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Bitter Leaf
Bitter Leaf is a richly textured and intricate novel set in Mannobe, a world that is African in nature but never geographically placed. At the heart of the novel is the village itself and its colourful cast of inhabitants: Babylon, a gifted musician who falls under the spell of the beautiful Jericho who has recently returned from the city; Mabel and M'elle Codon, twin sisters whose lives have taken very different paths, Magdalena, daughter of Mabel, who nurses an unrequited love for Babylon and Allegory, the wise old man who adheres to tradition. As lives and relationships change and Mannobe is challenged by encroaching development, the fragile web of dependency holding village life together is gradually revealed. An evocatively imagined debut novel from a promising new writer about love and loss, parental and filial bonds, and everything in between that makes life bittersweet.
418 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2010
11 people are currently reading
302 people want to read
About the author
Chioma Okereke
3 books15 followersChioma Okereke was born in Benin City, Nigeria. She started her writing career as a poet and performed throughout Europe and the United States before turning her hand to fiction. Her work has been shortlisted in the Undiscovered Authors Competition 2006,run by Bookforce UK, and in the Daily Telegraph's 'Write a Novel in a Year' Competition in 2007.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
November 7, 2016
I would've given this a 3 star rating because of how hard I had to force myself to get into the story, but the writing was so good and her expressions are so poetic, they're nearly flawless. I wasn't expecting this sort of story at all; it reminds me of "One Thousand Years of Solitude" in its magical realism. I wish more time had been given to the story of the twins though, it felt like there was more to be said about them and their relationship. Glad I finally got to read this.
March 14, 2020
Beautiful and very poetic novel of an imaginary village Mannobe. It takes a while to get into the story but then suddenly it unfolds and grips your attention. The novel is a lot about searching, looking for your destiny and trying to find out which part to play in life. Love relations are a big part of this. Okereke does a great job in painting the evolution the main characters go through, and as a reader, my sympathy with them shifted repeatedly. The story is also about rich and modern versus poor and traditional, development and money versus nature and wisdom. Great book.
March 15, 2018
3.5/5
Bitter leaf is poetic. Okereke words sang in my veins and my blood twerked to its melody. 😂
The story is about Babylon, a highly talented musician who made women of Mannobe village envy his guitar that got the strokes of his hands, hands they fantasized stroking them instead. Babylon love the women too, he was ready to stroke any woman he fancied with his deft hands, but when Jericho, a beautiful, strong willed, adventurous girl returned to the village after experiencing life in the city. Hearts were meant to lust and love, Lives were meant to abruptly change and the things that mattered most were meant to disappear right in the faces.
The story is further driven by forces embedded in complicated characters. Two twins, Mabel and M'elle, Mabel's daughter and Babylon's Ex -Magdelena, the wise man who ate little and spoke in parables, Allegory, and Daniel Dorique the rich guy who had Jericho's heart captured in his territory.
The plot of the story is familiar, a man finds love for the first time in something different from what his guitar produced and there are mountains, hills, and oceans to cross before he gets her but Okereke prowess lied in the effortless way she made a familiar plot riveting and captivating still.
I enjoyed the book, especially the first half but towards the end everything started to happen slowly which didn't go well with me since the story started at a pace that was quite good. I felt like a lot of things happened after the first half that were almost at the verge of dulling the spirit I had at the beginning of the read. Bitter Leaf is a good read still.
I'm looking forward to more works from her and I'm off to ask google why I haven't heard of this book and the Author, Chioma Okereke before now.
Bitter leaf is poetic. Okereke words sang in my veins and my blood twerked to its melody. 😂
The story is about Babylon, a highly talented musician who made women of Mannobe village envy his guitar that got the strokes of his hands, hands they fantasized stroking them instead. Babylon love the women too, he was ready to stroke any woman he fancied with his deft hands, but when Jericho, a beautiful, strong willed, adventurous girl returned to the village after experiencing life in the city. Hearts were meant to lust and love, Lives were meant to abruptly change and the things that mattered most were meant to disappear right in the faces.
