Loveable characters? No
Strong character development? No
Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Lightseekers by Femi Kayode
1.0⭐😣| challenging - dark - slow-paced
‘Surely people can’t believe so much nonsense without at least trying to know where it’s coming from?’ Folake asks with exasperation.Book Quote:
‘People are generally more likely to go with popular opinion than dissent. It’s not unique to Okriki, I answer drily.
Chika kisses his teeth with irritation. ‘But this town takes the cake. Everyone’s on edge. Always ready to believe the worst of each other.’
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Book Review:
Immediately, I had my doubts about this book. Like from the first page. Readers, Phil was not a likeable character in my opinion. And by the end, I still didn’t like him. But that’s just one of my issues with Lightseekers.
The premise is that a crime psychologist(?) is asked to go and get answers the horrific and public killing of three university boys in Lagos community. Phil remains active and committed to his tasks of getting answers but the blatant disregard for the truth, lack of cooperation, stalling techniques and intimidation he faces in this town will make your blood boil.
I would not fully categorize this book as a crime/mystery. Mystery gives the impression that something is being turned over and investigated but Lightseekers felt like a DOA case for 80% of this book. Phil is actively going around looking for answers, yes. But every road block imaginable gets in his way. At a certain point I felt he was sent there on a fools errand when the person who hired him shows up, set on his own plan to deal with those involved with his son’s death by taking matter’s into his own hands.
Because even with the questions and pushing for information Phil does, it never actually gets him anywhere. Through him we and his inquires we learn that there is building religious tension between the Christians and the Muslims in the community. But we also learn that the community has been dealing with a lot of thefts in the area due to the rise of “cults” which really means gangs made up of university students. And all of this is on the back of years of political and civil unrest following the decolonization by the UK in the 60s.
All the players/characters besides Phil know more than they’re saying about this case. And I questioned Phil’s true investigation ability. He put blind trust into a lawyer who was not only related to people threatening him but also defending individuals being charged for the case. He spent most of his time analyzing people’s movements and demeanor but overlooked and was played by two people directly connected to the events that lead up to the boy’s death. Yes, he’s an investigative psychologist but psychologist is in the title. And he wasn’t a good one.
I realized that the author took the real life events of those young male victims as a psychological catalyst point to try to explain the actions of a community what did something horrible. And I didn’t like it. I was perplex with why we aren’t really getting reasonable answers, conclusions or motives and then I realized that there weren’t any; only speculation. Both in this book and in real life. If studying the socioeconomic, psychological and religious influences of a people so emotionally charged to commit to doing something so heinous, I feel the author should have focused on making a scientific articles rather than this book.
I feel my words are becoming harsh and cynical with this review. However, my intent is only to express creating an invisible mysterious and omniscient scapegoat who was the mastermind behind the cultural, religious and civil unrest in this story with psychosis the villain in the book was a poor and unethical decision. The elusive John Paul was a protective barrier created by a young boy being abused and that manifestation continues to exist after he was abandon by his mother and abused in a religious institution. His motives and actions were all stereotyped. And he was used to explain away all the rising tension within this community and the reason the boys were killed.
With the number of quotes in this book that Phil’s character has regarding his observation of the community and people in Lagos and even in the united States, on manipulation, intimidation and corruption I think even a cult or religious ceremony for those boys deaths would have been a better outcome. But by making this mentally ill individual–who takes his own life and those of the abusive monk–felt like a write off. And I really didn’t like that the police chief had a character switch in the last 15% of the book with no real reason. Nor the sudden victimization angle of the towns people who were “manipulated” and “influenced” by the fake social media post by John Paul. And I haven’t even touched on the anti-gay law details in this book. That could or could not have had an impact on John Paul who was sexually abused as a child and motivated some of his actions.
But I am not a psychiatrist , just a very passionate reader.
G. Jacks Writes (About Everything) 
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