This is the story of a physically abusive, authoritarian and religiously fanatical father. He has one standard for his family and another for his community. It is set in the turmoil that is Nigeria and charts the lives of his family.

This book covers an awful lot of ground in a kind of rite of passage novel about a child growing up in a privileged setting in Nigeria. It's not a comfortable read, however, with a tyrannical father and clearly expressed domestic violence alongside his fanatical religious beliefs. However, offsetting this grim and realistically conveyed aspect, the author has a natural gift for descriptive prose and readers will appreciate the way she effortlessly conveys the life in both urban and rural Nigerian settings. The novel also maintains a brisk pace, which readers will appreciate alongside the well-drawn characters that offer some counter-balance to the more unsettling features. Other reviewers have commented on the ending, which I, too, found unexpected