Nights of the Creaking Bed

by Toni Kan

Nights of the Creaking Bed is full of colourful characters involved in affecting dramas: a girl who is rejected in love because she has three brothers to look after; a middle aged housewife who finds love again but has an impossible decision to make; a young man who can't get the image of his naked, beautiful mother out of his mind; a child so poor he has to hawk onions on Christmas day - and many others. Some, initially full of hope, find their lives blighted by the cruelty of others, or by being in the wrong place at the wrong time, or by just not knowing the "right" people.

Corruption, religious intolerance, gratuitous violence, the irresponsible attitudes of some men to their offspring and the importance of joy are some of the big themes that underlie this memorable collection.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction

166 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Brown Girl Reading · Rating 4 out of 5]

I highly recommend this short story collection full of twists and turns while taking me through Nigerian culture. The storytelling is engaging and never a dull moment in these stories. Left me satisfied at the end and that's rare for me with short stories.

[Kara · Rating 2 out of 5]

This collection of stories is misogynistic. There is so much devotion to the pain and suffering of women. Even worse is the sexualization of the female characters in a manner that clearly serves to only titillate male readers. No woman would ever write about female bodies or female pleasure like this. These issues are so glaring and make it difficult to enjoy the writing.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

http://maryokekereviews.blogspot.com....

[cozy tay ☾π · Rating 4 out of 5]

Toni Kan's Nights of the Creaking Bed is an amazing read, it is funny and encompasses all sorts of theme. Its one I would recommend over and over to anyone.

[Tom Mooney · Rating 2 out of 5]

A couple of decent stories but a load of dross as well.

[Literary Everything · Rating 4 out of 5]

The stories mostly focus on life in Lagos as experienced by the lower class. Most of the stories are jarring and uncomfortable to read as they highlight certain realities and taboos that one would rather not acknowledge or speak about. Read our full review https://literaryeverything.com/2020/0...

[Purpleaekua Bobson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved Nights of the Creaking Bed. It was a chance discovery that has become one of my favourite 2020 reads.

[Ayooluwa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection of short stories reminded me of 'Lagos Noir', because of it's depiction of the less-glamourous side of life. The stories are vivid and dark. There's a lot of violence: robbery, assault, and sexual deviance. Not for the faint hearted, but beautifully narrated.

[Diane Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

A number of short stories set in Nigeria by Toni Kan.
I really liked this book and the penchant of the author to tell taboo stories in a way that is both shocking yet pleasing

[Abdurrazak Maiwada · Rating 4 out of 5]

Free-flowing and fine imagination Nights of the Creaking Bed contains.

[Zaara · Rating 4 out of 5]

💗𝐁𝐎𝐎𝐊 𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐖💗

𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: ☆☆☆☆/5

Swipe for synopsis>>>

+ 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐞𝐲𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐨𝐫 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐩𝐫? 𝐲𝐞𝐬, 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐬 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐢 𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤. I can swear I never saw this one on bookstagram before. Have you?

When you see the covers of this book what comes to your mind is Lagos life, the crazy living, hustle and bustle of Lagos street, lifestyle and survival. Let’s not even forget our favorite book “𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐥𝐚𝐠𝐨𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐝". 😂 I wonder how a book can be so similar yet different in so many ways.
The story that start this book is my favorite. Other fav are:
+ 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐝
+ 𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐞𝐝
+ 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭
+ 𝐁𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐚 𝐒𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐞
+ 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐨 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 😂

Things I didn’t fancy very much :
+ how most of the stories ended.

Things I fancy very much :
+ 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫
+ 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞 💯




The use of humor had me rolling my eyes or smiling every min. Trust me when I see every story will leave you either shocked or hanging!!
Also I thought I’ll add that this review was written as I read this book and not after, as I usually do.😂 currently in chapter 2, I’m sure by the time I post this I’ll probably be in chapter 5 or possibly done and if I don’t post, it means the other chapters didn’t live up to expectations.

Toni kan has now joined my list of auto buy authors. This was a wonderful book💗

[Margaret · Rating 3 out of 5]

If there's one art form African authors have mastered and Nigerian writers absolutely EAT, it's putting together an anthology.
The only reason I'm rating this one this low is because it rang hollow on the depth of the characters, and relied on a disturbing trend of using trauma to advance the story. Sometimes, it didn't advance the story at all.
I get it, Toni Kan's stories are short vignettes of everyday(?) life in Nigeria. It's the book equivalent of everyone's cup of coffee.
But this author seems puzzled by what motivates people to do things, and he doesn't sound like he is interrogating that disconnect. He writes with absolute authority in the first person point of view, which leaves no room for flexible interpretations of why they do what they do.

[Jason · Rating 1 out of 5]

This reads like it was the product of a freshman writing seminar slapped together by someone who wasn't aware how much more work needed to go into their stories for them to meaningfully explore the themes they touch on. I am, to be frank, surprised this collection even got published. There are so many truly fantastic Nigerian writers out there--it's a shame this book might define some people's first impressions of Nigerian literature.

[Ifeoma · Rating 5 out of 5]

I truly want to fight Toni Kan for rough handling my emotions with this book. His writing is truly brilliant and fiction doesn’t even touch the hem of reality’s garment listening to the kind of hard lives people live in Lagos. I have lived in Lagos all my life and can attest that a replica of these collection of sad stories can be found in every nook and cranny in this city. I sincerely would have liked at least one story to have a happy ending but alas, this is not an Aesop fable 😩

[Kofoworola Emily (Read Till You Drop) · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were a couple of stories I liked, but I did not enjoy how much some of the characters suffered, although I guess that’s a part of the theme of the book. 

The common, almost casual, sexual violence/assault was what really made this collection not as enjoyable as I would have liked.

[Igho Ogbobine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a collection of short stories which will keep you dumbfounded. It took me on a rollercoaster of emotions. I am grateful for an opportunity to read this book. I would totally recommend it.

[Kehinde Deborah · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a very relaxing read, the stories felt personal. I found myself seeking solitude just to be able to continue read, you know how you want to mark a book as read but still do not look forward to it ending? That was how I felt.

[Muno ᡴꪫ · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did not find these stories particularly enjoyable. There were a few that interested me, but more often than not, I found myself either frustrated by the abrupt, unfufilling endings or bored out of my mind at the middling narrative. Would not recommend.

[Olawuyi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is beautiful. The various stories show different themes and many of them are quite funny. I really enjoyed this.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting short stories with various themes and some cliffhangers to keep you wandering. I enjoyed it and recommend it for a light, relaxing read

[Abdullahi Husseini Azeez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Am glad I read this

[Ama Darkoa A-D · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh how I loved these stories, as sad and heartbreaking as they were. There are barely happy endings, the stories make you sad and leave you hanging and wondering. The stories focus on the lives of the low class/unprivileged in Nigeria and how in their own quest for survival, are plucked off the surface of earth or not.
I enjoyed every one of them.
I loved the author’s style of writing, simple and light.
Would recommend!

[Dominic Bascombe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent short story mix

[Yo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the collection of stories but some were just freaking weird. Like Pololo’s story was really disturbing

[Osueke Chibuike · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of short stories featuring captivating plots and tragic endings that will leave you yearning for more.

[single pringle · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Abisola · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[cypher · Rating 3 out of 5]

this was one of those cases where i thought some details in the stories were interesting but i can't say i really liked them...

[oyin_reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was ok. Some stories were really sad, others inspiring and some good.

[Blessing Afolabi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many African short stories are captivating and make the reader understand different dynamics of life stories.