Genre
Magical Realism
Setting and Context
The stories are largely set in contemporary Nigeria, primarily in urban settings like Lagos.
Narrator and Point of View
The stories use a mix of first, second, and third-person points of view. For instance, in “Manifest,” the story is written in second person.
Tone and Mood
The tone is eerie, melancholic, and foreboding. The mood is increasingly tense.
Protagonist and Antagonist
In the stories, the protagonists face internal conflict against unseen or supernatural forces as antagonists.
Major Conflict
The conflicts revolve around personal struggles driven by loss, guilt, or cultural expectations. In “Masquerade Season,” Pauly’s conflict lies in the tension between preserving the masquerades and his mother’s need to use their materials for her work.
Climax
Each story reaches a moment of emotional or supernatural intensity. For example, in “Breastmilk,” the climax occurs when the pressures of motherhood and infidelity overwhelm the protagonist.
Foreshadowing
In “Masquerade Season,” the strange behavior of the masquerades from the beginning foreshadows their significance in Pauly’s life. Their initial silent presence hints at the deep connection they will later claim.
Understatement
In “The Hollow,” Arit's description of the house as simply "ugly" downplays the haunting reality of the structure.
Allusions
The stories frequently allude to Nigerian folklore and traditions.
Imagery
The imagery in the stories is vivid and unsettling. In “Masquerade Season,” the masquerades are described in rich detail: “The feathers are blue and purple and red and yellow and pink, as if all the birds of the world have donated feathers for this purpose.”
Paradox
In “Breastmilk,” the protagonist paradoxically feels envy toward an inanimate object, as it succeeds in feeding her child while her body fails her: “I am envious of a plastic bottle.”
Parallelism
In “Manifest,” the gradual unraveling of the protagonist's sense of self parallels the diminishing boundary between the living and the dead.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
In “Contributions,” the term "esusu" is a metonymy for a system of monthly contributions similar to a credit association.
Personification
The masquerades in “Masquerade Season” are heavily personified as they move and communicate as living entities.
