Akin

Robin Murarka

Aydan has dreams that are proscribed by his tribe. He is sentenced to torture for this, but is set to witnessing his ‘brother’ suffer instead, and so he is filled with conviction that he must escape. What follows is a long distance trip that witnesses the fall of an empire.

This novel is aimed at exploring the extremities of the human condition. While Ayden is living these things, the reader struggles to understand what is going on, and that is part of the appeal for some.

This is totally literary fiction. I think perhaps I had forgotten exactly what that meant. It means high flaunting ideas in a not that logical order, for this novel at least. The text is not accessible in my opinion, and I had difficulty getting through it.

However, this novel did awaken questions in me. Those kind of deep questions that only bother you at night after you’ve finished reading. And that haunt you for days afterwards. In that respect it could potentially be very valuable.

Can I recommend this novel? I don’t think I can, to people who like similar things to me. But if you want a piece of fiction that is going to take you WAY out of your comfort zone, then this could be a novel for you.If you’ve enjoyed the reviews of novels I have studied during my university career, I have no hesitation in recommending it for you.

I received this novel free in time for a review before the Book Expo Australia event, but didn’t get around to reviewing it until very recently. Although I am somewhat excited that this event is happening (happened), their website is really poorly laid out and appears devoid of content.