Taduno's Song

by Odafe Atogun

The day a stained brown envelope arrives from Taduno's homeland, he knows that the time has come to return from exile. Back in Nigeria, Taduno discovers that his community no longer recognises him, his girlfriend Lela has disappeared, taken away by government agents, and all traces of his old life have been erased. All that is left of him are his own memories. As Taduno begins to unravel the mystery of his lost life he must also face a difficult decision: betray his love, or betray his nation.

Genres: Africa, Fiction, Nigeria, Literary Fiction, African Literature, Music, Book Club

240 pages, Paperback

First published June 2, 2016

About the author

Born in Nigeria, Odafe Atogun is a writer who draws inspiration from his African society to create a unique and colourful world where humankind is consumed by a common desire for change. World rights to his debut novel, Taduno’s Song, were acquired by Canongate, who published the UK edition in 2016. It has also been published in the US by Penguin Random House, in Nigeria by Ouida Books and translated into several languages. Taduno’s Song was selected for the BBC Radio 2 Book Club and has received critical acclaim. His second novel, Wake Me When I’m Gone, is out. Now a fulltime writer, he is working on a new book.

Reviews

[Diane S ☔ · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 A new author out of Nigeria, this is a simply told tale, almost like a fable, of a musician who is forced to leave his country because his music is turning people away from The President. When in exile he revives a letter that his girlfriend in Lagos has been taken by the government and he returns to his home with the mission of freeing her from the dictatorship. On his arrival he find he has been forgotten, by his neighbors and his friends, his guitars stolen from his house, leaving him with only the instrument he carries.

The difficulties of those in the arts under a dictatorship can definitely be drawn from this story. The power of music to change and reach out to the people. The amnesia and fear that people learn to live under in order to survive. As Taduno tries to find his girlfriend and make the people remember, as well as to find the voice he seems to have lost, he is presented with a moral dilemma. Does he betray all to save her, or does he betray her by not pursuing the terrible opportunity the President presents to him? I took this quote to heart and it captures much of what this book is saying, "When the music is silent, you hear the laughter of the tyrant."

A short book, quick read but with a powerful message.

[Fabian · Rating 4 out of 5]

In a similar--albeit less meta--fashion as J.M. Coetzee's novels about poverty and sadness, Atogun paints Nigeria in the tremendously dead colors of a Tyrant. Taduno's plight is discovered; the novel begins in a mystifying, confusing fashion. The steadfastness of the character remains with us, despite the very predictability of the novel's forlorn conclusion. Here is a significant voice in global literature, Odafe Atogun.

[♑︎♑︎♑︎ ♑︎♑︎♑︎ · Rating 5 out of 5]

The novel has the simplicity and lyricism of a folk tale and yet it managed to convey, so deeply, the numbness and defilement of human relationships among people living in corrupt authoritarian regimes. The bareness of the prose did not prevent me from experiencing this novel as a devastating indictment of state-sponsored violence. I was upset by it.

[Vartika · Rating 3 out of 5]

The brief, dreamlike narrative of Taduno's Song is premised on exploring the significance of the arts in times of peril—as potent but difficult to wield weapons for challenging despotic regimes.

Set in Nigeria, ostensibly during the military dictatorship of Sani Abacha in the 90s; this novel follows Taduno, a 'great musician' of the resistance (likely based on the pan-Africanist Afrobeat legend Fela Kuti) who is beckoned by a letter to return from exile into obscurity. Back in a homeland changed beyond recognition, he painstakingly endeavours to find his voice again, a voice potent enough to inspire the people to raise arms against their corrupt ruler. However, Taduno's true quest and motivation is to save his girlfriend, Lela, and we are ultimately plunged into a heroic tragedy of Orphean proportions.

Odafe Atogun writes his story in the style of a folk parable, touched with magic realism and rooted in the stylistic and moral simplicity of the oral tradition. Thus, the characters come off as uni-dimensional 'types'; with the hero a moral absolute out to save a damsel in distress and a nation from the grips of a near-demonic force; and the "show, don't tell" dictum doesn't hold. The writing may also come off as more awkward than poised when looked at through the general standards for western literary writing—Taduno's Song is better seen as an oral epic committed to writing.

