Book Review of A Broken People's Playlist

If you like short stories, you should read this!!! A summary is also included

Author of book- Chimeka Garricks

Hello everyone, welcome back to another blog post💃💃💃 I also wrote a book summary and it’s just below this review because I can’t have an entire book summary just sitting in my folders doing nothing. If you’re a lover of spoilers like me, you can go ahead and read the summary but if you’re not, just read the review and pass😅😅 This book consists of 12 stories which were inspired by songs and like the title suggests the songs and the stories were actually for broken people.

Some of the stories were written in a guy’s point of view and it was eye-opening seeing how some men think. In most of the books I’ve read, the protagonist is always a female so this was a breath of fresh air.

The stories were emotional and my favourite story would be the first, second and ninth one. I liked that the stories were set in Port-Harcourt, as it made me know more about the city and its people. I love Lagos but it was nice to read a story that wasn’t set in Lagos.

I’ll recommend this book to anyone who is looking for something new, emotional and engaging. If you’re a lover of books with short stories like Nearly all men in Lagos Are Mad by Damilare Kuku and The Thing Around your Neck by Chimamanda Adichie, you’d enjoy reading A Broken People’s Playlist🥰🥰 If you feel like knowing more about the book, just read my book summary. Deep down, I think I love reading sad and emotional stories and I really admire authors who write them❤. This book is a solid 9/10 for me. Well done Chimeka Garricks, thank you for choosing to write this.

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Yours in Love,

LamLam

P.S- I met Chimeka Garricks at the Ake Arts and Book Festival and I was really excited😅😅 It’s always nice seeing the authors of books you enjoyed reading.

Here’s a short piece about each story👇

1.     This story is about two lovebirds who never got the chance to properly be together. I did not see the ending of this story coming at all. I love how the story depicts how life can be sometimes- some things just don’t work the way we think it would.

2.     This story follows the life of a young boy who had a cheating father and a mother with a very hot temper. The protagonist is a music lover who creates playlists and works as a DJ. He got his love for music from his dad much to the displeasure of his mom. I loved the raw honesty in this story and I admire the author’s play with words.

3.      It tells us about an elder brother's love for his younger brother. Despite all what Dami did, Priye still loved him. It also reminds us that siblings can be so close yet so far, but as they say, Blood is thicker than water. This story was a bit sad as I wished Dami didn't end like that.

4. The story follows Ukela, a young woman with a late mom and an absentee father who was slowly returning to her life. Her daddy issues made it hard for her to be vulnerable emotionally to other men and as a result of this, she prefers being in a sexual relationship than an emotional one. She finally meets someone who likes her for who she is.

5. It follows the life of a military man and a young gay boy in Port-Harcourt. The boy was unfortunately at the wrong place at the wrong time. This is an honest narration of what really happens in Nigerian Military. The innocent ones are killed and the ones responsible don't face the necessary consequences. And thinking about it, it made me realise that a lot of young people have died for nothing in this country and would continue to die for nothing unless something changes. This was a really sad one though.

6. This is a very funny one. It's about the life of four friends where two out of the four wives decided to put a concoction in their food in order to allow their husbands stay faithful in their marriage. One of them won't have sexual arousal with any woman except his wife, the other one's mistress would start smelling like chicken dung to him. This story was so funny and I really liked some of the Igbo phrases. Cheating is not restricted to Lagos men, Port-Harcourt men are good at it too. Damilare Kuku would like this story👀👀 Just sayinnn😂😂

7. This is an emotional story about a waiting couple. The main protagonist thinks God is punishing him because he forced his teenage girlfriend to abort a pregnancy for him when she was four months gone. Eventually his wife gives birth to a son and the doctor who births his son is someone he least expects.

8. This is a somewhat painful story about a man who cheats on his wife and lived to regret that one decision for the rest of life. Though his wife never divorced him, she couldn’t love him the way she used to and that made him realise that he would never get her old self back. This story makes me ask these questions again, Is cheating actually a deal breaker in all relationships?? And can spouses still stay married to each other even after one of them has cheated?? Guess different people would have different answers. Tell me yours in the comment section

9. This is an emotional story on brotherhood. It talks about the bromance between two guys in which one of them later dies. This story really explains how those in a confraternity see the group as opposed to how those on the outside think it is. It also honestly explains the different types of grief experienced by people who have lost someone.

10. This is a short story about a boy who found out when he was sixteen that the man he had called Dad all his life is not his biological father. The main protagonist wants to be a footballer but was scammed by a man who claims to be a FIFA agent. The sad but funny thing about this story was that he had to steal money from his parents to pay this "so-called" FIFA agent. His biological father tried reconnecting back with him, but he was dead by the time JJ got to know about him. This story shows that every choice made by man has a consequence- good or bad. And life is too short to make stupid decisions.

11. This is a heart-wrenching story about a man who was raped at the age of seven by his family house-help. He is an alcoholic, has gone for rehab 13 times, wrecked his marriage and all his attempts at being sober failed till he met someone new. His outlook on life and how he lives is based on this unfortunate incident that happened in his childhood. The ending of this story was obscure but I really felt bad for him.

12. This is a sad story about a man who lost his wife to a ruptured brain aneurysm and a doctor who really loved and admired the couple. This story reminds us that death is inevitable and even though the doctor and the man's children tried to fill up his life after his wife's death, he had lost a part of himself.

If you read this, I hope you enjoyed reading🤗