Life for the four young brothers at the heart of this story is lively, imagin­ative, boisterous but far from idyllic. They live in Akure, a small Nigerian town, and their father is a bank worker, lifting the family above the level of grinding poverty. But food is plain, amenities are few and political violence is a constant threat. Ikenna, Boja, Obembe and Ben sneak off to the forbidden riverbank to fish for tiddlers. They meet the local madman, who pronounces a prophecy, or curse, that is to poison their family and, eventually, wreck their lives. The first to fall is Ikenna, the 15-year-old, who rebels against his beloved mother. The narrative moves languidly until, at the dead centre of the book, an appalling tragedy occurs. Then the pace slackens again until the dramatic denouement