THE STABLE TRIPOD
Eddie Onuzurike
There is that certain sort of book, the type that you read when you are outside a particular area where you grew up or have lived, which when you then come across, you absolutely love it because it sends you back on memory lane. That was what the book ‘The Stable Tripod’ did to me when I first read it – it sent me back to the streets of Lagos; reminding me of some of the girls I knew, the things they did to survive, of the one room dwellers, nosey neighbours, Lagos victims of lynching, the intrigues, sometimes bloody intensity of chieftaincy or royalty rivalry, the police and their bias role and, you know, that wish ( I still do) that somebody, anybody incorruptible would someday come up to clean-up the police establishment. So, if I could do it I would send copies of this book to every Nigerian embassy in the world - it is the perfect bit of writing for the nostalgic who long, absolutely for something to remind them of the magic, intrigues and weird, real weird happenings in Nigeria society. Definitely not for those who loath anything African, the Brittonic, New York loving and blind followers of all they read and hear from CNN – for, all that you will find in this book, though particular to Nigerian society is not exclusively a Nigerian or African happenings as can be attested to, by all those who have also seen them happen, sometimes worse, in the West. This is the book for true explorer, for those who like to be taken on a journey and love good story-telling, for the ones who when they pick a book are curious to know what will happen at the end. And if they are also the type that watch Nollywood, if they like to curl-up in chairs entertained by a writer who indulge in plot within plots, fraught atmosphere and unrelenting suspense, then they will abbbssooolutely love this book. It is the punishment fits the crime sort of book, a personal homemade movie or film still in book form.
So what specifically has Eddie done with The Stable Tripod? He set an impossible mission before Lydia and Frank, two engaged young lovers – a near impossible undertaking that is meant to task their commitment physically and emotionally. He has place before them all sorts of challenges the kinds of troubles that will fell the most devoted, saintly and, their rewards, if they come through, is to be mightily as fulfilling - but only if they are able to come through alive.
The story is that Frank had found out that his lover, Lydia with who he was devoted and because of her, had dumped another girl simply because he felt Lydia comparably, was saintly, his amateur investigation uncovers, is actually a courtesan – a high class prostitute. On discovery, he felt so humiliated and, in anguish that he decides to run away from his neighbourhood. Lydia on the other hand, on being found out, equally afflicted and anxious to atone for her transgression runs out of her hotel room naked and in the process falls down flights of stairs, fractures a leg and sustains multiple bruises that disfigures her – a truly heart-rending love story.
And so plots after plots the story continued captivatingly. The state of discontent quickly established from the first line of the first paragraph and the actions moved on from there to the end in the same high tempo. The introduction of the other different interesting characters with distinct historical background; including the madman whom Frank befriended and lived with helped the story along. The language is simple with the images of Lagos and Abuja night life vividly described. What Eddie Onuzurike has done is that he has crafted a delightful story that is both fun and meaningful.
There is that certain sort of book, the type that you read when you are outside a particular area where you grew up or have lived, which when you then come across, you absolutely love it because it sends you back on memory lane. That was what the book ‘The Stable Tripod’ did to me when I first read it – it sent me back to the streets of Lagos; reminding me of some of the girls I knew, the things they did to survive, of the one room dwellers, nosey neighbours, Lagos victims of lynching, the intrigues, sometimes bloody intensity of chieftaincy or royalty rivalry, the police and their bias role and, you know, that wish ( I still do) that somebody, anybody incorruptible would someday come up to clean-up the police establishment. So, if I could do it I would send copies of this book to every Nigerian embassy in the world - it is the perfect bit of writing for the nostalgic who long, absolutely for something to remind them of the magic, intrigues and weird, real weird happenings in Nigeria society. Definitely not for those who loath anything African, the Brittonic, New York loving and blind followers of all they read and hear from CNN – for, all that you will find in this book, though particular to Nigerian society is not exclusively a Nigerian or African happenings as can be attested to, by all those who have also seen them happen, sometimes worse, in the West. This is the book for true explorer, for those who like to be taken on a journey and love good story-telling, for the ones who when they pick a book are curious to know what will happen at the end. And if they are also the type that watch Nollywood, if they like to curl-up in chairs entertained by a writer who indulge in plot within plots, fraught atmosphere and unrelenting suspense, then they will abbbssooolutely love this book. It is the punishment fits the crime sort of book, a personal homemade movie or film still in book form.
So what specifically has Eddie done with The Stable Tripod? He set an impossible mission before Lydia and Frank, two engaged young lovers – a near impossible undertaking that is meant to task their commitment physically and emotionally. He has place before them all sorts of challenges the kinds of troubles that will fell the most devoted, saintly and, their rewards, if they come through, is to be mightily as fulfilling - but only if they are able to come through alive.
The story is that Frank had found out that his lover, Lydia with who he was devoted and because of her, had dumped another girl simply because he felt Lydia comparably, was saintly, his amateur investigation uncovers, is actually a courtesan – a high class prostitute. On discovery, he felt so humiliated and, in anguish that he decides to run away from his neighbourhood. Lydia on the other hand, on being found out, equally afflicted and anxious to atone for her transgression runs out of her hotel room naked and in the process falls down flights of stairs, fractures a leg and sustains multiple bruises that disfigures her – a truly heart-rending love story.
And so plots after plots the story continued captivatingly. The state of discontent quickly established from the first line of the first paragraph and the actions moved on from there to the end in the same high tempo. The introduction of the other different interesting characters with distinct historical background; including the madman whom Frank befriended and lived with helped the story along. The language is simple with the images of Lagos and Abuja night life vividly described. What Eddie Onuzurike has done is that he has crafted a delightful story that is both fun and meaningful.
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