Thus, while the story itself may seem like a bland, Gary Stu narrative, it uses narrative allegory to capture the realities of living under despotic rule—such as the erasure of public memory and the hope for resistance through the arts—fairly well.

Overall, Taduno's Song is a decent novel, but heavily rooted in context and best appreciated when read as that.

[Faith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an interesting fable, with some magical realism, about the power of music as a weapon against tyranny. It's also a book about having the courage to make difficult choices. A famous singer/song writer has been forced into exile because of his protest music. He returns to Nigeria and discovers that all memories of him and his music have been erased. His girlfriend has been taken into custody by the government to put pressure on him to make music in praise of the dictator. Taduno's story was very moving and the ending had a lot of impact. I would like to read more by this author. The narration of the audio book by Prentice Onayemi was very good.

[Jess K · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this up at the library because it had a pretty spine and it’s now one of my favorite reads this year.

[Stacia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I sat down & read this one in one sitting. It's a short enough book to do that &, in a way, I think that may be the best way to read this one.

It's almost like an allegory, a short morality tale, & a fable mixed together. It was a very good book, imo, simple yet thoughtful, exploring the themes of tyranny & the freedom (or not) to choose your responses. And, if you are choosing, do you choose the better for the individual or for the group? In that respect, it was quite deep as far as thought material & weighed heavily on my heart & mind. This particular tale is set in Nigeria & is apparently somewhat based on history there. Sadly, this kind of conundrum has presented itself way too much in the history of humans & continues to do so routinely to this day.

"His preparations complete, he paused to reflect on his experience as an exile, and he realized that it was far different from anything he had ever heard or read. In exile you live life counting the seconds and minutes and hours, allowing yourself to be consumed by ennui, as indistinct days roll one into another."

Part of the issue is that a famous musician who lived in exile for months to escape life under the military dictatorship of his country comes home to find that nobody knows him. It's like there is a collective wiping of memory, of free thought TO remember things. I think it's partly a survival instinct to look the other way, not "see" things anymore, not "know" things. Choosing ignorance in order to survive.

""I'm worried that it could be the rest of us who have lost our minds. I'm worried that a man who has lost his mind cannot be as sane as you are. You know so much about us, yet we know nothing about you. Is it possible that we are the ones who have forgotten the past? Honestly, I suspect that could be the case."

Similarly, later in the story...

"'.... We don't have anything to do with TK anymore, and we don't want anything to do with you and your guitar. When you find TK pass our message to him. We want to live our lives in peace, not pieces.'"

And those caught in a place where they work in a complicit manner to the oppressors, yet still have a conscience buried deep inside....

"And Sergeant Bello could take it no more -- knowing he was against the people, and on the side of evil. And he felt sad knowing that the same people he was against murmur not for their own good, but his as well."

and

"'Regardless of which side we are on, hope is universal. When you begin to hope, you begin to murmur against that which hinders you. And when you murmur, change is bound to come.'"

Again, the collective memory loss. Involuntary? Voluntary? Both? Erasing a culture erases a people.

"'And then they banned all record shops from selling my music. The army invaded the shops and confiscated all my records. They invaded my house, any house where my records could be found, and they seized every copy of my records. And they burned them all so that not a single copy of any of my records can be found anywhere today. I guess that was when every record of me was erased from your memories. I no longer existed because there was no way I could continue to exist without my music. My music was me, and they took it away from me. That was when I gave up the struggle and went into exile.'"

As our protagonist tries to find himself again...

"But all they heard was the faint music of his guitar. And they did not know that the reason why they did not hear him sing was because he was afraid to hear the sound of his own voice."

And later,

"What remained of Taduno's conscience died that day, and he sensed that only with the death of his conscience would he be able to sing beautifully once again."

Do you choose the individual or the whole?

"For a moment, he dwelled on Aroli's words. And then he asked himself: What is the real meaning of love? When is love a crime? He knew the answer to his second question. Love is a crime when you love one person at the expense of the whole world."

and

"'They can only kill her once,' TK said patiently. 'But if you praise the regime with your music you will be signing the death warrant of millions of people.'"

and

"'.... We must not select those to save and those to condemn to death in the fight against tyranny. We must learn to say "no" to tyrants no matter how much they hurt us. That is the only way tyranny can be defeated.'"

