Customer Reviews

Chike and the River

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Being a Nigerian myself,I read this book when I was 10 years old and found that the author understood perfectly what it means to be a child and to want something that appears unattainable.In my case,it was not a deisre to cross a river but to become every character I read about in a book.Chike's river typifies all our aspirations and his adventures will help children everywhere to decide if taking that next step could lead you to an experience that you can't handle on your own.Delightful little story.

This is a story of an eleven year old Nigerian boy (Chike), who moved from the village of Umuofia to live with an uncle in a big Nigerian city (onitsha).

While in onitsha, Chike experienced the urban city life (quite a difference from the village he had left behind), he attended school, made friends, and became fascinated with crossing the river Niger on a ferry boat.

Chike did not have the money required to pay for the ferry boat ride, and so, he tried to raise the money in some strange ways, like going to seek the services of a money doubler, washing cars, etc. He was defrauded by the money doubler (chandus the magician), But was able to raise this money through washing cars and his dream of crossing the river Niger was finally fulfilled.

This is a childrens book, you will not be bored reading it if you are an adult, it is very explanatory, short, and easy to understand. Achebe takes you into the life and thinking of a little African kid, and what it is like to grow up young in Nigeria, you may find yourself revisiting some of the very funny chapters, excellent book.

This book gives an excellent account of what it's like to be a young child living in Africa. It also can help teach children about the consequences of crossing the boundries that adults give them. The book is very descriptive and a fast read.