Fidelia Ani

The book cover and the name of the novel: Adamma, first caught my attention whie I was browsing through the Bambooks catalog. Kingsley Adrian Banks’ book’s title, a of the novel’s main character Adamma, sucked me in, for the name “Adamma” in Igbo means “a woman of beauty”. That, alongside its blurb of a beautiful woman at the top of her game but who has to deal with a man from her dark past made me add it to my reading list. However, I did not have any further expectations on what to expect from Kingsley Adrian Banks’ new novel. Before pondering the storyline of Adamma, the series starter of Banks’ Women of Eternity book series, I must mention that I love Banks’ writing style. The writing style employed in writing the novel Adamma is lush and descriptive, pulling images of scenes and characters from your imagination effortlessly. It is weird—in a good way—how the characters and Lagos City is painted in very dramatic descriptions. This made it easy for me to follow the story in my mind, as if I was seated in my living room watching a TV drama. I enjoyed this about Banks’ writing; that writing style is one I associate with Ms. Anne Rice in The Vampire Chronicles series. This type of lush writing may not be every reader’s cup of tea, but I did find it interesting. The opening scene in Adamma introduces the reader to the main characters, Adamma herself and the man who will be a fly on her wall in future, Obi Obiekwe. That scene sets the entire tone of this novel. The character Adamma is a very beautiful, woman who is a go-getter and in touch with her sensuality. All these, she employs in her exploits to get what she wants from the world without apology. She is seemingly a “free” woman unbothered by conservative Nigerian values and the conventional path women are expected to walk in Nigerian society to be regarded as fulfilled. Banks was bold with this sultry beauty Adamma, as she is the embodiment of most women’s dream; one they cannot make a reality. Reading this novel and encountering this character Adamma reminds me of an Jagua Nana, the titular character from Cyprian Ekwensi’s erotic novel of a past era. Banks paints a teeming, densely populated Lagos, one dripping with human capital and teeming with different exotic cultures imported from other parts of the world. Banks seemed to have fun showing how Adamma exploits this Lagos to her advantage. But, Banks paints his characters in a brutal and very judgmental light. It’s as if Banks wants you as the reader to see Adamma set up for the severest, harshest criticisms from other characters. That makes this book even more interesting, as you read and wait to see how she navigates all that harshness directed at her. Banks also examines male patriarchy which is evident even in today’s Nigeria, male dominance and domestic violence and death, all directed at women, most notably those in relationships and marriages. It is shocking to see, really. Adamma as a person maintains pretty much the same mental resoluteness throughout the novel, as a woman of great physical beauty, cool-headed and analytical. Unfortunately, in as much as there is much to be enjoyed in this novel, I feel that Adamma’s story is unfinished, as Banks left out many dark parts of her young, tumultuous life. . .however, I suspect that Banks will explore these more fully in the upcoming sequels to this novel, given that this is the first in a series. Adamma by Banks is quite erotic and interesting, but also difficult to finish, given that it is hard to read through some of Adamma’s experiences.