Lots of food for thought, but not told in a horribly explicit manner, if that makes sense. I'm am very thankful to have stumbled across this one.

[Lio · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is yet another book I wanted to like so much more than I did, but it simply didn't go anywhere, gave me no real answers, the characters lacked any depth, and the writing was terribly bland. Atogun definitely needs to check up on the 'show don't tell' thing, because, especially when it came to the music and emotion in this story, there was just nothing shown and everything told. We're simply told Taduno is a brilliant musician and his music is like magic and people's hearts melt over and over again, but I never really felt as though Atogun really knew anything about music or found a way to show this. I felt very emotionally disconnected from this book because so much of it didn't make sense, was unbelievable (I had to suspend my disbelief so many times, and I was never fully sure, even at the end, whether or not this was supposed to be a realistic book or not), was repetitive, or was just boring. I didn't really care about anyone in the story, and the only woman in the novel (Taduno's girlfriend) is literally presented as a delicate damsel in distress. Taduno himself is simply annoying. Taduno is the perfect Gary Sue. He's better than good, he's the wisest person there is, he can wallow in love and joy and happiness in prison with his music and touch the hearts of all his guards, everyone who meets him loves him, he has no discernible flaws, and really . . . that's not a person I can be interested or invested in, so this novel really didn't work for me.

[Lara Kareem · Rating 3 out of 5]

Holding the paperback of this book, you would think it's actually a long read, but it's not it's quite the short story. I decided to read this book and it didn't even take me an hour to finish it's so so so short.

The story follows Taduno's quest to release his girlfriend Lela from the corrupt hands of the corrupt government. The story has a cloudy flow to it, where there's a race against time feeling to it. For one, no one can remember Taduno, not even the people in power that are looking for him. Which makes it weird, why can't they remember him what magic is at play?

When Taduno plays music, it's like he is a wizard, because his songs have the power to mess with the emotions of people and make them listen to him or bow to his wishes.

It's a very fictional Lagos, Nigeria there isn't really much depth to the characters and the story is so fleeting and unfortunate, Taduno's fate isn't much of a good one, because he is entangled with the government and he can only have peace if he does as they say, but he knows in doing so he would lose himself.

I'm just glad I wasn't alive during the military regime in Nigeria and pray Nigeria never gets ruled by them again.

[Lesley Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a beautifully written book, it was like listening to a song in book form. It was captivating and magical, drawing you into Taduno's world. Uplifting in parts, but also extremely sad. Totally written from the heart. Could not put it down. Wonderful!

[Tony · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lying somewhere in the fable/parable realm, this brief Nigerian novel blends the Orpheus myth, the annulled 1993 elections, the reign of Sani Abacha, and the legend of Afrobeat legend Fela Ku,to illustrate the moral dilemmas faced by artists in despotic regimes. The titular guitarist-singer Taduno is stirred from exile by a letter from his imprisoned lover. Returning to Lagos, he finds that no one knows who he is, and the loss of his voice makes it impossible to prove his identity. Much wandering the city ensues as he tried find his producer friend, whom he's hoping can restore his voice. Eventually, he is faced with the prospect of either using his artistic talents to praise the regime, or let his lover die. There are a few interesting scenes scattered here and there, but so much has been written and filmed about the role of an artist in a repressive society that there's not much here that felt vital or fresh to me. I can't really imagine recommending it to anyone who's not a devotee of the latest fiction from Africa.

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Der Hintergrund von "Tadunos Lied" ist ernst, die Machenschaften des Dikators grausam. Taduno und seine Musik wirken dagegen wie Teile eines Märchens. Das macht es aber nicht ertragbarer, sondern verleiht der Geschichte Intensität und eine merkwürdige Leichtigkeit, die aber nie die Bodenhaftung verliert. Die Handlung wirkt manchmal etwas surreal, das Denken und Handeln der in dieser Diktatur unter ständiger Bedrohung lebenden Bewohner dagegen sehr lebensnah. Ich hatte beim Lesen oft das Gefühl, ein Dichter trägt diese Geschichte seinem Publikum vor, um Taduno ein Denkmal zu setzen. Ein wunderbar poetisches Buch.

