I named you Patience because you took your time. Twelve hours of labor before you arrived. Can you imagine? There was no other name for you. Please understand that the same patience you had in my womb and the endurance I had the day I gave birth to you will remain our link.
Excerpt from Patience is a Subtle Thief by Abi Ishola-Ayodeji
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Patience, the main character in the book, grows up in a wealthy suburb in Ibadan with her father, half-sibling, and stepmother. From an early age, she questions her mother’s absence. She comes across a letter from her mother, which changes the course of her life.
In a pursuit to be reunited with her mother in America, she abandons her education, is estranged from her family, and gets into a life of crime to raise the money she needs to leave the country.
Chike, her boyfriend and a graduate of the School of Petroleum Engineering, is unemployed and forced to fend for himself by riding an okada (motorcycle). With a sick mother who needs an operation and mounting hospital bills, Chike is drawn into a life of crime that promises to pay him more than he would’ve made working in a corporate job.
In the end, Patience does manage to leave the country, but at the expense of her reputation, her future, permanent separation from her family, and the death of her cousin.
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Abi Ishola delicately addresses the themes of youth unemployment in Nigeria, the crime scene as well as the ends to which corrupt officials will go to stay in power.
I love that the author delicately addresses a predicament that has struck multiple countries as more youth are falling into the statistics of unemployment, after years of striving to get an education. Her book also addresses the themes of cross-border drug trafficking and abuse, fraudulent dealings in house and land sales, as well as drawing out of cheques from financial institutions, which most of the characters fall into.
I listened to the audiobook narrated by Liz Femi, who did a good job of capturing the characters’ different accents to paint a clear picture for the listener.
The book will make you think closely about the political and policy landscape and the plague gripping the unemployed youth.
Parts of the narrative drugged out a bit, but overall, this was a good, thought-provoking read.
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Do let us know what you think about the book in the comment section.
Cheers!