A look at missionaries who run a church in Nigeria makes you think about the pros and cons and made me think self-rule is preferable. A little slow, but a good story.

✨ Book Review: Before the Mango Ripens ✨

A beautifully character-driven story set in 1970s Nigeria, Before the Mango Ripens explores themes of pure vs. corrupt motivations. While it touches on the overreach of missionaries, the heart of the novel lies in its flawed yet deeply human characters. Their struggles and how they handle their missteps form the book’s emotional core.

📖 Who’s it for?
Fans of historical and literary fiction—stick with it through the slow start, and you’ll be rewarded.

📝 My Ratings
• Plot: 3
• Writing & Editing: 4
• Character Development: 5
• Narration: 5
• Personal Bias: 4

⭐ Final Score: 4.2

Thank you Afabwaje Kurian, HighBridge Audio, and NetGalley for my advanced listening copy! Before the Mango Ripens is out now!

Would you pick this one up? Let me know your thoughts! 📚

#BeforeTheMangoRipens

BEFORE THE MANGO RIPENS by Afabwaje Kurian

Thanks to NetGalley and RBmedia for the audiobook

Dele Ogundiran does a great reading of this novel. I also paired with the book.

Set in Nigeria in 1970s just after the nation’s independence, Afabwaje Kurian has written a debut novel with flawed characters on all sides trying to find their place and identity in a new post colonial nation. Explores themes of — faith, racial and cultural tensions, authority and power, disillusionment, hope, and the search for belonging. Secrets start to be unveiled as this story unfolds and people start pushing back against colonialism.

A beautifully written debut novel and immersive read that I thoroughly enjoyed. I was surprised this was a debut as it was so well written and I am excited to see what this author does next.

Book Review: Before the Mango Ripens
Author: Afabwaje Kurian
Narrator: Délé Ogundiran
Length: 11 hrs, 17 mins



Afabwaje Kurian’s captivating debut novel, Before the Mango Ripens, examines the problematic history of Western Missionaries, the “white savior complex,” and colonialism in 1960’s Nigeria. In the township of Rabata, three individuals grapple with questions of identity, ambition and their place in a land where its inhabitants are fighting to have agency over their health care, career choices and spiritual expression. Jummai is a beautiful but naive house girl eager to find a way out of her difficult home life, Tebeya a Dublin-educated doctor frustrated by gender politics, and Zanya a translator who finds his idealism tested as mounting hypocrisies are exposed.

Before the Mango Ripens first grabbed my attention when it was long listed by the Aspenwords Literary Prize, an award that features an influential work of fiction that illuminates a vital contemporary issue. I felt the author captured the layers and complexities of this age long problem, and kept me invested in the outcome of her characters. Ogundiran’s narration was exceptional in conveying the nuances of each characters, and helped me track the large cast of characters.

This book belongs on your TBR if you’re interested in contemporary social-political issues, or are a fan of The Poisonwood Bible.

Many thanks to the author @Afabwaje, narrator @Delebiz, @HighBridgeAudio, and @NetGalley for the pleasure of listening to this in exchange for an honest review.

Not sure how I feel about this one to be honest - ok without being great is the sum total of my current thoughts.

I only listened to 1/4 before it was archived but it had a compelling start and strong narration. I’d be interested to finish it sometime!

Thank you to Netgalley for the audiobook for review. The audiobook is 11 hours long, Narrated by Délé Ogundiran.

Three characters' lives are affected by the arrival of white American missionaries in Rabata, Nigeria. This epic tale of historical fiction covers the late 1960s. The themes of religious superiority, colonialism, paternalism, sexism, and women's autonomy are woven throughout this novel.

The narrator does an excellent job, heavy on the Nigerian accent and seamlessly switching to English. However, there were a few times when I found it hard to understand what was being said.

I listened to the audiobook for at least 6 hours in one day, and quickly finished the book as it was very enjoyable. The events kept my interest, and the story is so engaging, that the reader can't help but become invested in the character's lives. While this is fiction, I can imagine this being a true story. Dramatic and engaging, highly recommend it.

Another winner from the Aspen Words Literary Prize. It's set in Rabata in 1971, a time when the leadership of many institutions in Nigeria was being assumed by Nigerian nationals. But not in Rabata. The church is still led by Reverend Jim, an American missionary, with another American as his assistant. Zanya, a translator for the missionaries, is keen to become a pastor, but Reverend Jim has doubts about his readiness and suitability. Tension between them is increased when local labourers go on strike and Reverend Jim, who has no willingness to meet their demands, tasks Zanya with getting them back to work. At the mission clinic, Western trained Nigerian doctor Tebeya is ready to take on more control and responsibility, and harbours increasing concerns about Nelson, the American doctor in charge, because his alcohol use is affecting his ability to do his job safely. And then there is Jummai, who works as a housemaid for a missionary couple, and becomes unexpectedly pregnant.

