Easy Motion Tourist by Leye Adenle: A Review

Three different people nudged me in the direction of Leye Adenle’s tremendously exhilarating book and I gleefully acquiesced for a number of reasons, the top one being that the story is set in Lagos and I am, without apology, extremely partial to stories set in my home city.

I was not disappointed.

Near Matori, on a street on Palm Avenue, beside stagnant black water in an open gutter, people sat on metal chairs, drinking beer and eating Fish pepper soup. They were shouting to be heard over loud Fuji music playing from a speaker hung over the front door of the beer parlour.  

You feel, smell and taste the city of Lagos with an unforgettable intensity. The energy that hits you from the first page stays with you through every plot twist and turn. This is a powerful tale that highlights the vicissitudes of the human existence in the city of Lagos. I was particularly impressed that the one of the key protagonists for this gritty narrative is a woman. In Amaka, Mr. Adenle has created the archetypal Lagosian female who recognizes that the city is unsympathetic and unforgiving to lassitude and you have to either be a part of the fast-paced life or be consumed by it. Easy Motion Tourist pays homage to Lagos from different angles taking in the beauty and the gore. Mr. Adenle’s writing style is unpretentious and direct. There is no sugar-coating of the reality in this one, he tells it like it is – the good, the best and the excellent…and then he leaves you wanting more.