Bom Boy (Paperback)

Leke is a troubled young man living in the suburbs of Cape Town. He develops strange habits of stalking people, stealing small objects and going from doctor to doctor in search of companionship rather than cure. Through a series of letters written to him by his Nigerian father whom he has never met, Leke learns about a family curse; a curse which his father had unsuccessfully tried to remove.

Bom Boy is a well-crafted and complex narrative written with a sensitive understanding of both the smallness and magnitude of a single life. Part of the narrative is presented through letters written by Leke's father, Oscar, to Leke's mother, Elaine; other sections are comprised of letters written by Oscar to Leke - letters which tell him about Oscar's early life in Nigeria and the origins of a family curse. A curse which resulted in Oscar being imprisoned. Through these letters, a wonderful feeling of traditional Nigerian beliefs and customs are brought to both Leke and the reader.

The pages of this novel are filled with the simple difficulties of living - coming to terms with death, with ourselves, with others, with loneliness, independence, trust - these are dealt with by Omotoso in a careful and nuanced manner.