Colonialism, white saviourism, religion, and cultural conflict were key themes, and I thought they were explored in depth and with nuance. The limitations, hypocrisies, and weaknesses of the American characters were highlighted, but they were fully rounded, and it was possible to understand what motivated and drove them, without necessarily agreeing with them. Meanwhile, it was easy to sympathise with the Nigerian characters and get behind their goals while recognising that they had flaws and weaknesses of their own. There was a wide range of supporting characters who I felt were also well drawn. There were no flat stereotypes or one-note archetypes to be found. The plot was multi-faceted with several major storylines seamlessly interwoven with many more minor story threads to create a rich, satisfying story. The setting was strong, and the atmosphere of tension between individuals and more widely between the missionaries and the Nigerians came across strongly.

I listened on audio, and the narrator did an excellent job, mastering different accents and managing to convey the personalities of different characters via intonation and other techniques. Sometimes in audiobooks it can be easy to lose track of which character was speaking and that was not the case here since the voice of each character was distinct.

For me this was a rich, thoroughly satisfying read. I loved the complex characters and the geopolitical setting which provided them with some meaty conflicts which the author explored in depth and with nuance.

I really wanted to like this book. Coming from a colonised culture myself, there are certain elements in this book that rang very true. The characters are well drawn, both the missionary families, and the locals.

If the story were to be edited to leave out a fair bit of extraneous detail, I think it would work better. As it is, the reader is left trying to sift through the nuances, and the timelines, as well as to understand why so many secondary characters are given what feels like excessive space in this story.

That notwithstanding, it is worth reading to understand what it is to be on the receiving end of the 'white man's wisdom' and his lack of self awareness (especially with respect to how Africans perceive him). A book with a lot of promise that fell down a bit on the delivery.

I did like the African characters, especially Zanya and the woman at the clinic (not sure how to spell her name, but she was compelling). It gets 3.5 stars for potential.

Out November 26th by @highbridgeaudio (offered to me via @netgalley) this was gorgeously narrated by Délé Ogundiran who perfectly switched accents from Nigerian to American to others. It was a seamless listening experience that added to my enjoyment of this story.

The story is of a trio of characters in 1970's Rabata Nigeria, where a particular American reverend is trying to build a church, a mission clinic is teetering with an aged doctor, and an unexpected pregnancy has few options. There is growing tension between the western philosophies and local traditions, levels of respect and derision becoming more visible.

This was a deeply moving story told from the Nigerian perspective, which most of the missionary stories I have heard are not. I do believe this novel shows how motives can be twisted and use religion for personal gains. This is not new, nor has it stopped, but this gave one specific look at the harms such western missions have done. It was heartbreaking to me as I do hold dear my faith and hate to see it used for power and domination instead of love and self-sacrifice.

Even though the story was difficult at times to hear, it was elegantly told. I won't forget Jummai, Tebeya, or Zanya.

I highly recommend this in audio, as Ogundiran truly brought this story to vivid life. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

This book was very detailed and I enjoyed the richly developed characters that all intertwined together. There are multiple layer to this book and the audiobook was very well narrated. Highly recommend this book!

this book was ok. i think it's not best on audio, but on the page. there were so many characters to keep track of but it felt like none of their stories had space to be fleshed out. I did like the narrator though.

The books touches a lot on religion but not because it's a religious book but bc it's part of the background. The characters are quite complex, which kept me entertained throughout the story. The narrator does a great job being ing the story to light and the way they change their perspective/voice/expression for different characters which kinda tells you what kind of person they are really made me feel like this was a movie or that I was there in a sence. Not a spoiler or anything, most of the characters there are woman, which made me feel like this was a book about women's lives and struggles because it does focus a lot on on things like this. I loved everything about it. I would read it again, I feel like if I did I would most likely find diffrent meaning to things they said, or did, that's how much dept was put into this book. Thank you to the author for letting me share this experience.

Before the Mango Ripens is a novel about a Nigerian community in the 1970s and the last impacts of colonialism and Western religious beliefs. It was a slower read that really made me think and ponder. I didn't always love reading it (because it was slower) but it is a book that has themes that I keep thinking about.

I loved the audio narration to hear the accents and pronunciations, but this was a book I needed to read on the page to truly understand.

I really enjoyed this book. The historical fiction content, as well as the injustices that the missionaries brought to Nigeria and the African communities was well portrayed in this book.
The author does an excellent job of taking three very different characters, one who is working as a housemaid to the missionaries and not living a life of privilege, one woman of privilege who is a physician and her clinic is currently funded partly by missionary money, and a man who wants to lead the church, but is challenged by the missionaries because they do not think he is educated due to his environmental upbringing, and merging them to a common goal by the end of the book.
Wonderful read!

The books touches a lot on religion but not because it’s a religious book but bc it’s part of the background. The characters are quite complex, which kept me entertained throughout the story. The narrator does a great job being ing the story to light and the way they change their perspective/voice/expression for different characters which kinda tells you what kind of person they are really made me feel like this was a movie or that I was there in a sence. Not a spoiler or anything, most of the characters there are woman, which made me feel like this was a book about women’s lives and struggles because it does focus a lot on on things like this. I loved everything about it. I would read it again, I feel like if I did I would most likely find diffrent meaning to things they said, or did, that’s how much dept was put into this book. Thank you to the author for letting me share this experience.

The story flowed well and the characters were well developed. I recommend this book and look forward to more from this author.


****Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest review****