There's a charm but also a sense of familiarity to this coming-of-age story, set in Nigeria, where a poor but different child discovers literature and his own sexuality. The author, a poet, brings grace to his storytelling, but I have found greater freshness in other fiction from this country.

I know not why this book oozes "coming-of-age," because it felt more like an awakening to me.
This is not just an outlook on Africa, more so Nigeria, but rather it's Sam's struggle with his identity and his need to understand and fully participate in his life. The tone is neither harsh nor apologetic, but when it chooses, it is more compassionate and understanding and I loved that about it.

It's a story told from Sam's perspective about his childhood, growing up in the blocks, his friendship with Pa Suku,the man who introduces him to Literature, Jazz and Poetry. His decision to study Literature and his sexuality. It is divided into three parts; the first part is centered around his childhood and life in the blocks. The second part has Sam questioning most the things he witnessed as a child and his role in them and we see him interact with creatives and get a glimpse of his decision to write. The final part is where the story is. If you ask me, (I know you didn't, but I'll tell you anyway), it is in the final chapters especially when Sam receives a letter from Pa Suku that the story did resonate with me. It felt like I was being called to judge not myself but my perception of myself and those around me and that is what stayed with me.
On characters, I'd say that I wish I had a friend like Pa Suku. His outlook on the Nigeria before and after and what their leaders are doing in the name of democracy is something that resonated with me because in Kenya, we've heard promises and 50 years later, we are yet to see them fulfilled.
I also did find the book poetic, sometimes I'd read a paragraph and let the words roll around my tongue- it'd be entertaining to have the author read out a chapter or two as though it were spoken word.
When Sam met Margaret's dad, there was a moment and this is what I found to be Sam's greatest strength; he is candid about everyone but himself. He could read people better than he could interpret himself.
Sam says it better, "Memory is ice, vulnerable to changes in temperature."
Much love to NetGalley and the Publisher for gifting me with a copy of this book and I'm looking forward to reading more of Timothy's works.

This review was posted on Goodreads on August 12th 2017.

The Day Ends Like Any Day addresses the difficult to capture and rarely seen topic of what it is like growing up poor in Nigeria while also being conflicted about one’s sexuality and values. However, this novel fails to deliver the depth and emotion that one may expect when delving into these subjects. The characters are diverse enough but extremely difficult to connect with. They are used to give reason to very specific thoughts or actions of the main character alone rather than to weave a complex history that the reader can then observe in a variety of choices made. This gives the book a very stunted cause-and-effect feeling. Each character is featured only briefly before their literary purpose has been served and they are tossed to the side.

The writing in this novel reflects Ogene’s experience as a poet to an irritating degree. It tends to be pretentious, long-winded, and often unbelievable. The narrator takes page after page to reflect on simple occurrences which slows down the story and surprisingly offers very little insight into the character. This book could have easily been achieved in half the final word-count. However, if your desire is to read a novel which reads as a poem you will enjoy this. There are some insightful and well-written passages which suggest that with a few changes this book could make an excellent poem.

Finally, the plot is bland even for a character study. Sam’s life is simply too boring to keep the reader interested. Conversations are brief and flat. Though information is being exchanged, it feels as if you’re reading a news article rather than an authentic exchange between two humans. This contributes to the difficulty to connect with or relate to the characters. The Day Ends Like Any Day was perhaps too ambitious and could have done with more planning and editing.

This debut novel was impressive! What an engaging coming of age story, which delved into such themes as trauma, sexuality, capitalism, etc! Timothy Ogene's writing talents are undeniable.