Oil on Water

• Evoking the rich and beautiful yet fragile environment of the Delta, that is slowly being devastated by the greed for oil and money, Habila perceptively guides his different narrative strands into a poignant story that is profoundly personal even where he raises broader political and societal concerns.

• Oil on Water is a very engaging book, because while the story is about oil drilling in the Nigerian Delta and the violence - both hard and soft - that comes from it, it's also a thriller mystery surrounding a kidnapping, and the interpersonal conflicts that led up to and complicate it. The novel very cleverly layers these stories to create a very intriguing and stunning story.

• This novel deserves all the kudos heaped upon it. The clarity of the writing, the construction of the central mystery, the steady buildup of tension, the detailed character development—all are remarkable and accomplished. The story is simple and straightforward, but becomes nail-bitingly tense as the cub reporter Rufus pursues the kidnappers of a woman on the Nigerian delta.

• This book revolves around the Niger Delta area, the struggle for oil and power, the contaminated water, the fleeing Niger-Deltan residents and the consequences of greed. Helon Habila takes the reader on a ride exposing the environmental conditions, poor health, insecurities, and the harsh realities that people in the Niger Delta area of Nigeria are experiencing through the eyes of two journalists, Zaq and Rufus.

• One of the strengths of this enthralling story is the unfolding of the tale through Rufus’ memory that is often patchy and hallucinatory matching it to the environment with its twists and turns in the river, and the hidden islands appearing and disappearing before your eyes. This provides a cinematic quality as the scenes are vividly painted for the reader, making the Niger Delta as much a character as Rufus and Zaq.

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