Title: Tokolosi
Author: John Skinner
Publisher: Westwood Books Publishing, LLC
ISBN: 1643610759
Genre: Fiction
Pages: 398
Reviewed by: Aaron Washington

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John Skinner takes the reader to a beautiful African country where despite being challenges, people work together for the better of the community. The reader is taken on a ride through life in a typical African country. We follow the women as they do their duties and the children as they play and help their parents with chores. Life in the village is beautiful. The people have pure hearts and believe in being there for each other. John Skinner is an amazing author as he depicts everything like how it would be in traditional village life. Amidst the joy and cheer was also rivalry among clans, conflicts among villagers, envy among friends, witchcraft and many other vices.

I appreciate how the story started, with the author introducing the reader to new terms, their meaning and symbolism. Tokolosi was a compelling read from even the introduction and into the first chapter of the book. The situation on the ground began to be sad as drought strikes an African country. The effects of the drought caused suffering and struggles among locals. Readers follow the story as people in different towns struggle through the starvation. The story in Kolokuana depicts how things are in major towns within developing nations. The town was an administrative center and had major offices where the people sought help. I appreciate how individual every character in the book is. Readers follow the story of Obangwatos and their innocence as they get exposed to the modern world.

Some of the characters that stood out for me were Dermot Macausland, Harry, Bhapelo, Dinea, Tsabo, Sekiso, Jenkins Makimbo, and Lawrence Kwawenda. Dermot Macausland was the most astounding character because of the life he led. It was almost impossible to predict Dermot’s next move. This made him an extraordinary character. Tokolosi is a page-turner. The narration in the book is incredible and the characters exciting. Both major and minor characters made the story enjoyable. The author knows how to balance the mini-stories in every chapter, making the reader grasp the context better. John Skinner is engaging readers deeper throughout the book. The author does not leave the reader with a cliffhanger, as he gives the full account of every character.

Through the stories in this book, we learn that humanity trumps every other thing in this world. Power can be poisonous. We see this through characters who fail to assist others who do not have any means and are less privileged. This book has an intriguing plot and dozens of sub-themes. Some of the themes in Tolokosi include money, civilization, love and lust, influence, power, disasters, romance, education, and the role of the United Nations in the world. The themes are informative and give the reader a different perspective of societies in the world. John Skinner is a genius in his art. This is proved by how the story is narrated, even with the inclusion of common events in books of this genre.