Book Reviews
Butter Honey Pig Bread, A MasterPiece? | A Review by Nnaemeka Nnam
Mar
Butter Honey Pig Bread tells the interwoven stories of twin sisters, Taiye and Kehinde. Their mother, Kambirinachi is an Ọgbanje who wonders if her unnatural choice to stay alive to love her human family was the best decision. Kehinde experiences a devastating childhood trauma that fractures the family. As soon as she’s of age, she moves away and cuts all contact with her twin sister and mother. Alone in Montreal, Kehinde struggles to heal, while building her life.
Plagued by guilt about what happened to her sister, Taiye lives a life of reckless hedonism in London, hoping to numb the pain of being excluded from Kehinde’s life. After a decade of living apart, Taiye and Kehinde return home to Lagos to visit their mother. To move forward, the three women must face each other and address the wounds of the past.
My bookstagram besties have been recommending this book to me since last year. They kept calling it a ‘masterpiece’ and over the weekend I decided to give it a read.
In Butter Honey Pig Bread, the writer’s voice was very original, conveying strong language control. I particularly loved how she conveyed the different personalities of her characters when she switched POVs. This is particularly important because the singular “We” narrates the story, yet it feels very different when it switches to Taiye or Kambirinachi.
Secondly, Butter Honey Pig Bread spans multiple generations, three to be precise, and I liked how the story unfolded concurrently. Although you know you are in the past, it feels like the present because the actions of the past are intertwined with the present. Every time the book switched timelines, I felt a sharp pain in my chest because, like most people, I like familiarity. However, it doesn’t take a page for me to be deeply involved in the new timeline. I would love to ask Francesca questions about how she wrote and intertwined the timelines.
Thirdly, I love Igbo cosmology, although I am not very spiritual. I believe in things like Chi, Ogbanje, etc., and that we had thriving realities before the white man erased them. Of course, it’s difficult to prove. But we don’t necessarily need to prove them. Things are true, whether we believe them or not. I love how Butter Honey Pig Bread Depicted that.
This idea that one must cancel out the other is baggage that came with capitalism, and we must let go of it. I know the dynamics of the Ogbanjes in this book are fictionalized, but I love that they reflect something real. I love how Francesca depicted the Kin. It was similar to Akwaeke’s Freshwater, and the writing had that compulsiveness to it; you literally can’t put it down.
Fourthly, relationships are one aspect of our humanity that still manages to shock me every day. I love how Butter Honey Pig Bread explored some very complex relationships, such as the one between Kambirinachi and her mother, the one between Kehinde and Taiye, and the one between Salome and Taiye. I am particularly attracted to the last one because of the baggage it came with. I am a sucker for vulnerable relationships. I don’t think there is anything else to be than vulnerable in a relationship. I read the bonus Q&A section by Ouida Books, and I love how it answered some of my questions.
Finally, trauma is the rot that keeps festering inside us. We have all experienced some sort of trauma, and we carry it without realizing the weight of that baggage, especially to people we love. I was not a huge fan of Kehinde and how she reacted, but sometimes with pain that cuts so deep, the only thing you can do is hurt others. It was important for Kehinde to hold that grudge. It made life bearable, and it made things easier having someone to punish. I’m not saying it’s right, but without that anger, she didn’t know who or what she was. My darling Taiye, I can’t count how many times I wanted to hug you, for being strong and for being weak. I wish we lived in a world where we are encouraged to be human, and that can mean being a shield and also a defenceless prey. I learnt so much from Taiye and I think she will stay with me for a while.
Also, I learnt a new word “Anemola,” which means nostalgia for a time never known.
There were a few things that didn’t quite work for me in the book. I found it difficult to connect with the beehive experience, as it felt foreign to me. However, I appreciated that it served as a tool in Taiye’s relationship.
I felt that Farouq wasn’t fleshed out enough for me to get a real sense of his “personness” if that’s a word. Although I understand why this wasn’t a priority in the story.
I couldn’t help but wonder why Timi didn’t join the book from the beginning. I loved his character!
They say that a well-written book always leaves you wanting more, and that’s exactly how I felt when I finished Butter Honey Pig Bread by Francesca Ekwuyasi. I have a strong attachment to fictional characters, and when they leave, I feel a sense of loss. It’s like they were real people who lived in my head, and now they’re gone. I can already imagine myself thinking about the characters in this book from time to time.
In conclusion, Butter Honey Pig Bread is nuanced work of art that forces you to examine some deep questions about love, relationships and trauma and by the end of this book, you are completely transformed. It is a book that will stay with you for a long time.
I highly recommend Butter Honey Pig Bread to everyone interested in African fiction or fiction centred around Igbo cosmology. It’s a true masterpiece, and If you’re into books about Ogbanjes, you’ll definitely like this one.
About The Writer: Nnaemeka Nnam is a Nigerian writer and bookstagrammer. Nnaemeka wants you to embrace love, sadness and joy as they come. When they are not obsessing over books on Instagram, they are wishing upon a star.
