Crying For Afronia

by MR Chris Statham

For Jacob, moving to Afronia means opportunity and love, but a terrorist attack could signal the end of everything he has worked so hard to achieve. A handful of politically connected elite families control Afronia, but for many, and especially rural villagers, the future holds nothing but poverty and despair. President Solomon's authoritarian administration has been mired in corruption, cronyism, nepotism and increasing fear ever since riding roughshod over Parliament. He has removed all checks and balances to his power, and he is neither accountable nor transparent in how he rules. Jacob comes to Afronia as a business consultant, and falls head over heels in love with a stunning Afronian work colleague. Thinking he has finally found peace in his life, his new world is suddenly shattered by the Independence Day terrorist attack which kills hundreds and sends the country into turmoil. Seeking the truth behind the attack, Jacob discovers more about the way Afronia works than he ever wanted, and what he learns could lead the country on the road to civil war. Crying for Afronia is a story of power, greed, love, betrayal, corruption and the quest to uncover the truth.

370 pages, Paperback

Published October 10, 2016

Reviews

[Courtney Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found "Crying for Afronia" by Chris Statham to be an enriching read. I was intrigued by the novel's premise because I have a degree in policy and I keep a diligent eye on the turmoil in our current political environment. As such, my favorite aspect of the novel and one for which I would like to especially applaud Statham, is his impressive undertaking in creating the nuanced, detailed, and realistic political ecosystem of Afronia. I also enjoyed the build-up and pace of political suspense within the novel. Given the range of major and minor characters, I will say that a reader could get lost if they are just breezing through the book and not paying full attention to the entrance and exit of characters and the various perspectives of the chapters. (I also thank the author for providing a summary of the characters at the beginning of the novel!) While Jacob is the main character, I appreciated the array of characters, many of whom are essential to the richness and impact of Statham's storytelling. As a woman of color, I further appreciate the honest portrayal of Jacob as someone who has his own weaknesses and flaws and who makes a sincere and thorough effort to better understand Afronia and knows when to defer to people who have more expertise than he has, rather than a one-dimensional portrayal of Jacob as a white male expat with a paternalistic complex. Overall, I would recommend "Crying for Afronia" to any reader who is looking for an intensive read about a political system in upheaval.

[Misse Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book for an honest review from BookTasters. What drew me mostly to the book itself was the artwork on the cover and the title "Afronia" which seemed interesting enough. The book opens and takes us into a world of complete political turmoil and broken government systems fueled by terrorist attacks, similar to what oftentimes is the dire nature of our current political climate: messy and devastating to all affected.

While the overarching story is about Afronia -- a place where only those who truly know and experience the regional and political intricacies, unseen to tourists -- it is also a story of contrasting themes: hope/despair, life/death, war/peace, centered around Jacob, who arrives to Afronia with only a modest understanding of the true peril of the people there. It is through Jacob's lenses, especially after becoming immersed in the heartbeat of all things Afronia, that we are able to truly see why most have lost faith.

There were parts of this book that I really enjoyed reading. Specifically the descriptions of the political systems and their inner workings. I thought the author did a great job researching and giving the reader a very detailed account. Because of the heavy political context though, sometimes, the book became really dry and I wanted to skip to the parts of the book where we focus on Jacob's journey.

Not something I would typically read but not a bad read either.

[Natomi Karkael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Political Turmoil and a Glimmer of Hope
Overall the story was good. I was intrigued by the descriptions of the country and the different social classes. I also enjoyed the overall plot of the story and the adventure. Some of it seemed disconnected and repetitive. I felt the author spent too much time talking about the issues that Afronia faced and not enough time talking about the characters’ lives. I wanted to see more about their personal histories, about how the political events affected them and how their lives changed as a result. I would have preferred it if the story was split into parts and then expanded and shown through Ali and Jacob’s viewpoints.
I was provided this book through Booktasters. The opinions expressed are my own.

[Becky Zales · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jacob has started his new job in Umoja City. He is a single guy, a bit of a player, just enjoying his life dancing at the clubs, drinking and dating beautiful women. Shortly after arriving in Afronia he starts to date Aisha and falls in love. On the weekend he is going to propose to her she is suddenly taken away from him.
Caught up in his investigation on trying to find out what really happened to Aisha and who is to blame, Jacob begins to understand why the people are crying for Afronia.

I received this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Naema · Rating 3 out of 5]

So I was given this book with the intent of an honest review. Here's what I thought about it.


The book was great really Chris has done a great job but I have given it a three star rating because this is a genre I am not used to reading and frankly speaking don't enjoy much.

I actually liked a few parts and the author even got out extreme reactions from at certain points like when describing the state of women in Afronia it was horrendous.

There were certain parts where I could hardly concentrate it was too much politically inclined that I felt like jumping a few chapters and get to the jest of the book.

I couldn't grasp certain points and a few parts just flew above my head. All the political talks and discussions being done in the book were those parts that didn't get all that attention.

The characters were strong and I pretty much admired Ali when he decided that something must be done to bring about change.I liked his POVs.

Though I didn't get which one was the main character and was pretty much confused when time lapsed. Like in the prologue to the first chapter 2 years passed by.

It did feel like a movie in which certain thing was happening at one place and the other at another place and the author was trying to catch what everyone was doing. Which turned out to be confusing.

I would say it was politically inclined and would be a great read for a person who is interested this genre and would appreciate it more than me.

Thanks Chris for writing this book. As is said in the language of library science "Every book and it's reader" I am sure this book would also find it's rightful readers or rather the readers would find it.

All the best with your future works. :)

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was offered an electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I wanted to give this book 3 stars, but I was held back by a number of factors.

First, allow me to say that the writer is talented. He does paint a picture of how and what the characters are, but the problem is that i feel the detail of who they are is simply painted on with little development of each character in terms of their depth.

I had a hard time maintaining attention to the content of this book throughout certain chapters because of how the book reads.

Lastly, It seems as though the author is writing a plot instead of a story, and it would make for an excellent movie if there was a little more detail added to the character content.

[Jamie Olson · Rating 1 out of 5]

Disjointed. If I had to give one word to describe this book I would say it is disjointed. The book reads like you are catching pieces of a movie, but not watching the thing in it's entirety.

The characters in this book are second to the plot. I cannot tell you who the main character in this story is because the author jumped from character to character. Consequently I formed no attachments to any of the characters and didn't even care when characters were killed or captured.

I also struggled with the author "telling" instead of "showing" so much of the story. An entire two month relationship happened in two pages. The dialogue in many conversations weren't included, we were just told they had happened. I felt like I wasn't being allowed to experience the story for myself.

[Mary]

Really weak.