tebogo and the epithalamion
Review by Pule Lechesa
Omoseye Bolaji’s latest work of fiction, Tebogo and the epithalamion (2009) is out. The blurb of the book states:
“A charming young woman mysteriously disappears at an absorbing ceremony that forms the prelude to her wedding, and sleuth Tebogo Mokoena is inadvertently sucked into another baffling investigation. He has to meticulously scrape through the veneer of outward appearances and adopt unconventional methods to prevent a torrid tragedy…
The author, Omoseye Bolaji has published several gripping fiction, short stories, essays, poetry, drama and criticism. He is a recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award courtesy of the Free State Department of Arts and Culture. He has also been conferred with the Chancellor’s Medal by the University of the Free State.”
For the average reader or even many critics like me, the first thing that comes to mind is: what is the epithalamion? We learn that an epithalamion is or was a sort of song or poem in celebration of a bride/wedding.
The action this time takes place in a “small town” which is never quite named or specified; though we can say that it is somewhere in the Free state, not far from Bloemfontein. There are references to B & B’s in this town planning to cash in (via accommodation of foreign tourists/football lovers) on the 2010 World Cup.
Observers and critics (including myself) have pointed out sometimes that Omoseye Bolaji seems to have a “weakness” for women – but this of course depends on how this is interpreted. He certainly gives the impression in many of his works that man’s major weakness is his vulnerability/fallibility for women. Hence it is no surprise that such suggestions are palpable in this new work, with the protagonist himself (despite being happily married) not left out:
“Ntate Seleke would be in tears to hear this. Disconsolate,” I said.
“But I must think about myself, my life, how to move on, I’m rattled at the moment, now” she retorted. “Maybe I should visit Bloemfontein – if I had a place to stay there. I can’t by any chance stay with you in Bloem, can I?” she said, smiling with incredible charm, her eyes full of promise.
I flinched. I suddenly realised how dangerous and seductive she could be.
That the author is an eminent writer in his own way is evident from certain remarks casually brought in as a sort of “apology” for writing this new book in rather straight forward, prosaic, colloquial style. Remarks like “I can be long-winded and irritating in my style, eh?” or “I am not one for fulsome, undulating descriptions” suggest that the author had one eye on the potential “disapproval” of critics; but as usual he is more concerned with pleasing his readers.
It is quite astonishing - in view of his rather poor health – that Omoseye Bolaji continues to be creative, churning out intriguing works (books) regularly; entertaining, brisk books with twists and turns. My salutations!
March 10th, 2009 at 5:17 pm
This speed seems to smack of magic! kagablog for ever! Will add my real comments later. Congrats to Mr Bolaji
March 10th, 2009 at 6:00 pm
Mr Bolaji has done it again. Congratulations
March 10th, 2009 at 6:22 pm
I never knew this fine review was coming. Hearty congrats again!
March 11th, 2009 at 8:27 am
Omoseye Bolaji will never cease to amaze me. It is true he often complains of failing health but his prolific writing prowess belies this. He is a true inspiration. Write on egbon.
March 11th, 2009 at 9:14 am
Congratulations on your new book Mr Bolaji!!!
March 11th, 2009 at 10:02 am
Good to see that not even an African Chieftaincy has nipped Bolaji’s craetive juices in the bud
March 11th, 2009 at 10:35 am
Always a delight to have a new Bolaji book out. In terms of sheer readability, entertainment and innovative creativity, Bolaji is one of the best black African writers.
March 11th, 2009 at 10:57 am
I’ve lost count of the number of books published by Bolaji now. There seems to be no point in counting any longer. Congratulations
March 11th, 2009 at 5:42 pm
Zany story involving our Tebogo; twists and turns. witty conversations and intriguing women. Neatly and briskly packaged again…
March 11th, 2009 at 6:16 pm
The beauty of the ‘Tebogo books’ is that you read them at one sitting quickly, fascinated, smiling to yourself, baffled to the very end, sharing the idiosyncracies of Ntate Tebogo. Well done ‘malome’ Bolaji.
