Nearly All the Men in Lagos Are Mad

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It is once again the man who gets to feel guilty after finding out she is no longer a virgin like he hasn’t been sleeping with her best friend the entire time. Again like all the books I read by Nigerian female authors, the book has a nice warm Nollywood feel. Nearly All the Men in Lagos Are Mad is a collection of twelve short stories featuring characters with unique voices and stories that represent the diverse class, gender and ethnic melting pot that is Lagos. The forever downtrodden and humiliated wives/girlfriends take their revenge and we hear about all kinds of horrible things the men do.

The dialogue is snappy and filled with witty banter, creating a lively rhythm that keeps the reader hooked. That's the opening line of the book and through it's 12 short stories you're led through one experience after another of women from all walks of life being shown pepper and how they managed to make pepper soup or shito! Femi is not the only male character who is dubious, there is the male protagonist in ‘Just the Tip’ who cheats on his partner with her best friend just because she wouldn’t have sex with him outside the confines of marriage. Undoubtedly these characters represent some real life bad actors but the humor and sharp wit and downright absurdity of this collection raises it to four stars. The stories were easy to read but the sex scenes seemed forced to me and I found them unnecessary at some point.There’s a story of a young lady who tries to find her oyibo soulmate on the streets of Lagos; another of a pastor’s wife who defends her husband from an allegation of adultery; a wife takes a knife to her husband’s penis; a night of lust between a rising musician and his Instagram baddie takes an unexpected turn. Even her in-laws who know that the marriage only exists because Amos raped her, still accuse her to be a witch who wants to kill her own son. What is also remarkable about the book is that the stories are not told solely from a female perspective.

This book depicts the hazards of attempting to find enduring love and friendship in Africa's wildest metropolis with humour, wisdom, and empathy that will prove universal and informative. The collection starts strong with a witty story that adds a touch of sad shame, but that story gets the reader invested and you are already priming yourself for more.As a result, the very proponents of this culture, the new generation, are trapped in a cycle of hurt, uncontrolled lust and distended emotional capability. Meeting him again must have brought back the memory of the seemingly pedophile act that closed her off to having anything to do with him as an adult. You liked me so much I had no choice but to start liking myself, to start acting respectable, like someone who had something special waiting for them back home. A collection of short stories, structured as case-studies, and a form of love letter in solidarity with the women who have survived romantic relationships with men in Lagos…. She masterfully skewers societal norms and exposes the ridiculousness lurking beneath the surface of everyday life.

As a woman of African origin, I've heard all these crazy stories about men betraying the women they claim to love and respect.

I also found it amusing how you can pretty much replace Lagos with Lilongwe and the message remains the same. A compelling read, but it gets two stars less from me: one for the use of "Nigerian English", and a second for a thoroughly misleading book title. Worthy of note is that the lady in the story is another exception to women possessing these madness-propelling characters. I finish all my books because when it comes to books I am optimistic, it may surprise me or end up being good ,there's always light at the end of a tunnel but this book, My very first DNF crushed that hope. From the story of a deceptive hookup girl to a woman who carries on wickedness from her teenage years into adulthood.