50books_poc | Monster by Walter Dean Myers, Arrow of God by Chinua Achebe (Reply)

Monster by Walter Dean Myers

This book is a young adult novel about a African-American teenager on trial for his role in a drugstore robbery. A man was killed in the robbery so Steve is being charged with murder, though his alleged role was only as a lookout to go into the place and see if anyone was there.

It is up to the reader to form their own opinion on whether he is guilty and what he is guilty of. The book is in script format, mirroring his interest in film-making. I found it compelling reading and would definitely recommend it.

Two more reviews on this community are here. (Contains spoilers) and here.

Arrow of God by Chinua Achebe

This book is set in Eastern Nigeria, about seventy years ago. It centers on Ezeulu, a priest of the god Ulu, and his family. The overarching theme is change and how people handle it. In the book some of the change is forced on the people by the arrival of white men. Ezeulu has to try to deal with it, even sending one of his sons to the white church and school to learn their ways.

The white British men were not caricatures, but realistic people who had been raised with racism and bigotry.

However not all the book is about the issue of white imperialism. One of the things I loved about it was the portrayal of Ezeulu's village's daily life. The stories people tell, the songs they sing, and the role men and women played in the culture are all lovingly detailed.

The characters, especially Ezeulu, are complex, with their good points and bad, and I quickly came to care about them. I would recommend this book highly.