March 12th, 2009 at 10:26 am
A very humane story - what could have been a heart rending disaster is averted, and one is left with the pathetic. For the first time ever nobody is actually killed in a tebogo adventure
March 12th, 2009 at 5:03 pm
I have been rather busy with my new job, but it’s a great feeling to see this on the Internet. Not a bad review even if I say so myself!
March 13th, 2009 at 11:05 am
As regards comment 11 above it is true that this is not a grim book - in fact along the line there are so many grins
March 13th, 2009 at 5:09 pm
The reviewer here refers to Bolaji’s “poor health”. I believe the love for literature keeps one going, excited, if it’s one’s passion; writers like Katherine Mansfield and DH Lawrence, despite poor health, kept on loving writing till the end
March 14th, 2009 at 12:25 pm
Hmmm….one of the saddest cases was writer Joyce Cary who was so diseased that in the end a pen had to be tied to his hand - and a rope used for his arm - just so that he could write.
March 14th, 2009 at 12:55 pm
Congrats on your new book, Mr Bolaji. It’s good you always encourage other and new writers - like Teboho Masakala, the short story writer
March 15th, 2009 at 12:26 pm
As a woman, one of the most heart-rending parts of this new book is when Gloria (Chapter 6) briefly recounts the chilling details of how she was raped - a sad, but not uncommon realty of South African life
March 16th, 2009 at 8:06 am
Good literature (a relative term) does set one thinking and probing further; eg in this book, Tebogo and the epithalamion, one of the minor characters is Chico. What type of a man is he? Tebogo confesses that he had an aversion to him from the beginning; a woman Tebogo interviews says Chico is making babies all over the place; Chico himself says he does not like women and he can be ruthless with them. Yet we wonder: why is he “fathering kids all over carelessly”, and why do women, presumably many of them keep on falling for him? Do many women actually find such ‘tough’ people attractive? Again, he (Chico) can be sociable, as in the chapter where he drinks with the amiable Biggie and tebogo himself
March 16th, 2009 at 1:56 pm
Congrats Bolaji. It’s good u’ve writtem many books on my fictional namesake (Tebogo)!
March 17th, 2009 at 11:11 am
Congratulations on your new book,its inspiring to other writters and hopefully we will all learn something from it
March 17th, 2009 at 4:42 pm
Another well composed book that adds fire
to the volume of tebogo mysteries
Unchained and untamed
Mr Bolaji takes the reader on a journey once again
Humble as ever
Creative sparks of fiction
continue to burn
As consistency prevails in his literature
living legend in color
Tebogo & the epithalamion
elevates the mind
Such work deserves accolades …
March 17th, 2009 at 4:45 pm
Ha, ha. Trust Richard (Skietreker above) to always come up with one poem or the other to celebrate the occasion. I understand you are in Durban now, “Skietreker” - when are you gonna come to Free State again?
March 17th, 2009 at 10:51 pm
Mr lechesa its good to hear from the mighty bard (laugh),do forgive me for dropping at this hour of morning,ive just arrived from that side,so i suppose ive come for blessings hope to you soon
March 20th, 2009 at 12:19 pm
wow what a great story by mr bolaji, it shows what a master he really is,this sure one of the best books to come out by the great bolaji
March 20th, 2009 at 2:39 pm
Reading comments on the blog (like in this case) can be very informative. Bolaji must be praised for writing books which can be appreciated by the mainstream at grassroots level - it is a bonus to him that the literary world in general also appreciates his efforts.
March 21st, 2009 at 4:02 pm
I think on the whole this new book is very relaxed, devoid of tragedy but still suspenseful. Not the best in the Tebogo Mystery series, but not as bad as some reviewers (elsewhere) have claimed.
March 21st, 2009 at 4:26 pm
Or - at least it makes us to want to read the whole series once again
March 22nd, 2009 at 2:07 pm
Actually I have only read three (including the new one) in the series; my library card was lost. But now it seems I must read them all one way or the other
March 23rd, 2009 at 12:02 pm
Another masterpiece from Seyi. Congrats Boss. Plesae try to get your books to London shops, becos my friends are looking foward to buy it.Lanre from London.
