Book Review: Othuke Ominiabohs’ Aviara Affirms His Place In Nigeria’s Literary Canon

In 2016’s Odufa, first time author Othuke Ominiabohs spun a disturbing tale of the toxic nature of love and the several ways that people who are supposedly in love turn around and hurt each other. At the center of the narrative, the title character and her paramour, Anthony Mukoro, two feckless souls who by the end of the story would have stretched readers’ willingness to empathize with their foolish hearts.

Aviara (subtitled Who will remember you) isn’t so much a direct sequel as it is an extension of Anthony’s medical and spiritual journey. Even when Odufa was the title of Ominiabohs’s debut, framing the story from the point of view of the male lead revealed where the author’s sympathies lay.

With Aviara, Ominiabohs doesn’t bother so much as Odufa- the character- is merely a footnote. Following the traumatic events of his past, twenty-five-year old Anthony repairs to his village, Aviara to spend some time with his parents. Suffering from a chronic medical condition, his health is deteriorating rapidly. On arrival, he finds that something is not quite right though as the once peaceful Aviara appears to be in the grip of a mysterious force. This may or may not be linked to the sudden death of his elder brother who passed away when they were kids. To make sense of the happenings, Anthony meets up with Zara another childhood friend and both of them embark on a journey unlike anything they ever expected.

Read the rest of this review on YNaija!