Member Article

Review of Blood Relations By Anna Toms

Short story books have made a huge resurgence lately. Those who are wanting to self-educate or clear their head in tidy snippets of time are turning to the words of others as a form of quick escapism. Anna Toms is one such person. And recently having read a collection of short stories that has completely reverberated with her, she wanted to share it with other Bdaily members.

“Blood Relations is a collection of short stories by Rita Aroloye, who recently released a poetry anthology called Virtues. This collection of muses focuses on dysfunctionalities that can exist amongst blood relatives and why relationships, even of such a close nature, can easily break down.

“In this collection of three stories, Aroloye focuses on the fact that there is a role in a family for everyone who is willing to hold a mirror to their face. ‘Nightmare’, ‘Anguish’ and ‘Heart of Stone’ all tell very different stories but carry a theme of personality traits being either the saviour or destroyer of relationships.

“In Nightmare a young lawyer takes on her family members in a battle about her father property following his death. As a story that many people know and have felt, the loss of a loved one can lead to financial disagreements between those that are left, and Nightmare delves into those trying times incredibly well.

“The timing of the protagonist Adaeze’s father’s death comes at a time when she is doing well with a new job and a new flat, and in reading the story you feel the devastation she feels at the news. Starting with a wayward Aunty blocking her contact with her mother, Adaeze’s journey is described clearly and evokes emotion with every page as she fights for her family home. Her strength and her resolution is inspiring, her concern for her mother and sister warming, and without spoiling it for readers, I found the ending unsatisfactory for such a strong character.

“Anguish moves the story onto focusing on a family who loses its child, and goes through the torment, wondering where they can look for a ray of hope. As a mother to a teenager, I found the opening of this short story very distressing but couldn’t help but read on. Following the distressing repercussions, the story jumps in chunks of time over 9 years and has an incredible ending that the upset is worth going through as a reader.

“Heart of Stone, the last story in the collection, is a disturbing story around a domestic abuser and his hard countenance. Ezekiel holds a position of responsibility in the community but is a violent and misogynist man at home. The story shares the trauma this causes and flung my emotions all over the place as I read totally transfixed! Full of lies, cover ups, anger, heart break and murder, the roller coaster has you turning the pages as quickly as possible to get to the conclusion!

“A great collection of short stories that I would recommend to anyone.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Anna Toms .