[Caroline · Rating 3 out of 5]

A thoughtful story about the cost and possibility of resistance to corruption. There is an element of the fantastic, or magic. The style is simple and straightforward, but at the same time a little poetic. I was bothered by the richness of the male friendships as against the only female character being essentially nothing but a victim and the beloved, but would be willing to give this author another chance in future works that make it here.

[Shawn Mooney (Shawn Breathes Books) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Taduno returns to Lagos from exile and discovers that his girlfriend has been abducted by the police and that not a single soul recognizes or even remembers him. This surreal, folktalish gimmick felt off to me from the get-go; by the halfway mark, it had become downright irritating. Despite the great writing and the wonderful audio narration, I shall not continue. I bet I won’t remember that poor guy, Taduno, either.

[Lauren]

"Friends he had known since childhood claimed they didn't know him. He went round to houses of relatives scattered across the city. No one knew him, but they all agreed on one thing - he was a nice man who had lost his mind. They smile at him with pity."

From TADUNO'S SONG by Odafe Atogun, 2016.

#ReadTheWorld21 📍Nigeria

Taduno, a young musician, returns home after living in exile to discover that his family and friends have all forgotten him. Under the rule of a dictator, music has been banned and people he loves have been kidnapped and imprisoned. Taduno begins playing his guitar and re-gaining his voice... And his sense of purpose to fight the regime.

Atogun's debut novel is a strong morality tale, but also a love story of art and music, freedom of expression, and love of humanity. The fantasy component of collective memory loss echoed of Kafka's The Trial and Metamorphosis stories, and Atogun notes that while he wasn't familiar with Kafka when he wrote the book, he read his work later and saw the immediate parallels, and notes that "sometimes, it is possible to pay homage without realizing you are doing so..." I liked that Atogun never really explained the *why* of this collective memory loss - it added to the parable quality of the books.

Also 💥 love this cover design and illustration - incorporating that guitar (Taduno's "weapon") superimposing (or slicing?) the military dictator. Nicely done, Oliver Munday, noted artist on the Pantheon Books @pantheonbooks edition!

[Mandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A famous rebel singer and musician, much loved and acclaimed in his native Nigeria, goes into exile but then feels impelled to return when he gets a letter from his girlfriend hinting that all is not as it should be at home. When he gets back he discovers that no one recognises him anymore - he’s become a rather Kafakesque non-person. The country is Nigeria and ruled by a despot, but the power of his music presents a challenge to the regime and as the people begin to be influenced by and come under the spell of his music Taduno is faced with a stark choice. This is a deceptively simple story but a powerful allegory of resistance to oppressive regimes, and an original and moving story, well-written and well-paced and the portrayal of a totalitarian regime only too convincing.

[Charles Carlo · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Transcendent" is the word that came to mind reading this book, which in my opinion is absolutely brilliant! It evokes vivid memories of a not too distant era in the history of African nations. I highly recommend it.

[Naomi · Rating 3 out of 5]

GOODREADS GIVEAWAY WIN.

A lyrical mixture of quixotic protest parable and dark political fairytale, following some of the impossible moral choices faced by an artist living under the rule of an unnamed Nigerian dictator.

[Renita D'Silva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful and powerful, this story had an almost dream-like quality but with a string message.

[Greg · Rating 2 out of 5]

So we have this brilliant musician who can't write a song with two meanings? One that a tyrant would accept as praise for his government while at the same time the real meaning (hatred of tyranny) would be evident to those enslaved. Like the stupendously creepy "Every step you take, I'll be watching you" Sting song. I know, I'm not the author, but if I were...

[Swrang Varma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hammy translation work marred an otherwise fantastic, bone-chilling 'horror' story of lives transformed under an authoritarian regime where the dictator hates music and its ability to lapel-grabbing power so much that he bans all music and musicians speaking truth to power.

