"Grief for a Lost Son" - "Kwame Come Home" Review

[00:00:01]Greetings everyone. This is Rambling Collector here and welcome back for another book review. The subject of today's video, the newest work released by Peter Aongquo called Quaame Come Home, The Grief.

[00:00:17]Now, I've worked with Peter in the past to review at least one of his works, that being Cry for Mercy, the first of a series of poetrybased books.

[00:00:27]And Peter, I will say I love the work that he does personally. He's giving a great shout out to India authors, same as me, trying to bring them more into the light, letting others know that there is still great literature out there, especially when it comes to our society nowadays where we do not know what is true, what is AI generated or not. But overall, I love the work that he does. And I was very surprised to have him reach out to me personally to cover his newest work here. And if nothing else, I feel honored by that that he choke was to reach out, especially highlighting how he had liked the work I did previously with Cry for Mercy Volume 1.

[00:01:13]So Peter, if you're watching this, thank you for the work that you do and thank you for reaching out. Now with that being said, let's talk about this book.

[00:01:25]So first and foremost, Quaame Come Home [clears throat] provided a unique poetic story told between two main split perspectives. A mother in grief longing for her lost son to return home and said sonwame now lost on a fool's journey regretting his choices while torn between continuing that journey or returning home. Now for the context here,ame has left on a trip to Europe, selling everything that he owns within the house and leaving without seeing a word to either his mother or his brother. Now Vanessa does not know where her child is, where he has disappeared to, and is longing simply to know that he is safe.

[00:02:10]And we see that common mistake of Hawqame had initially thought of leaving a note but had left in a hurry without trying to explain exactly what he was doing or where he was going to any of his family.

[00:02:25]But the main story does not start off with it. It starts with Vanessa. And Vanessa's story with inclusion fromqame's brother ate truly shows a family in grief. Vanessa's vain pleadings with the African gods as well as her consistent pleadings forqwame to come home. Her spiraling into deep depression and despair really tugs at the heartstrings of the reader, especially a grieving parent. Ate's own dialogue also shows the other side of that coin. Begging for the safety of his brother for not only the sake of their family, but also purely for the sake of their grieving mother. wishing misfortune on all ofqame's enemies that tried to bring him misfortune.

[00:03:09]And it bounces between the first half of the book between Vanessa and Aean.

[00:03:14]Vanessa's grief is heart-wrenching to read, hearing how often she prays to God or even tries to do sacrifices or other rituals to the African gods just to try to ensure that her boy either comes home safely or is still at least safe out there. wondering wherewame has disappeared to, where he is, what is he doing, what drove him to this, why did he just suddenly leave.

[00:03:41]All of these questions tear Vanessa's heart. And the writing that is portrayed here truly does manage to highlight just how overwhelming and how heartbreaking grief itself can be.

[00:03:58]showing how the desperation, all of it, the stages of grief are shown. The anger, the bargaining, all of it is shown here. Almost as if her son had just died when in reality he had just disappeared. And Aean knows in his heart thatqaame is still alive, but desperately wants him to come home, or at least wishes him nothing but the best of luck in trying to make sure that he can at least survive out there.

[00:04:26]But meanwhile, Qame's own tale, while more straightforward, is tinged with immense regret and second thoughts, seeing just how much he had left behind and seeing what he must endure on the mere promise of greater work in riches in Europe. He truly begins to cherish what he had left behind, longing for the comfort and safety of his mother, regretting that he had never told his family where he was going. And initially we see that he had planned to at least leave a note of some kind, but of course he had left in a hurry before being able to do this after selling nearly all of his possessions that he owned within the house.

[00:05:06]At least that's what the story implies.

[00:05:08]Butqaame comes to learn that the promises of riches is not worth the harsh reality you will have to endure.

[00:05:15]We see thatqwame and his friend have to endure or the hardship of being crammed into a small house with multiple other people.

