Review of book Till Dawn Comes with a Song

Abstract

“His grip was firm when he took the note to read the third time. The message stared at him. He stared back at it. The warning was brief and clear-cut. They would kill him if he was not very careful.” These are the opening sentences of Theophilus Ejorh’s new novel, Till Dawn Comes with a Song. Impressive in its intensity, the novel is a high-octane story inspired by real events. Set in a political climate that suppresses free press, Ejorh’s novel is redolent of the consequences of corruption, bad governance, avarice, state-sponsored terrorism, and environmental degradation. The story also highlights the misery and dereliction that are prevalent in the oil-producing communities of the Niger Delta. Although the events in the region are well known, Ejorh gives the narrative a vibrant freshness and intensity that provoke haunting images. The story adopts a third-person narrative technique, and the chapters are not too long or tedious, such that the reader finds turning the pages appealing.