The story is further driven by forces embedded in complicated characters. Two twins, Mabel and M'elle, Mabel's daughter and Babylon's Ex -Magdelena, the wise man who ate little and spoke in parables, Allegory, and Daniel Dorique the rich guy who had Jericho's heart captured in his territory.
The plot of the story is familiar, a man finds love for the first time in something different from what his guitar produced and there are mountains, hills, and oceans to cross before he gets her but Okereke prowess lied in the effortless way she made a familiar plot riveting and captivating still.
I enjoyed the book, especially the first half but towards the end everything started to happen slowly which didn't go well with me since the story started at a pace that was quite good. I felt like a lot of things happened after the first half that were almost at the verge of dulling the spirit I had at the beginning of the read. Bitter Leaf is a good read still.
I'm looking forward to more works from her and I'm off to ask google why I haven't heard of this book and the Author, Chioma Okereke before now.
August 5, 2024
‘Many things distinguish a place, its rolling hills or turquoise waters.’
This novel is set in the fictional village of Mannobe. While the village is not placed geographically, I assume (from other aspects of the story) that the setting is African. As the story opens, Jericho returns to Mannobe one evening, from La Ciuidad d’Angel. Her return is observed, both by Mama Abandela (whom hardly anyone notices) and Babylon, a gifted musician.
Over the next four hundred pages, we step into and out of the lives of Jericho, Babylon, twin sisters Mabel and M’elle Codón and Mabel’s daughter Magdalena. We will also meet Allegory, a wise old man, who observes tradition. There are other characters as well, each with a part to play in the various stories as they unfold.
What is this novel about? While it is mainly about people, their aspirations, fears, and their relationships, it is also about the changing village of Mannobe. There’s a little magic as well.
This is a slow read, and when I finished, I found myself wanting to know more about some of the characters, especially Mabel and M’elle Codón.
‘She understood then that all food prepared without love is bitter, and that no matter what she ate from now on, she would never escape the feeling of hunger.’
This was Ms Okereke’s first novel, published in 2010. After reading Ms Okereke’s second novel, ‘Water Baby’ earlier this year, I managed to source a second-hand copy from the UK. While this novel did not have the same impact on me as ’Water Baby’, I am glad I had an opportunity to read it.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
This novel is set in the fictional village of Mannobe. While the village is not placed geographically, I assume (from other aspects of the story) that the setting is African. As the story opens, Jericho returns to Mannobe one evening, from La Ciuidad d’Angel. Her return is observed, both by Mama Abandela (whom hardly anyone notices) and Babylon, a gifted musician.
Over the next four hundred pages, we step into and out of the lives of Jericho, Babylon, twin sisters Mabel and M’elle Codón and Mabel’s daughter Magdalena. We will also meet Allegory, a wise old man, who observes tradition. There are other characters as well, each with a part to play in the various stories as they unfold.
What is this novel about? While it is mainly about people, their aspirations, fears, and their relationships, it is also about the changing village of Mannobe. There’s a little magic as well.
This is a slow read, and when I finished, I found myself wanting to know more about some of the characters, especially Mabel and M’elle Codón.
‘She understood then that all food prepared without love is bitter, and that no matter what she ate from now on, she would never escape the feeling of hunger.’
This was Ms Okereke’s first novel, published in 2010. After reading Ms Okereke’s second novel, ‘Water Baby’ earlier this year, I managed to source a second-hand copy from the UK. While this novel did not have the same impact on me as ’Water Baby’, I am glad I had an opportunity to read it.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
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August 4, 2021richly texture and highly recommended.
August 8, 2021
This book is boring AF. The story goes nowhere and literally nothing happens.
November 4, 2012
I loved this book! It is set in an African village, we know not where, filled with loveably eccentric characters. It is whimsical, musical, magical and quite lovely.
January 22, 2017
It started off slow but I really got into the story in the second half, roughly around the 200s. I really would read a book about Jericho and Babylon.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews