Gore Vidal used to deplore novels by American academics which were, he said, written to be taught rather than read. Now that every second novelist seems to be a professor, or assistant professor, of literature and creative writing, it’s no surprise that there are many more of these books, endlessly discussible, “multi-layered,” fantastic, clever, loaded with references to other, often classic, works, self-indulgent, verbose and far too long. Chigozie Obioma’s second novel is such a novel, one that will be manna, or meat and drink, to the professors, all the more so because it comes with charts of Igbo cosmology and the narrator is the “Chi” or “Guardian Spirit” of the hero. It begins with a “First Incantation” to “Chukwu, creator of all things.” There are subsequent incantations and many reflections on the role and powers of the “Chi” throughout the novel, and one finds oneself echoing Miss Brodie and reflecting that for those who like this sort of thing, this is the sort of thing which they will like; like a lot indeed, one should add. For those who don’t, one can recommend only what Scott called “the laudable practice of skipping.”
