Butter Honey Pig Bread by Francesca Ekwuyasi ( book review)

 

Francesca Ekwuyasi

Butter Honey Pig Bread, a novel

|ARSENAL PULP PRESS

Canada

292 pages

A prologue and 4 parts 

Queer African Literature, Queer Nigerian literature, Contemporary African literature.

Sister hood, love, food, sex, spirituality, friendship, queerness,African  immigrant life, art.

Francesca Ekwuyasi , in Butter Pig Bread Honey explores the story of three women, an ogbanje, and her three daughters, Kambirinachi, Kehinde and Tayie. She tells the tale of estranged relationships, Kambirinachi and her kins, Kambirinachi and her twin daughters, Kehinde and Tayie.

Years after the " bad thing" happens to Kehinde, and Tayie finds her way back home, the three women have to find a way to unite and love each other sans resentments and awkwardness. Francesca Ekwuyasi tells this tale with an expert blend of the past and the present. 

  Butter Honey Pig Bread, is perfect for readers of Chimamanda Adiche who are tasty for something new from the feminist icon and can't wait any longer. Although Francesca takes a progressive millennian turn, by writing in detail about queer love.

   Butter Honey Pig Bread,  enthralled, absorbed and enchanted me. It was like reading weed.( I have never smoked a joint in my life tho) 

 I dived in for two days and swam out mesmerised. Her writing style is elegant and sophisticated, her descriptions so detailed and beautiful. It was a slow read for me, but Butter Honey Pig Bread was the kind of book that stayed put in your head even when you were not reading it and days after you were done reading it. 

   A book shouldn't be about one thing according to Adiche and I loved that Francesca knew just that. The book  mirrored a lot of things from food to culture to queerness to immigrant lifestyle, gardening, feminism, identity to love.

It was pure bliss. 

I loved that the characters were interesting and so real. They were firm and whole.

This book gets a 17/20.

Although I am still wondering how an eight year-old knows he is non binary.

Anyways I'm listening to Fela's Expensive shit album because of this book.