Desert Water is the memoir of a young Nigerian man who came to Britain in 2011 on a student visa. Read this interesting story of his experience of life in Nigeria and his move to the UK.
Desert Water is a very personal tale in which Alexander lays bare all the mistakes he made in Nigeria and Britain. He starts his memoir off by detailing his life in Nigeria, with all it’s poverty and violence. Alexander explains the differences between tribes, cultures and religions in an easy, light and understandable way.
I loved reading his impressions of Britain as I often wonder what passengers arriving from Africa boarding my coach think of life in Britain. It made me smile when Alexander wrote…
Finally the bus arrived and one after the other we entered through the first door in a civilized and cultured manner.
...Alexander uses American English spelling for his memoir but reading the dialogue it is so easy to imagine his accent as like watching Gina Yashere, the stand up comedian, on television when she mimics her Nigerian parents.
I found it very interesting how Alexander viewed London during his stay in 2011 and 2012. He has that funny young person thing of navigating by postcodes and mentions them as a figure of speech, for example…
247 Gipsy Road, London SE27 9QY
...And like most foreign passengers boarding my coach, complains about feeling cold! Although British people are obsessed with talking about the weather, Africans always seem to complain about feeling cold. Then Alexander reveals the unseen parts of London, the homeless, the poverty and illegal immigrants being exploited by a whole range of people taking advantage of their lack of legal status. This is a whole new world to Alexander, best summed up by his shopping visit…
The next day, I went shopping at “PRIMARK” which is the most famous clothing company in the UK, Primark is best known for selling quality accessories and clothing wears at cheap and affordable prices. I knew I had to look good on stage, so I released 15 pounds from my account and bought a shirt and jean trouser.
...Yes, that will make your average British reader chuckle. Alexander is young and makes many mistakes and has a poor choice in friends. He meets many different girls along the way but Alexander fails to find true love. He does however impress many people with his singing under the stage names of Johnny Blac and Kool Daddy. I was surprised however when Alexander wrote…
After one week, I had performed in four different clubs in Manchester and made a total of 800 pounds. Though it was a paltry sum of money but I was grateful to God for the grace to be paid as an underground musician.
...These were not long sets but just a few songs as part of a show by many other musicians. That seems to be big money for a part-time underground musician, what I would call a hobby artist.
I found Desert Water to be a refreshing memoir to read because Alexander is not a celebrity or a success story but an average man in the street who has to live with the mistakes of his past. I am pleased he has put his story into the public domain and even if it does not sell, I am sure any children he later fathers, will love the story behind their dad. Desert Water is a GOOD read, so gets 4 stars from me.
Desert Water was written in 2014 and is available as an Amazon Kindle eBook.
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