All the books I've read in 2019
6. Aya. Life in Yop City by Marguerite Abouet & Clément Oubrerie
Did I finish it or abandon it? I FINISHED IT
Would I recommend it? YES
My novel, All of our Tomorrows, is partly set in the Ivory Coast. One of my characters is called Aya, so when I walked into my local library a few weeks ago and saw this book on display, I knew that I had to read it.
Aya: Life in Yop City is a graphic novel about the life of the eponymous Aya, a nineteen-year-old woman living in Yopougon (or Yop City), a suburb on Abidjan in 1980.
This is only the second graphic novel that I have ever read (The Watchmen was the other one), and I have to say that it is great. I love stories that teach me things and I learned loads from this one. I learned about the family dynamics, the language, the food, the clothing, it was great.
Only after finishing it, did I realise that this is actually book four of a six book series, but it's testament to the storytelling that this didn't actually impinge on my enjoyment of the book. I loved following the lives, loves and dramas of Aya and her friends and family.
I imagine that this series may be hard to get hold of, but if you have a chance to read a copy, I fully recommend that you do so.
