Hello readers.
This is literally my favourite category of literature! Epic African drama with a British accent! It contains sassy, stylish women, a girly friendship, a tall dark heartthrob, high flying careers, steamy romance, a sprinkle of heartbreak, a big fall out, and lots of wahala! It’s why I enjoyed Imperfect Arrangements so much and now why I somewhat enjoyed The Returnees.
Osayuki, Cynthia and Kian are three young Londoners, who for different reasons pack up their lives in London to pursue a new journey in Lagos, Nigeria.
Osayuki has just experienced heartbreak and is leaving London for Lagos to begin a fresh new chapter – which includes a new job. Cynthia on the other hand has been ordered by her parents, against her will, to quit her comfortable British life in order to complete her youth service in Nigeria. (Much like the UK’s NCS). Then there’s Kian who has decided to take a chance on Nigeria in the hopes of becoming the country’s next biggest superstar.
The three are unknown to each other until – that is they coincidentally bump into one another at the airport, just before they all board their Lagos bound plane.
“I realised that we were both on a journey, one that each of us didn’t have a detailed map of.”
The story is split into three different narrations as we follow each character’s journey as they grapple with careers, love, meeting new people and identity, all while settling into their new lives. What we do discover from the jump is that the three paths cross. The first chapter is a flash-forward. The backdrop is a warm evening in Lagos and we are thrust into the flashy, elegant folds of a naming ceremony to celebrate the arrival of Osayuki’s daughter. Guests are in tow, the caterers are serving delicious food and drinks are flowing like a fountain, and the baby’s grandmothers are proudly basking in their new status. Osayuki and Cynthia who have become good friends are looking gorgeous in their silk and lace, whilst the former cradles her week old baby. Yet she cannot enjoy herself. In fact, something is weighing very heavily on her mind.
Can you guess what the problem is?
Anyway, after a small allusion to what is eating away at Osayuki, we then travel backwards in time to where the story begins. Starting with Osayuki’s voice.
Culture, identity, self-discovery
As with all books of this category, culture, identity and self-discovery feature heavily. All three characters grapple with these themes majorly, for example, Osayuki discovers how rife colourism is in Nigeria especially where it pertains to finding a job (and a man), Cynthia realises how her British accent automatically inflates the prices of everything and Kian struggles to stay optimistic about his career as doing business in Nigeria is more frustrating than he ever imagined it would be.
There are times when the writing is condescending towards life in Nigeria, for example, Cynthia’s language when describing her experience at the NYSC camp is less than complimentary and I just wish the author would have used the voices of the other characters in the camp to challenge those thoughts. I must also say, I didn’t particularly enjoy the NYSC chapters (sorry to the author).
Anyway I came to discover that Cynthia’s opinions on Nigeria tend to fluctuate between high and low depending on the mood she’s in.
“I was grateful for its beauty no matter how rare, and the optimism of the people. That night, I couldn’t have imagined being anywhere else than in Lagos.”
I wonder if she would have had this thought process had she stayed outside of Lagos. I was also irritated that Cynthia was able to use her privilege to leapfrog her way into what she perceived to be an advantage over everyone else. But I guess that’s the art imitating reality right?
Enjoying reading this? You may also want to read ‘The Code Switch: My Life In Languages
It seems like I’m being hard on Cynthia but she’s actually my favourite character. I guess it’s because I relate more to her for various reasons (Black Brit, body hang-ups, the love of make up and fashion etc.). I am also enjoying the exciting and hot romance between Osayuki and her love interest Afolabi. I would definitely like to see this book translated to the big screen. It’s giving Beverly Naya, Efa Iwara and Bisola Aiyeola. Fellow Nollywood fans I am sure you’ll agree.
The Returnees is a book I would recommend to anyone who is into girly drama with a twist of culture. I am enjoying the ride so far however, if I could sit down with Elizabeth Okoh I would ask her why Cynthia’s and Osakuyi’s stories are written in the first person whereas Kian’s is in the third. But that’s just a small detail, and why there wasn’t much distinction between the two women’s voices.
To my fellow African diaspora peeps who have visited their home country before- you’ll definitely see yourself within the pages of this book.
I would give The Returnees a good 3/5 stars.
Comment below if you’ve read The Returnees before or plan to read it.
