Magical realism isn't really my thing, so I didn't love this. I found it odd and confusing. It just wasn't for me.

In The Minotaur at Calle Lanza, Zito Madu blends surrealism with personal memoir, reflecting on his journey as an immigrant from Nigeria to Detroit while wandering Venice during the pandemic. I appreciates the depth to themes of migration, identity, and the strained relationship with his father, all wrapped in an eerie, fantastical atmosphere. Though brief, his memoir certainly has impact, offering a unique exploration of memory and transformation.

Thank you, NetGalley for an advanced ALC of this as an audiobook

This was an interesting listen about a guy who was trying to do better with his life and find his way, this was a quick listen that I think a lot will enjoy

-- 4.5 stars
Surrealism, as a genre, is intense. It’s engaging and uncanny and for Madu, it’s therapeutic. In this debut novel — a memoir, to boot! — we follow the author as he explores his journey from Nigeria to Detroit to Venice. Each environment adds something, subtracts something, changes something. By the end, Madu approaches stories not as the hero, but as a friend to the monster.

The Minotaur at Calle Lanza is a quick, yet impactful, autobiography of a writer. The audiobook version lifts the reader from their own home and drops them into memories that don’t belong to them. The narrator, while professional, frames new emotions with slight inclinations to their tone, to their speed — I look forward to hearing more from Abdullah.

(Instagram post to be published