Book Review: The Lies We Tell by Fatima Bala

 

Written by Safa Alhassan 

The Lies We Tell by Fatima Bala is a compilation of twelve short stories and the third book by the writer. The book has been making quite a lot of waves, especially in the North, with titles such as Uwargida Mai Capacity, Miji Na Gari, In Search of a Bed of Gold, Greenish Flags, among others.

I dashed to the nearby Rovingheights Bookstore in Kaduna to get my copy on a very beautiful Saturday morning. I love short stories, so you must understand my apprehension and, at the same time, my excitement to get this one. My apprehension because, well, I didn't want to be disappointed, and my excitement because, of course, I had a new book that was different from what i usually read, and i was curious about it. Should I even call it a different genre per se? It's fiction nonetheless, but with a certain demographic in mind: Northerners. I think, apart from The Virtuous Woman by Zaynab Alkali, which I read in secondary school, I haven't really read anything else by a Northern Nigerian author. So, naturally, I was curious.

I dived into it almost immediately I got home from the store.

The Cover

I'll start with the book cover. I loved the pop of colours a lot. It has deep shades of orange, blue and green, although I did wonder what informed the choice of those particular colours.

However, the book art isn't anything particularly interesting to me. It's quite flat and basic, without any character or story to it. For someone who appreciates art a lot, I didn't particularly like it. It almost looks like something someone sketched casually. Not that there's necessarily anything wrong with that; that's just my stance. It also reminded me of those Lantern storybooks for children that we read growing up.

Another thing I didn't particularly like was the size of the book. It's a very small book, with about 222 pages, and I'm not really a fan of small books, so you get my point. But, on the bright side, it's easy to hold, and your hand wouldn't get tired from the weight. It can also fit into even your smallest bags, so you have no issues carrying it around.

The Stories

To be honest, the first two stories were very underwhelming for me. They weren't anything new that we hadn't heard before: a cheating husband, a man preparing to take a new bride, and so on. It just felt like all those stories Northern women tell to agony aunts on the internet, which are then posted on Instagram with captions asking followers to comment, advise, and, of course, be nice.

But a few stories later, I must confess, I was very much gripped by the book. I became so invested, especially because I couldn't predict how some of the stories would end.

I particularly liked how Fatima Bala ends her stories. She doesn't always really end them. She leaves them open, giving the reader so many questions, a little confusion, or even a desire for more, and then she simply stops. That's brilliant, especially for short stories. It's almost like she deliberately leaves the door open and allows the reader to decide what happens next. I loved that.

One of my favourite stories was In Search of a Bed of Gold. I didn't quite understand where or what the writer was getting at, especially towards the end, when Azumi became pregnant and Zinaru was nowhere to be found. I remember wondering: who was carrying the pregnancy? Could it have been Zinaru?

I liked the fact that I was left wondering. That twist really worked for me.

A Fatherless Woman was another favourite. First of all, I love the name Anisa. Then I loved the flow of the story, but my favourite part was, once again, the ending.

Anisa discovers that her mother was a childhood friend of Hajiya Mama, who was her stepmother. She even discovers that her mother had been her father's first wife's maid of honour, from clips of old wedding cassette videos of her father and her stepmother. Little wonder Hajiya Mama didn't like her, her mother or her other siblings. The twist, and especially the way the story ended, was what I loved.

A lot of the stories were also very relatable and nostalgic. I just know that I've seen and experienced the sort of Northerner she is talking about. It's almost like our everyday life has been put into a book.

Alkawari Kaya was another story that really moved me. This one was more or less like a folktale, but it scared me, so I won't even talk about it like that. It was almost like a story within a story. This one also had a twist, and at the end I was just like, 

“Ah, Fatima Bala, nice one. You got me there.”

That was brilliant.

Then there are the other stories that really resonated with me. Like I said earlier, she has a beautiful way of ending them by not ending them at all. You know what I mean? She leaves a lingering question in the air, a mystery unsolved, or simply lets you, the reader, fill in the blanks however you see fit. That, for me, is the best part of this book.

My Least Favourite Story

My least favourite story was Dara Ta Ci Gida.

It was so disgusting, and that brings me to Abdulhakeem, my most hated character in the entire book.

You are an idiot, by the way, for doing what you did to Tauhida.

I absolutely didn't like him. And if there truly are people like that, which there most definitely are, then they are not fit to be called human beings.

There was also the story of Amir and his girlfriend, who happens to be a friend of his wife. This is the story from which the book gets its title, The Lies We Tell.

Amir travels with this woman outside the country so that they can enjoy their illicit relationship without any interference. They both know exactly what they are doing and are fully aware of the hurt it will cause Maryam, Amir's wife. Yet they continue with it.

That one left me wide-eyed.

There are quite a number of stories like these in the book. And honestly, I didn't know all of these things were happening. They felt like real-life stories. At some point, I started wondering if the writer actually knows some of these characters. Maybe some of the stories were exaggerated, maybe not. But for her to describe some of these situations so perfectly, either she's simply a genius at observing people, or she's retelling stories from experiences she's encountered.

Either way, she nailed it.

