Reviews for Eddie Signwriter

The average rating for Eddie Signwriter based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2013-08-22 00:00:00 Noel Adams Eddie Signwriter seems like a beautifully written book and in fact the first part of the story is mesmerizing but with so many story points, the story that holds it together doesn't add up. Initially a story of a young teenage boy who is encouraged to have an affair with a young girl at school by her aunt which ends up in disgrace and humiliation turns into an illegal immigration story about a young man who moves to France and tries to make a new life for himself. There is an attempt to bring the stories together but it is not successful. Eddie is a young teenager in school when the story begins and he has an attraction to a girl named Celeste whose aunt approaches him and encourages him to take it to a sexual level. The girl is encouraged by her also. A scandal develops later when the two sneak off to Accra together to spend a day at the beach and are discovered missing. A male teacher and the aunt insist on going to find them in a rain storm and the aunt dies. The two are blamed for the aunt's death and parted forcibly by the community. Later Eddie is adopted as an apprentice to a sign writer in Accra and develops a reputation as being a good one. Celeste, his old girlfriend comes to him and they live together. He tends to insult her and verbally abuse her then suddenly takes off for France via a circuitous route through several African countries. He becomes close to several people and learns to constantly run from police and immigration officials. He finds a new love and becomes happy especially when he discovers that he might not be the cause of the aunt's death in the previous scandal. The writing is very descriptive and sounds important but there is too much sadness and depression in the writing and no relief. Was that a happy ending? What did the immigration story have to do with the first tragedy? I felt the book was not as important as it was hoping to be. Though short, it took me longer to finish than others because I had lost interest in it along the way.

Review # 2 was written on 2012-04-08 00:00:00 Scott Smith This is why we need bookshops and libraries: I had never heard of this book or its author, but the cover and flap looked interesting, so it came home with me. Because of this book, I feel like I've lived another life, one quite different from my own. Edward (Kwasi) was a child like many in Africa, beloved by both parents, educated, open to completely and willing to fall in love. He was not a perfect child: he was rambunctious and occasionally irresponsible, but his art was alive with the stories and people of his life. I loved reading of life in Africa. For the main character, though, life was darkened by overwhelming guilt, and ultimately, he ran away from his life in Africa to hide in Paris. I understand how guilt feels, and how isolating it can be. What I didn't understand, though was how terrible life must be for an immigrant: "He could not bring himself to open the door and step out into a world in which the accident of being born in one place not another, or possessing one piece of paper and not another, could turn your fellow human beings against you and you into a hunted animal, on which all kinds of legitimate violence could be inflicted." This book is like the signs that the main character paints: lush, detailed, insightful, subtle, funny, thought-provoking. I am so glad it was on the shelf.