Review: Thursdays by Jackson Biko

“She’s almost always demure in nature, prodding in character and very restless in the season she seemed to be in.”

Genre: Fiction
Pages: 217
Published: December 2020
Rate: 3 ⭐⭐⭐

Book Blurb
Vina Wira band is struggling. Every Thursday they play in the streets of Nairobi, outside a building that houses a recording label they hope will sign them, give them their big break. At night, they play in a shady bar overlooking a junkyard with dismembered vehicles. They are hungry to make it. But does the universe share their hunger?

“…but her heart – and Halima’s heart can accommodate many things – filled with music.”

My Take
I am not new to Biko’s writing. I remember when I was younger a trip to the salon was always exciting because I knew I’d find a copy of True Love Magazine and the minute I got it, I’d flip to the last pages to read his articles. They were my favourite. When I found out he had a second book coming out I was really excited, seeing that I missed the first, I really wanted to read Thursdays, moreso interact with his works in a full length novel as opposed to the short articles I have been consuming.

If I’m being honest, the writing didn’t click for me. I struggled with the first 100 pages which felt so wordy. I couldn’t understand why the simplest of descriptions took so long. There are a lot of characters introduced in this book and most were forgettable, aside from the band, I couldn’t care more about the rest.

The plot was interesting. Following the Vina Wira Band through their struggles and hope to make it as struggling artists, Biko touches on mental health issues especially in men. (ADHD, Anxiety, Depression) I love how he brings it out. He also touches on self harm which he did a good job.
The dialogue, between the characters, is also something I liked. After I struggled with the first 100 pages, the book became easier to get to and I started enjoying it better, until we got to the end.

All through the book we are introduced to mini sub plots that I thought would either mesh with the main plot or have their own ending, none of that happened. The book ends abruptly with loose ends. I get the idea of an open ending and I like them well enough but this one was too rushed and I was so annoyed by the last page.

In my opinion Thursdays should have been a longer book, this way the author would have room to flesh out the plot more, character development and have a better ending.

Thursdays was an okay read for me. Its not a book I’d care to read again. I didn’t hate it, it just wasn’t for me.

If flowery writing and descriptions are for you, you’ll love Thursdays. If you read the authors blog and enjoy the posts, you’ll love this one.