By the author of My Sister, the Serial Killer, The Baby is Mine - that I had access to in the German translation by Yasemin Dinçer, as audiobook read by Markus Bachmann, is a concise work of literature, with subversive plots.
Set in Lagos, Nigeria, in the eve of the Corona lockdown, it reiterates an old Biblical story in the chaotic context of 2020. As the pandemic was not enough, Bambi, a local playboy is threw up by his boyfriend ending up by his auntie Bidemi. Shortly, there is a baby added to the list of residents, Remi, whose maternity is contested by two women. Paternity is not relevant at all for the story.
The baby has no idea how much fuss is made around him for winning him as a part of a new family.
I enjoyed the diversity of characters and of the plot turns, all taking place in a relatively limited amount of words. Braithwaite´s talent in creating a story in a journalistic style which has a realistic touch in a completely fantastic realm. Out of a mundane story, she created a tale which although takes places during the pandemic and in Nigeria, has a lot of universal features.
The novella was written for the Reading Agency´s adult literacy initiative, a British project aimed at encouraging adults, with or without learning deficits, to approach literature and books. The German translation makes it into a good reference for those looking to improve their language skills while listening to an interesting story. When you are really bored by all those language lessons and nonsense sentences from the language learning books, such an immersion is very useful and helps advancing the language skills.
I can only wait more books from Braithwaite as I adore her style. I really do.
Rating: 3.5 stars
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