Please note that this review contains spoilers.
Barter is an emotional read that is clearly not for the faint of heart. It will have you invested from the very first chapter and turning the page as you hunt for more and more information. The story tackles mythology from a unique standpoint, telling a tale of a water scarcity in a dystopic Nigeria. The fact that the story is set in the twenty first century makes it all the more compelling and emotionally jarring.
The story starts with a tense exchange and ends with an even more significant one. Zane, the lead character and leader of the Freeborn must guide his people with discretion as they trade a known murderer for water and food.
In a world where water had become a rarity, tensions are bound to arise and readers will find that the initial aggressors, the soldiers of fortune are not the biggest threat. When a courteous escort lays the foundation for the ultimate barter, Zane and his soldiers discover that humans aren’t the only creatures who are desperate for spiritual intervention.
Zane’s story of loss, courage and perseverance, will have empathetic readers drowning in their emotions. The book is divided into four segments, two of which tell the tale of the events that occurred before Zane became the leader of the freeborn. We find that Zane’s story is a heart wrenching narration of grief and the tale of a man who lost everything.
Other characters such as Tau are also given a bit of the spotlight showing how an every day occurrence like rain can shake humanity to the core. It is truly the things we take for granted that scar us the most when they’re gone.
The novella was truly engrossing and had a very significant ending. I do find that the story behind Zane’s parents was a bit of a cliché. There are so many fantasy stories where the main character’s parents die in a horrific event, particularly a car crash. But this detail did not affect the emotional impact of the narrative, nor did it dampen the crucial allusions made within the story. Personally, the theory of the mysterious women who took Zane and his men captive reminds me of the story of Noah. And it would be very difficult to miss the reference to Oya the orisha of winds and violent storms.
Describing Barter as a pleasant read is truly insufficient. While writing this review, the wheels in my head are still churning and turning as I try to process the depth of what I have just read. Although the ending has no literary defect, my heart drops when I recall the ending of the novel.
I often wonder if there was a way that the characters could’ve figured out the plot of the mysterious women before they were abducted. Alas, their ignorance to the spiritual side of their situation was a vital crutch in the plot delivery. The last line still leaves me with chills as I recall the significance of the divine barter, “The cleansing rain came, washing away his blood, along with the blood of those who had been chosen for a significant death.”
Interested readers can obtain a copy of Barter here.
Oreoluwa Odusote
Writer, poet, and dreamer.
