PositiveThe Globe and MailWith that taut and compelling read, Iweala demonstrated a narrative aptitude that bordered on audacious for a debut novelist, capturing the horrific scope of modern tribal warfare, while grounding the story in Agu's unravelling psyche. Iweala has certainly retained his dexterity in the 15 years since Beasts of No Nation was published, but in contrast to its predecessor, Speak No Evil is less broad and less bold for a writer of his calibre ... Iweala's ability to not only comfortably inhabit the mind of his teenage narrator, but speak to the precarious social location of a gay diasporic African in America is at times a blessing and at other times a stumbling block in this novel's construction ... Speak No Evil is a beautifully written novel. But underneath its style lies a story that ultimately does too much topically, while falling short of the subject matter it attempts to challenge.
