Love in Color – Bolu Babalola

Genre: Afrolit romance
Reading time: 1 day
Pages: 290
Theme: Love
Rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Time was constructed with love in mind. It is why a day with your loved one can feel like an eternity on turbo-speed. Achingly, deliciously slow, but too fast, over too quickly. Time and love are intertwined, they are both measures of life, they are the two clocks. And for love to operate as it should, it is imperative that the timing should be right.
~ Bolu Babalola, Love in Color

The book is divided into thirteen different chapters and each chapter is an unfolding story of a particular character. I must say, I’m such a sucker for love. Some call me a hopeless romantic and if ever there lived a black female cupid, that would definitely be me.

This was the first book I was reading that encompasses vivid narrations of love for people of color, and I must say, Bolu did an amazing job in portraying the richness of the African culture, as her characters entanglements unfold.

Bolu’s captivating narration of these fictional tales of love from across the continent will definitely have you ogling over the pages to know what happens to the deep interconnectedness of the characters as each love story evolves. I loved her style of writing and her intense imageries that will absolutely have you feel physical proximity to the characters, as you witness their happenstances, from a wall or tree nearby.

I must say however, the book tends to get monotonous at some point because you can almost predict how each story will end but, I guess its Bolu’s ingenious settings of these various stories that will re-captivate your attention back to the major theme of the book.

I also thought that it would’ve made for a better book if she focused on one character’s story and built on it through out the book to create a form of continuity in the plot so that it didn’t get very repetitive. However, in her Author’s note, she states that each of the stories and each of her characters stems from ancient folklores and tales from across the continent and thus, they are all special in their kind, which does make a lot of sense.

My favorite story/chapter in the book, however, was that of Siya. I felt like this was a recreation of Pocahontas/Black panther with all the fighting between the villages, the chiefs and ancient leaders preserving their customs. I loved the setting and how Bolu drew us into the depth of the jungle in the village of Wagadou, having Siya as the commander in chief of the armed forces. This had me literally jumping through the trees with the characters as an observer of the combat!

Anyways, incase you’re looking for a nice way to wind down your week this February, Bolu’s Love in Color is the read you need to get you into the love month!
If you’ve read the book, please let me know what your thoughts are about it.

Cheers.