The Famished Road by Ben Okri - A Tale of Spirits and Struggles
Set in an African village, Ben Okri's novel follows Azaro, a spirit child with powers to see the future. As he navigates his mystical abilities and encounters malevolent spirits, Azaro faces financial struggles and political unrest in his community.
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African Literature (Advance) The Famished Road by Ben Okri UNIT 3: THE FAMISHED ROAD BEN OKRI Summary Set in an unnamed African village, Nigerian author Ben Okri s novel The Famished Road (1991) tells the story of Azaro who is a spirit child or abiku, a term used to describe a child who is destined to die before reaching puberty. A highly acclaimed work, The Famished Road received the prestigious Man Booker Prize for Fiction and inspired the 1995 Radiohead single, Street Spirit (Fade Out). From a very young age, Azaro and his family know he is a spirit child. His powers manifest in a number of ways, including vivid dreams in which he can see the future. Azaro frequently sees spirits interacting with the material world. These spirits beckon him to leave his body for long periods of time, during which Azaro appears to be dead. In fact, on one occasion he woke up in a coffin after his parents thought their son had died. There is a spiritual ritual designed to sever a child s ties to the spirit world, but Azaro s parents cannot afford it.
As time goes on, Azaro grows to understand more about his power. One day, he has a premonition that prompts him to flee his family s compound, causing his parents to follow him. Moments later, the compound erupts in flames. After being captured by a group of priestesses who hope to harness his power for themselves, Azaro escapes to the home of a police officer. There, he sees the spirit of the officer s dead son who attempts to possess Azaro. Fortunately, Azaro s mother arrives just in time to rescue her son. As the family continues to struggle financially, Azaro makes friends with local bar owner Madame Koto who often feeds the boy when his parents can t afford food. After Koto hangs a magical talisman known as a fetish above the doorway to her establishment, Azaro notices that it attracts all manner of grotesque spirits
After narrowly escaping capture by the spirits, Azaro gets lost and comes down with malaria. After finding his way home and making a full recovery, Azaro steals the fetish, which causes the spirits to pursue him. After managing to lose his pursuers, Azaro buries the fetish, hoping to banish the malevolent spirits. As election season begins, the warring political parties roam the streets in vans, blaring out propaganda from loudspeakers. When the party of the rich distributes tainted milk to the populace and people get sick, the villagers retaliate by attacking one of the party s vans, beating the men inside, and setting the vehicle on fire. Jeremiah, a local journalist who published photos of the incident is forced to hide out in Azaro s home to avoid party-affiliated men who want him dead. The political factions are more akin to rival street gangs than traditional parties, and supporting the wrong party can invite verbal harassment or physical assault
After Koto expresses her support for the party of the rich, the clientele in her bar becomes much sleazier. Before long, thugs and prostitutes begin to scare away many of her regulars. As Koto s fortune swells, Azaro s family slides deeper into financial ruin. During the rainy season, Azaro s ceiling leaks for two straight weeks, nearly collapsing. Despite this, the landlord raises the family s rent following a dispute with Azaro s father. The father copes by spending more time at Koto s bar where he gets into physical brawls over political disputes. Meanwhile, Azaro continues to be plagued by malevolent spirits, including a three-headed ghost who is angered by Azaro s refusal to follow him into the spirit world. One day, the spirits trick Azaro into smashing a blind man s window.
In retribution, Azaro s father savagely beats his son. Fed up with his father, Azaro allows himself to be drawn into the spirit world by the three-headed spirit. Once there, he angrily allows himself to become lost until finally, his parents manage to rouse him with the help of some herbalists. Azaro s father begins to channel his violence into boxing. However, while this is a healthier outlet for his anger than beating up his own son or getting into fights with thugs at the bar, he soon becomes obsessed and practically stops working altogether. Azaro s father christens himself the Black Tyger and begins to earn a reputation in the community as a popular fighter. Some of the Black Tyger s enemies bring in an enormous man called the Green Leopard to challenge him to a fight. The Black Tyger bets all his money on himself, barely managing to defeat the Green Leopard in a vicious bout. The Black Tyger narrowly escapes with his life, spending a few days in a coma, plagued by his own spirits. When the Black Tyger recovers, he resolves to run for political office.
The Black Tyger has one more fight at Madame Kotos, this time against a man in a white suit. After enduring blow after vicious blow, the Black Tyger pulls off his opponent s suit, revealing a grotesque, terrifying spirit. As the crowd recoils in horror, the Black Tyger knocks out the spirit and returns home, badly beaten. He sleeps for three days, battling other spirits in his head. When the Black Tyger wakes up, having defeated the forces of evil, Azaro is finally at peace, no longer tormented by spirits himself. The Famished Road is a hallucinatory story with striking imagery of both the spirit world and the real world.