The Connected Stories

One thing I found particularly interesting was that some of the stories are connected to one another. It is left to the reader to figure this out. For example, there is a Tauhida I at the beginning of the book from Dara Ta Ci Gida, and then there is a Tauhida II from A Coincidental Marriage, which appears close to the end of the book, with several other stories in between. I found this creative, although a little confusing at first because I had to go back to the beginning of the book to glance through the earlier story and refresh my memory.

I think there are two other stories that are connected in a similar way.

Greenish Flags was another favourite of mine. It features Habiba II and continues Habiba's story from The Me I Thought I Knew, which is the first title in the book, with Habiba I as the story.

When I first read The Me I Thought I Knew, I found it a little underwhelming. But coming towards the end of the book and realising that the story hadn't actually ended and that the writer had taken us back to where it all began in Greenish Flags. I thought it was brilliant.

That story was very, very nostalgic. It reminded me so much of my university days. It was a beautiful story. I particularly loved the part where she talked about the painfully slow network at the café while Habiba was trying to pay her registration fee. It took me straight down memory lane, back to those days when we had to go to cafés to do almost everything online, with other people sitting by their computers doing the same thing.

Then she brought up the Blackberry phone and it reminded me of the good old days. She talked about the calls during Fajr from Habiba's then pretend boyfriend, with his husky voice because he had only just woke up. Then after prayers, the call back to fill her in about what he would be doing for the rest of the day. That made me laugh, i mean we all may or may not have been guilty of that. Reading those little details in Greenish Flags was like opening an old photo album. She somehow captured an entire generation and the little things that made that period what it was. Even though, I felt the story lacked the depth that could have made it richer and more layered. However, It was all so nostalgic. She really captured that era so well that I found myself remembering things I hadn't thought about in years. She is a true mellannial. 

What I Didn't Like

One thing I felt the book lacked was depth. Yes, they are short stories, and they are meant to be brief, but I still feel the author could have done a better job of giving us more vivid descriptions. Some of the stories felt too surface-level. I wanted to know more about some of the characters. I wanted to sit in certain scenes a little longer. I wanted to understand the characters beyond what was happening in the plot.

Also, the majority of the stories seemed to revolve around the elites.

Why?

That's one question I would have asked Fatima Bala if I had been patient enough to stay through the hundreds of people at Rovingheights that afternoon when she came for her book reading and talk.

Why did she choose to focus so much on that demographic? It would have been interesting to hear her answer.

A Book for Young Readers?

The book is quite modest, and I honestly think it could fit very well into the curriculum for secondary school students.

I don't know if JAMB still recommends books for candidates to read for their examinations, but if they do, this would actually be a good candidate. There are a lot of lessons to be learnt from the stories. The book also introduces readers to different aspects of Northern Nigerian life, particularly Hausa culture, without making the reading feel like a cultural textbook.

Most of the stories are set in the North, particularly around Zaria, Sokoto and the University of Maiduguri, with a little bit of Europe and Lagos thrown in. It's a modest read, and you'll probably finish it in a day because it's a small book. But don't let the size fool you. There's quite a lot packed in the book.

My Biggest Takeaway

One of my biggest takeaways from the book is the importance of separating people's choices, way of life and culture from religion, particularly the Northerners who are known for their steadfastness in the religion and also their modesty. Reading some of these stories reminded me that Northerners are humans too. There are good people, bad people, hypocrites, liars, people who live double lives and people who make terrible choices. And just because certain behaviours exist within a particular group or culture doesn't automatically mean those behaviours are a reflection of the religion associated with that culture. We shouldn't generalise and start pointing fingers at an entire people because of the actions of some individuals. 

I actually appreciated that the book, perhaps unintentionally, opened my eyes to some things I didn't know were considered “Northern” or were part of everyday Northern life. There are stories about women, marriage, family, friendships, betrayal, fashion, music, university life, relationships and so much more. I loved how Fatima Bala brought the Northern way of life into the stories. You get little glimpses of the language, the dressing, the social expectations, the family dynamics and even the little everyday things that make up life in the North.

I also really loved how much of the book centred women. Women are at the heart of so many of these stories, and we get to see them in different situations as wives, daughters, mothers, friends, students and women simply trying to do life and the expectations placed on them. In fact, it really is a woman's book after all. There is something about seeing these familiar experiences, especially those that are often discussed quietly or behind closed doors, turned into stories and put on paper. Some of them are uncomfortable, heartbreaking, shocking, and some are simply relatable. But they all give you something to think about. Perhaps that is one of the things I enjoyed most about the book. It didn't present the North as some strange or distant place. These are people with ordinary lives, complicated relationships, secrets, ambitions, flaws and very human problems. The setting and culture may be distinctly Northern, but the emotions and experiences are very universal.

Would I Recommend It?

Uhhhmmm... yes!

Especially if you're curious about Northern Nigeria and you're not Hausa, I think you'll learn a lot from this book. You'll get little glimpses into the lifestyle, outfits, fashion, culture, music and everyday life of Hausa people. You may even pick up a Hausa word or two along the way. The book is also very rich in Hausa adages. This i found very beautiful. 

The Lies We Tell is Fatima Bala's third book. Her other books are Broken and Hafsatu Bebi.

Rating: 3.5/5 ⭐⭐️⭐️