Bom Boy
Leke is a troubled young man living in the suburbs of Cape Town. He develops strange habits of stalking people, stealing small objects and going from doctor to doctor in search of companionship rather than cure. Through a series of letters written to him by his Nigerian father whom he has never met, Leke learns about a family curse; a curse which his father had unsuccessfully tried to remove. Bom Boy is a well-crafted, and complex narrative written with a sensitive understanding of both the smallness and magnitude of a single life.
ISBN 9781920397357 | 266 pages | 203 x 127 mm | 2011 | Modjaji Books, South Africa | Paperback
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Reviews
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‘Bom Boy surprises and delights, sings at turns, as it straddles the past and the present, bringing into focus cultural beliefs while examining the intimacies and complexities of bonds of family and friendship. What strikes me most is the originality. This fine debut, firmly rooted in contemporary consciousness, is story-telling of note which whets the appetite for more.’
- Joanne Hichens, author of Divine Justice
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‘This is a novel bursting with elegance, written by a young author brimming with genuine promise. Yewande Omotoso is a stylist with a literary vision.’
- Nuruddin Farah, author of Links, Knots & Crossbones
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"Bom Boy is a moving, intelligent debut from Cape Town-based architect Yewande Omotoso, who thought it would be “interesting to write about someone totally estranged from society”.
- City Press, South Africa
