Divisive and frustrating

This book has been hyped up as the ‘African Game of Thrones’, but it is more like 50 Shades of Grey for sadomasochistic gay men. Bad writing and a whole lot of sex.

I was very excited to read a fantasy book drawing upon African mythology, especially since mainstream Western society rarely considers Africa outside the context of colonialism.

What you actually get is a never-ending slurry of paedophilia, sexual violence, misogyny, genital mutilation, and self-hating homophobia. Every page has at least a mention of ‘holes’, ‘slits’, and ‘koos’. Half of one page is dedicated to describing the smell of a man’s anus.

I felt like I accidentally picked up someone’s dream journal where they scribble ideas to write a tacky fanfic on an obscure website chat thread.

The writing is basic and disjointed. There are many lines intended to sound deep and profound, but only come across as faux-literary.

Of course violence against the body is a worthwhile theme, when written responsibly. But in ‘Black Leopard, Red Wolf’ misogyny is only loosely challenged as a token gesture, and violence is not critiqued but used as sensationalist filler to incite disapproval and shock.

And how does this book represent Africa? As a violent hellscape where women and children are sexual commodities, and life is dispensable. Clichéd stereotypes abound, including war-torn soldiers, prostitutes, and cannibals.

If I didn’t know this was written by a gay black man I would think it was written by a homophobic racist white man on an LSD trip trying to come to terms with his suppressed sexuality.

Does ‘Black Leopard, Red Wolf’ obliviously reinforce negative stereotypes, or just represent African mythology in all its bloody glory no matter how ugly it may be? Perhaps both.

Some say this book is ‘experimental’, which I think is a polite way of saying ‘unlikeable’. Maybe it was the author’s intention to over-use violence to make me feel repulsed or desensitised? Perhaps the only smelly asshole in this whole thing is me?

The concept is creative and fresh, however overall ‘Black Leopard, Red Wolf’ is suffering severely from a lack of development and editing.

There are some worthwhile themes hidden deeper down. The protagonist is struggling with rejection by family, being denied a rite of manhood, the violent surroundings of a homophobic world, as well as transformation and identity. But these gems are lost under layers upon layers of smelly assholes and mutilated genitals.

If you are a psychoanalyst and want to read something raw you will get a kick out of this one.

For me, life’s too short to read a book I don’t like. Next!

0 out of 5 arsecracks.

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