[00:05:26]Being forced to go without food, water, finding it scarce, trying to scavenge whatever money they can get from whatever small town work they can do just to be able to gain the next transport. All on the thin promise that their lives will be so much better in Europe. And this is honestly a cautionary tale that is being written here. Even if there is greater promise somewhere else, make sure that you're not giving everything up just to chase that. Cuz in reality, the consequences and the trials you will endure can at times make that prize feel like a guilted lie.

[00:06:12]So always approach with caution when it seems that there might be a great promise at the other end of the rainbow.

[00:06:18]Do not always fall for that pot of gold.

[00:06:23]While it might be an obvious cautionary tale, it's still something to think about.

[00:06:30]And frankly, the writing of this really does well in portraying that.

[00:06:35]Whileqameus is more straightforward or showcasing that but also hinting at the emotions that are shown. The trials of being thrown into the back of a truck that is spinning wildly over the vast dunes and deserts, seeing children and other people that are tossed from the back half-hazardly with no regards to their safety or lives really makes think and realize that what he has embarked on could very well leave him as nothing more than a pile of bones in an empty desert to be swallowed by the sand.

[00:07:12]While Vanessa and his brother would never know where their their family member has gone, Vanessa would never know that her son in the foolish promise of another life now is merely a pile of bones out in the wastes.

[00:07:34]But overall, I will say the writing here was really well done for all intents and purposes.

[00:07:43]So now let's move on, shall we?

[00:07:49]So bit of a thought bubble here.

[00:07:52]I will say one thing that I have thoroughly enjoyed about Peter's writing so far when it comes to poetry is the pure raw emotion that he conveys with his writings. He really knows how to dig into the heart, the pathos of writing and really knows how to make it connect to that reader. And again, I am not that well-versed in poetry by any degree, and I will never proclaim that I am. I've only had at least two separate experiences with poetry, that being Yammen Tanvoir, whose poetry is more nature-based as well as the world around us. Whereas Peter's focuses very heavily on the emotions, the feelings of people, the hearts of the people. And in many ways, this actually reminds me a lot of one of my favorite anime film directors, Hazoda.

[00:08:48]Zoda as well, despite all the fantastical settings that he crafts with his anime films with things such as wolf children and Belle and so many others, the true heart of it is just that, the human heart. the trials and tribulations that come with it, the heavy emotions, the grief, the love, everything.

[00:09:12]And the themes of family, everything in that regard is portrayed here. And this is one thing that I love about storytelling when it can really make you feel things, when it really dives into more of the human heart, the emotions behind it. That alone makes for some beautiful storytelling in my opinion.

[00:09:33]And if a writer can actively make you feel things, whether it is anger, fear, sadness, love, all of these things, or even just simple desire, all of this truly highlights how good a writer can be to evoke an emotional response from the reader. And I've met very few who can do that. I've met a lot of great writers that can invest me into a story and make me feel like I am alongside the characters, but there are very few that I can think of that truly highlights the pure emotion here. And that's something beautiful you can see with poetry quite a bit. Whether it's appreciating the world that we still have or truly diving into the human heart, that's really something to think about in my personal opinion. That being said, I think all of this really highlights the final score for me.

[00:10:32]So, I feel confident in placingqwame come home the grief at a good solid 10 out of 10.

[00:10:40]It really makes you think, provides that emotional grip that keeps you wanting more despite the short length of the book or even just reading it over again and again and again.

[00:10:53]And depending on where you are in life, whether you are a parent or a child or someone simply trying to find their way in the world or if you have a family of your own, I feel like this book will connect with you on some way, shape, or form that truly will make it an investment worth your time. And with that being said, I think I'll cap off the video here for now. Thank you all so much for listening. If you watched to the end of the video, and if you liked it, feel free to leave a like, comment your thoughts down below, and subscribe if you're curious for more.

[00:11:30]If you're wanting to check out some of the other indie authors that I've covered on this channel, I will leave a link to that playlist here at the end of the video. Or if you just want to see all the videos that I've covered, various different books, from indie authors to novels, comics, and even manga, I'll leave a link to that little playlist here at the end of the video as well.

[00:11:50]Well, thank you all so much for listening. This is Rambling Collector signing off for now and I will see you all in the next video. Have a great day, fellow readers.