The Fishermen’s Ongoing Captivation
Novels have long been a strong tool for conveying messages as well as describing current events and/or recurring themes. More specifically, novels can be used to describe morals learned, convey perspectives on political, economic, and religious issues, or even display parables for the future.
The Fishermen is a novel written by Chigozie Obioma that encompasses several themes including kinship, trust, and the value of societal beliefs and cultures. In brief, this novel is set in Nigeria throughout the 1990s during an era that some believe was marked by corruption under the rule of General Sani Abacha. The novel takes place from the perspective of a young boy, Benjamin, who has three older brothers. Together, they are raised by upper-class parents who urge their children to pursue higher education, as they believe the best way to a higher standard of life is this path. But with the introduction of a very alarming idea, it eats away at the brothers’ mental health which later proves to be much larger than just words and is the main centerpiece at which this novel works around.
It begins with the boys’ father, an important figurehead, being transferred for work. While their mother remains busy, the boys are left no longer confined to the prior ruling that they were used to. With this newfound freedom, the boys decide to go fishing, against their parents’ wishes, in what was seen as a forbidden river. With their father being gone, they felt “the instrument of caution snapped like a tired tree branch. Then we broke free,” similar to the state of Nigeria under General Abacha’s rule. This is one of the many examples of how connections to real-world events can be found throughout the entirety of the novel. While fishing, the boys unexpectedly catch large fish and are overjoyed by their accomplishments. This area of the novel builds the foundation for what is soon to come. The boys enjoy brief fortune but will soon face the complete opposite. As they prepare to go back home, they are approached by what the novel refers to as a “madman” and a self-proclaimed prophet. His name is Abulu, and some believe he can predict events of the future. Abulu calls to Benjamin’s oldest brother, Ikenna, prophesying that he will be killed by a fisherman. Although the brothers collectively attempt to ignore this, they eventually find that this begins to grow on them, particularly as an eerie string of bad luck progresses. This includes their mother’s hospitalization and their father displaying less composure than what he possessed in the early stages of the novel. This provides a contrast to the boys’ earlier good fortunes, providing interest to how these characters, who are easily likeable due to the readers susceptibility to relate with, will face their problems.
Simultaneously, the brothers begin to display an uncharacteristic sense of mistrust for each other, as each is on edge about Abulu’s words to Ikenna. This burden weighs particularly heavily on Ikenna who, despite what his outward appearance is showing, begins to lose his sanity. This component adds a particularly interesting theme to the novel in how quickly things can unravel for a previously stable unit. In this case, it refers to the family and the brothers, and how they were all very close at one point, but now struggle due to a completely unproven — but in their minds, very believable — idea. This could also be extracted to as yet another connection to real-world events. In this case, it connects with the state of Nigeria at one point in time, which some could describe as previously very stable before. But the introduction of corruption, or Sani Abacha’s rule, easily changed the stability of what once was a solid and strong country. As such, anyone can extract self-applicable takeaways from this theme, as unfounded ideas, corruption, and manipulation can introduce significant challenges to any family or relationship regardless of how strong the bond is.
The Fishermen is an interesting novel that has various cultural, societal, familial, and psychological components and how each of these themes interact to perfectly convey key concepts that Obioma wants the novel to shine light on. In this case specifically he may have been recounting personal experiences or larger thoughts based on his own experiences, as he is Nigerian born and raised, particularly throughout the era in which the novel takes places. As Benjamin stated, “I have now come to know that what one believes often becomes permanent, and what becomes permanent can be indestructible.” Meaning, he witnessed the trying times of corruption of the present time and knows what it’s like to experience the transformation from compatible to corrupt. Knowing this, he is able to provide the readers of a unique perspective in which he conveys through a character’s personality changes within a story.
While the novel does hold some questionable characters and scenes within, the storyline as a whole is captivating and it’s easy to get lost within the words. The ominous beginning makes headway for a very interesting plot in which Obioma uses the characters and key roles almost to perfection. It is apparent when delving into and between the lines of this novel that Obioma is no stranger to the finer works of literary arts and knows how to grab and keep an audience. The novel is entertaining and thought provoking. In the early stages of the novel, it presents itself as a mystery, but as the novel progresses it only entertains the reader the more they read and ends up thrilling the reader more than mystifying them. The way that Obioma takes concepts from his personal experiences and childhood and expands them to the most extreme storyline possible is more than exciting to spend the time to delve into.
When analyzing the entire body of work, The Fishermen presents several components that make it a strong novel for most readers. It introduces that power of manipulation as a tool for undoing stability. At the surface, this comes in the context of a setting unrelatable to most readers — remote, foreign village with elements of “magic” or fables. But in a broader sense, everyone can take away the understanding of the power of corruption for vanquishing happiness or relationships in their own relationships. As a bonus, the reader learns about a specific important era in a country with a rich history. The Fishermen is therefore a powerful and relatable novel for almost any type of person to enjoy.