[Jacqueline Oestringer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Zitate:

"Er war mit einem einzigen Gepäckstück und dem Traum in diese Stadt gekommen, eines Tages zurückzukehren, damit er weiter dafür kämpfen konnte, sein Land von einem skrupellosen Diktator zu befreien." Seite 11

"Egal, auf welcher Seite wir stehen die Hoffnung gehört allen. Wenn wir zu hoffen beginnen, fangen wir an, gegen das zu murren, was uns einschränkt. Und mit dem Murren kommt die Veränderung." Seite 36

"Früher kannten sie seinen Namen; früher hatten sie ein Foto. Aber dann ist etwas passiert, etwas Komisches, an das sich niemand erinnert, und er wurde zu einem Mann ohne Namen und ohne Gesicht." Seite 37


Meinung:

Taduno floh vor drei Monaten ins Exil, da er in seinem Heimatland Nigeria politisch verfolgt wird. Mit seinen regimekritischen Liedern gegen den herrschenden Diktator, hat er diesen gegen sich aufgebracht.
Doch urplötzlich erreicht ihn ein Brief seiner Geliebten Lela, die ihm schreibt, dass es in seiner Heimatstadt immer schlimmer wird und er bleiben soll, wo er ist.
Leider bewirkt sie damit genau das Gegenteil, sie entfacht Tadunos Heimweh nur umso mehr!
Allen Gefahren zum Trotz, reist er in seinem Heimat, wo er feststellen muss, dass sich niemand -nicht einmal seine Nachbarn und engsten Freunde- an ihn erinnert!! Wie konnte das nur geschehen? Oder wird er verrückt?
Noch schlimmer trifft es ihn jedoch zu erfahren, dass Lela von der Regierung entführt wurde, um ihn in die Finger zu bekommen...
Trotz allen Ängsten und Gefahren macht Taduno sich auf, um das Liebste zu retten, was er im Leben besitzt. Aber wird er Lela wirklich befreien können?

Allem voran muss ich wohl sagen, dass es sich bei diesem Buch nicht um einen typischen Roman handelt, wie man ihn in der Regel in den Händen hält.
Es erzählt eher eine Geschichte. Eine Geschichte über Mut, Hoffnung und Liebe, aber auch unschönere Dinge wie Verrat und Angst. Das passiert in einem tiefgründigen, stellenweise poetischen Stil voller Phantasie und Bildnissen, der mir persönlich sehr gut gefallen hat.
Das sollte man vielleicht vor dem Lesen wissen, sonst fragt man sich vermutlich, wie Musik das Leben eines Landes verändern kann, oder wie es möglich ist, dass sich nicht einmal sein bester Freund an Taduno erinnert. Aber hey, zweifelt nie an der Macht der Musik ;)

Für alle die sich auf eine solche Geschichte einlassen, kann ich nur sagen, dass es sich wirklich lohnt, Taduno auf seiner Reise zu begleiten. Gegen Unterdrückung, Hass, Angst und für die Freiheit, Freundschaft und Liebe.
Ich empfand die Geschichte dieses Mannes, auf der Suche nach sich selbst, seinem Weg und der Lösung auf die Frage, was richtig und was falsch ist, als sehr bewegend und tief.
Sie hinterlässt auf jeden Fall einen bleibenden Eindruck und wird mich noch eine ganze Weile zum Nachdenken anregen! Wundervoll!

[Ivana · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bila bi jedna zvjezdica, no ipak moram priznati da djelo ima 230 stranica i kakvog god da je, trebalo ga je napisati. Krenula sam čitati knjigu otvorenog uma, jedino što sam znala o knjigi i piscu je ono što je pisalo na zadnjim koricama.

Ako je ovo trebala biti distopija pod tiranijskom vojnom vlasti - nisam ju osjetila.
Ako je ovo trebalo biti moderno nigerijsko kafkijansko djelo (pridjev koji se tako olako pridodaje raznim djelima) - nisam ga takvim doživjela, bez obzira na apsurd, jer većina apsurda podliježe nekoj vlastitoj logici, makar sama logika bila u tome da je nema. Ovo djelo ignorira logiku, no na traljav način pokušava objasniti (bajkovite) događaje koji se iznjedravaju kroz priču da sam par puta odložila knjigu, protrljala bjeloočnice prstima i duboko udahnula. Kod bajki koje sam čitala sam barem znala da su bajke i da će kraj biti ovakav ili onakav; ovdje sam se samo nadala da će cijeli Lagos zadesiti neka apokalipsa - bilo bi prirodnije.
Ako je ovo trebala biti kritika Nigerije 90ih i poluoda Fela Kutiju - da, vidim ideju iza toga, vidim i naznake humora, no to se nije uspjelo probiti od duboke naivnosti koja prožima cijelo djelo.

