This one was just okay for me. The concept had so much potential, and I was genuinely intrigued by the multi-generational storyline. But overall, I felt like the execution didn’t quite land.

The ending, in particular, left me scratching my head—it felt rushed and unclear. Was the curse actually broken? What happened next? I was left wanting a bit more resolution.

While I really appreciated the dive into the family’s history, I would’ve loved to see a stronger tie-in to the justice themes that were hinted at. Some plot points felt unnecessary or underdeveloped, and that took away from the overall impact.

The structure also made it a bit hard to follow. There were so many shifts in location and time that I struggled to stay grounded in the narrative. A more consistent timeline might’ve made the story easier to connect with emotionally.

That said, I still think the story idea was genuinely interesting—it just didn’t come together in the way I hoped.

If you love a multigenerational family drama, go ahead and add this to your TBR and get this story into your possession. Eze navigates the complexities of tradition versus modernity, mental health, and the haunting legacies that shape our identities. I was invested in the story of Margaret and Benjamin's relationship and what led to their separation. Their story is told intricately through the changing dynamics of the setting, Nigeria. I thoroughly enjoyed Eze's debut and look forward to their future work. Thank you, Penguin Group Dutton and Tiny Reparations Books for providing this book for review and consideration via NetGalley.

4.5/5 ⭐️

Thank you to Tiny Reparations Books and Penguin Random House for this e-arc via NetGalley! This is truly one of the most refreshing and notable books of 2025!

If the events of the life one lives is a a result of all past actions made by the people who came before you, the ones who are directly responsible for your coming into the world, are the consequences of their actions, whether folly, righteous, well-intentioned, malicious or simply careless, also for a person to bear in their own life? There's a thought-provoking epigraph before the first chapter of Tochi Eze's debut novel "This Kind of Trouble" that wrestles with the "Western" idea that not only should children, those innocents, not be responsible for the actions and the consequences of such actions committed by their forebearers, but that family is, according to fellow Nigerian author Tola Abraham Rotimi, everyone's first war. The two ideas, in contrast, really sets the stage for this incomparable, riveting novel that brings into focus what happens when tradition and modernity converge and wrestle with each other, what happens when the past and the present intertwine to create events that are fated and altogether mysterious, while also calling into question what makes a family. What does it looks like when a life is lived as the result of the actions taken by our ancestors? And what is a person's life in the context of those actions, some fated, some not? Are the connections each of us has to the past and the present, the ties we have to our family, home people, villages, our communities that produce us, shape us, house us and raise us, the moulds of our identity, the thing that gives us humans form and function?

Tochi Eze has weaved a truly magnificent, insightful tale that beautifully captures the complexity of family history, especially shining a light on the Igbo-Nigerian sense of family. Her story follows two key characters, whose stories are intertwined - a white-passing Englishman of Nigerian heritage, Benjamin Fletcher, and his ex-wife Margaret. Their shared connections and troubles predate their first meeting in the 1960's to their forefathers who come from the same Nigerian village, Umumilo, the start of all the troubles. Through three timelines starting in Umumilo during British-imposed colonization in 1905, Tochi Eze weaves and bobs from the fated events that lead to Benjamin and Margaret's coming together, moving to the "present-day" of the book which is in 2005 when the couple are in their sixties and have become estranged. Benjamin lives in Atlanta, Georgia in the USA while Margaret lives in Lagos, Nigeria, battling a mental illness seeming to be schizophrenia. She's constantly communing with spirits, which in the African religious/spiritual context spells something quite different than what Western medicine/people might understand to be happening.

Margaret has taken to heart the words of Umumilo's dibia, who has determined that all the trouble their family lineage faces is due to a curse in his communion with the gods and the ancestors that preside over the home people of Umumilo. Margaret's quest to seek healing and resolution for her family's troubles leads to a quasi-family reunion/reconciliation. In seeking to explore her fraught family history and committing to the payment the gods seek for clearing the path forward for her and Benjamin's direct lineage of family members, in particular their daughter, Nwando, her husband, Nosa and their son Chuka who attends boarding school. Tochi Eze really has a gift for showing the divergence in how the dibia vs. the psychiatrists treat the unsettling, violent events that Margaret believes has resulted in her spiritual disquiet and the discord in their lives. Is it schizophrenia or are the spirits of the ancestors and the gods the home people answer to communing with her about what needs to be done to correct the wrongs they've perceived as being committed by Benjamin and Margaret's ancestors?

Going back in time and reckoning with the events that led to their current situations, Tochi Eze doesn't give exact answers to all the questions Margaret and Benjamin both ask about each of their forebearers. As the reader, you'll have to make that decision for yourself. Besides being original, riveting and altogether unforgettable, I loved the focus on older characters, the dynamics of a family that's in discord and trying to make peace with each other, the focus on the impact of colonialism on indigenous values and ideas and the treatment of family as a sacred group of people who are related not only through lineage, but also a series of events. This is an extraordinary debut!

Within the first few pages, readers are drawn into the mystery of Benjamin and Margaret's relationship and what led to their separation. Eze masterfully reveals just enough information about Benni and Maggie, along with their ancestors' stories, to keep readers eagerly turning pages to uncover the details of the curse that has crippled Margaret for years.

For those unfamiliar with Nigerian culture, this book provides an accessible introduction to cultural interactions and speech patterns. The village scenes effectively convey basic customs, while each chapter's storytelling deepens our cultural understanding. The book weaves historical context throughout—particularly in depicting the relationship between the Nigerian village and English colonials.

Margaret emerges as a fascinating character. Her internal struggle—balancing ancestral cultural traditions with Christian beliefs while seeking answers in modern medicine—creates a relatable portrait of someone striving to protect her family while feeling constrained by limited solutions. Driven by fear, she pursues every possible avenue—therapy, medicine, spiritual cleansing—to safeguard her loved ones.

I liked the intertwined narrativr through time, locations and different characters. Really original book, entertaining and interesting topics are dealt with. Great debut and I will keep a look on this author because I really enjoyed this reading. Thank you Penguin Group Dutton for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.