Vibrant, funny ... Bazawule...is juggling a lot here. The novel tackles colonialism, racism and misogyny; interspersed throughout its classic thriller structure are bizarre scenes of magical transformation ... Yet the novel is skillfully crafted, never buckling beneath the weight of its ambition, with an unflagging sense of humor that prevents the story from straying into self-seriousness.
This story has magic, political conspiracy, and romance, along with the historical elements of the U.S. civil rights movement and Ghanian colonization. It will appeal to readers of many genres who enjoy an eccentric cast of characters in a vibrant historical setting.
... transportive ... The fugitives-fleeing-authorities plot takes many of the expected twists on its way to a tragic conclusion, but Bazawule nails the atmosphere, loading it with cultural details on everything from palm wine to Highlife music. It’s an engaging if not riveting period piece.
Bazawule renders the cat-and-mice aspect of the novel well; a filmmaker, he’s gifted at narrative pacing. Unfortunately, that’s the only part of the book that works. His adjective-heavy writing is stilted and awkward, and he makes frequent use of clichéd phrases like 'The day began like any other' and overly expository formulations ... In several passages, he takes jarring detours into magical realism that feel out of place, throwing the reader out of the narrative, and he indulges heavily in melodrama, making the novel resemble a bizarre soap opera. The result is a book that feels like a screenplay that’s been wrestled, awkwardly, into prose. This doesn’t seem like a finished novel so much as an underedited first draft of one ... The book offers suspense but nothing else.