Odafe Atogun je unio toliko bespotrebnih likova u cijelo djelo, koje je uvodio i izvlačio na najčudnije načine i koji nisu pridonijeli djelu ni na koji način, da se pitam da je cijelo djelo samo Taduno kako hoda Lagosom, bi li imalo više smisla?

Očekivala sam barem malo živopisnije opise Lagosa, ne nužno kao grada, nego da osjetim tu afričku energiju, shvatim narod, njihovu izmiješanost, samu tu tiraniju koja se odvijala i koja je i dalje prisutna na neke druge načine. Očekivala sam puno više od ovoga što sam dobila. A tijekom cijelog čitanja imala sam osjećaj kao da čitam malo mračniji sinopsis filma "Coming to America" s Eddijem Murphyjem. A taj film obožavam. Ovu knjigu nikako ne.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me a little adjustment to get used to the style of this book. It's written like a fairy or folk tale - or maybe more like a legend, or parable. Once I imagined that someone was telling me the story out loud, I understood the tone. It is interesting that the setting is clearly stated to be Nigeria, but there are no other specific political details like the name of the dictator. Appropriately for a folk tale, this gives it a universal quality while still placing it in a particular culture. While the main character was compared to Fela Kuti in the jacket blurbs (one of the reasons I picked it up), there aren't many similarities beyond Taduno being a Nigerian musician who inspires a politically oppressed nation.

I liked the touch of magical realism - with no explanation ever given, at the beginning of the book everyone has forgotten who Taduno is. He is a well-known musician in Nigeria, but everyone including his friends and neighbors has no memory of him or their past together. Not coincidentally, this happened while Taduno had expatriated for an unnamed Western country. Only his girlfriend knows who he is, and her mysteriously delivered letters are his motivation for returning and taking action.

[Terry · Rating 5 out of 5]

My goodness! What an amazing book! Absolutely brilliant book! I inhaled it in one sitting!

As I sit here writing this review, I still have the fresh imagery of Taduno’s final concert as it were.

This book has evoked so much emotion in me. It’s such a beautifully written story that felt like I was reading one long beautiful prose cum fable. It’s an ode to love and the power it brings, even when the stakes are so high.

Taduno represents that soft, still voice in each of us. That conscience that sometimes gets seared by greed, selfishness, fear, or the vicissitudes of life.

Taduno’s song is the song of humanity, the song of selflessness and a reminder that the greater good, the Common Good, is, often times, our own death knell.

Taduno’s song is hope, it’s faith, it’s belief in the unknown even when the road is dark and narrow.

Taduno triumphed over evil and tyranny. May his song long echo in our hearts and minds!!!

[Fashnhat · Rating 4 out of 5]

I felt this was a 4.5 star book. It was engaging and difficult due to my own reactions to many current events. It is beautifully written in such a thrifty style.

[Aranya Iyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the most abstract-themed novels with down-to-earth and lovable characters. HEAVY with symbolism and surprisingly easy on the mind without the overuse of unnecessary words.

[Mab · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really didn't enjoy this, but it's not because it's a bad book. On the contrary, carefully formed, precisely written, and with a desperate intensity towards the end that could be moving. I just hate the style, which is that very tell-not-show style with admittedly fascinating and ancient roots, but also with no interiority or verve. If it's a historical artefact, I can just about enjoy it, but as a deliberate stylistic choice I tend to find its deliberate flatness irritating. So, not for me but could be for you.

[Ruth Wilkinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

More like a 2.5 but I'm being nice. I think this would have been an amazing short story or a more in depth longer book. It just doesn't quite pull it off as it currently stands. I like the style and the ideas, just wasn't delivered amazingly well at this length.

[Alexis · Rating 4 out of 5]

really enjoyed the folktale-esque atmosphere as well as the constant metaphors. made the book nuanced. also appreciated the moral dilemma of taduno, and thought that the end of his journey was fitting as compared to the alternative