The Famished Road, an astonishing read.

Well, here are my feelings about Ben Okri's The Famished Road:

Let’s make it clear form the beginning: The Famished Road is an astonishing read. Said to be a magic realism classic, though the author denies this label, the adventures of the spirit-child Azaro have just enchanted me. The plot may appear to be simple: our spirit-child hero has agreed with his spirit-companions to return to the world of spirits as soon as he is born –that is, to die–, as they can’t bear suffering and they hold their memories of their idyllic previous life, but after seeing his mother he changes his mind and decides to stay. His spirit companions try their best to make Azaro return –disease, hunger, violence…–, and his life goes by trying to survive. It is also important here to note that the name is not eventful, as it’s relation with Lazarus is more than evident. But The Famished Road can be read at very different levels, not only as a fantastic tale that may include many Yoruba mythology, but as a profound critic to African reality. We see disease, incomprehension, injustice, politics that seek votes through violence, threat and fear, alcoholism, creditors’ greed, superstition and many others, but we see all of it through the eyes of a child, which makes all of it even more unreal –or more real–. So, we get the feeling that the spirits, the gods or some amazing characters such as the blind man who can see, the Photographer or the unforgettable Madame Koto are much more real than the landlord, the family of the father –who supports a different party (The Party of the Rich)–, or the omnipresent thugs. The hallucinations that famine and disease cause in Azaro transports us to a fantastic world where life and despair holds their hand to a very different reality, but we understand that this other reality is much more palpable for Azaro than his hours in school or in the compound –that is, even commonplace may be seen as magical, and fantastic may be seen as common, and furthermore, thanks to it we see the world in all its strangeness–. Due to the pages of The Famished Road we understand that reality may be seen very differently than what we are used to.

What do you think about it? Did you had similar feelings when reading it?
Aniol