March 23rd, 2009 at 3:42 pm
Hmmm…when I have read the book well, I will be able to comment on it. But meanwhile congrats to the author for the new book
March 25th, 2009 at 11:13 am
WHAT A GREAT BOOK 4RM MR BOLAJI, ITS A ONE OF THE BEST IN THE TEBOHO SERIES, AND ITS GOOD THAT YOU ENCOURAGE NEW WRITERS LIKE ME TEBOHO MASAKALA AND I HOPE TO BE A LEGEND LIKE YOU MR BOLAJI
April 1st, 2009 at 2:44 pm
I am writing from Cape Town and i congratulate Mr Bolaji on his new book. He’s the only African writer I know who stresses the unexpected in his works, and still somehow retains a realistic grassroots feel. Long may he continue…
April 6th, 2009 at 9:16 am
I guess it’s true dat one can never be too old to let those creative juices flow. Soon, we aspiring writers will grow to your level. Congratulations papa!
April 6th, 2009 at 1:34 pm
I do not expect anything less than brilliant from Omoseye Bolaji. he has done it again, and will continually do it again and again. Well done.
April 9th, 2009 at 12:37 pm
Bolaji is essentially an entertainer - I remember the last part of his most serious book - literary essays - Thoughts on Free State Writing. Here at the end, he moves from what one might call “pathos to bathos” with funny anecdotes. In the epithalamion he shows what he really is: a humanist. Not that I’ve ever liked the brutal gory American thrillers anyway
April 9th, 2009 at 12:52 pm
And what’s this ‘papa’ stuff about? (see comment 33 above) Is there something you are not telling us chf Bolaji?
April 15th, 2009 at 5:18 pm
I have always loved Mr Bolaji’s fictional works, many of which I have read over and over again. Congrats on his new book
April 20th, 2009 at 8:33 am
Interesting comments. Will add my own later!
April 20th, 2009 at 4:51 pm
In what category can Omoseye be classified as a writer of fiction? We cannot say that he writes to please any Eurocentric audience, but often there are such adumbrations in his work, and even titles of some of his books like The Guillotine, Tebogo and the haka, Reverie, Tebogo and the epithalamion reflect this. Also, one would strive to look for any particular ideology espoused by Bolaji, save for his being a “humanist”. What is clear is that he has a simple formula for tantalising African readers at grassroots level: an interesting, mysterious plot (story), new discoveries along the way, characters not so developed but who still manage to come to life quickly; swift action and developments, language somewhere between colloquial and Standard English, seductive women who can be good or bad (but often bad!); quirky often humorous conversations which nonetheless almost always ring true if deceptive; readable books of novelette length etc. As a good reader of books once told me, Omoseye Bolaji somehow takes some of the most interesting elements from Eurocentric writing and combines them with a sure black African touch and background. The result, inevitably, with most readers is that to read him is refreshingly unforgivable; but one is still left with the unfortunate impression that he can never get near his real potential. Tebogo and the epithalamion is in no way a serious work, yet I found myself reading it twice within two days. Nor would I need to be paid to read it yet again!!
April 21st, 2009 at 8:11 am
The last part of comment 39 above is quite funny. Ntate Aaron can be such a wag! But I think he wanted to say above that reading Bolaji is “refreshingly unforgettable” NOT “refreshingly unforgivable”
April 22nd, 2009 at 1:28 pm
Mr. Lechesa is very right. I did want to write “refreshingly unforgettable” above. Just shows how tricky the writing biz is and maybe we should not be too hard on writers. Happy voting today!
April 27th, 2009 at 11:58 am
Excellent comment in (39) above. Makes the appreciation of literature worthwhile
July 7th, 2009 at 12:30 pm
It was with sadness that I learnt that Mr Bolaji is on sick leave…our prayers are with you. the fact that your contributions are appreciated can be seen in yet another new study published on you: Omoseye Bolaji: Further Perspectives. i also commend the author, Me Julia