Where the Dead Brides Gather by Nuzo Onoh is a good book but definitely an unusual one. It tells the story Bata, a young girl who has been tormented by nightmares ever since a childhood accident that resulted in her temporary death. When Bata is ten her cousin is getting married and the night before she wakes up from her nightmare and walks over to her uncle’s house and stands protectively outside her cousin’s door. She does this to protect her from the various ghost-brides that may attack her or try to possess her. The next morning Bata doesn’t seem to actually remember what happened and is confused about why everyone is watching her. Shortly afterward she is forced by her father to undergo a cleansing ritual with the local shaman which ends up botched. Instead she ends up getting transported to Ibaja-La, the realm of dead brides, where she ends up learning what is actually going on. Bata has become a bride sentinel, someone with the powers and knowledge to protect brides-to-be from ghost-brides, despite her relatively young age. Now she has to figure out how to fit back into her old life while also learning how to manage her new abilities.
I am going to start out by saying that I really had no idea what this was going to actually be about as I was completely unfamiliar with this author and this work before I decided to read it. That being said I was engrossed by the story, which is not something that I would typically find myself when it comes to horror works as they tend to be a genre I don’t usually enjoy as much. In this case I was drawn in from the beginning and was fascinated by the culture and belief system that was interwoven in the background and formed the basis of the story. Considering I am from the United States, I don’t actually know a lot about African culture and beliefs, any African culture because I know there is more than one, so I loved getting to see the bits and pieces that were revealed over the course of the book. Moving away from that, something I really found fascinating was the perspective used for the story. It is told entirely from Bata’s point of view but the story itself focuses on brides and getting married and all of the ways that can potentially go wrong leading to a vengeful ghost bride. That is not something you typically associate with someone that young, mostly because they don’t have a very deep understanding of all of that just yet. It created this weird dichotomy where the story itself was anything but childlike and innocent but the narrator was exactly that the entire time. Honestly, I found myself really intrigued by the nuance that added to the story. It also probably helped that I really liked the character of Bata and found her to be a pretty typical kid of her age even if she is from a drastically different culture. In my opinion, the book was thoroughly pleasing and a great read so I am probably going to look for more by this author. Either way I am happy giving this book four out of five stars.
This book is a good example of the horror genre but includes many slightly unfamiliar elements due to the setting and culture where it takes place. If you enjoy unconventional horror than you should seriously consider trying this one out though it may also hold appeal for any readers wishing to learn more about various African cultures and beliefs as well. The book is aimed at adult readers despite the age of the narrator and I would mostly agree with that though there is nothing that would make it completely unsuitable for older teens and young adults as well if they feel inclined. I would suggest only readers older than about fifteen or sixteen though. Overall it is a great book and I hope you will consider trying it. If you do feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.