’ for Africans in the diaspora.

What I Liked

I enjoyed the representation of cultural and historical themes as the author gave us a bit of a back story about the Fante, Asanti, and Northern tribes of Ghana. I also loved the chapters dedicated to slaves of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, showing that even decades after their death, the spirit of the dead slaves still roam the Cape Coast.

I totally enjoyed Nana’s POV narration. He had some hilarious scenes, and his relationship with his Pastor shows how some churches are all about the money and not necessarily about spreading the Gospel.

I lived in Ghana for four years, and No One Dies Yet took me down memory lane with vivid descriptions of the Makola market and the delightful Twi language.

I also liked the mental health awareness theme but would have liked it more if the author laid more light on this theme.

Oh! How I felt bad for Kobby and the remaining queer Ghanaians. This book just shows that Africans are far from accepting the queer community. A lot of them had to lay low for their safety.

My least favorite characters were Vincent and Scott; I would describe them as hypocrites. One minute, they mocked Ghana for its culture, and the next, they are planning to murder someone for the culture; e no just add up.

What I Didn’t Like

Sigh! Although I enjoyed some parts of this book, I feel it was too long, and the plot became messy (too many important things were happening). There were a lot of unnecessary scenes.

I also didn’t enjoy Kobby’s narration, which was too literal for me (sometimes, I had to read a scene twice because I didn’t grasp what occurred). Basically, if you don’t like Wole Soyinka’s style of writing, you might be angry if you read this.

In my honest opinion, the epilogue wasn’t needed( you might feel differently, and that’s fine). I kept asking myself (what is the reason for this part???) I couldn’t visualise what was written there because all that plenty talk was a waste of my time and ink 😩