ARC Review: The Lies of the Ajungo by Moses Ose Utomi (2023)
A strong African-inspired debut that is part fable, part adventure.
The Lies of the Ajungo releases on March 21st, 2023. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. Due to eARC agreements, this review will not have quotes.
The Lies of the Ajungo is the adult fantasy debut of Moses Ose Utomi. The novella explores the story of Tutu, a child from the City of Lies, and his quest to find water.
The City of Lies is an awful place. Long ago, after years of severe drought, they made a deal with the Ajungo in return for a trickle of water. The Ajungo, in their cruelty, took their price in flesh: the tongue of every resident over thirteen. Year after year, Ajungo wagons enter the city with water and take their payments. Tutu is a few days away from his thirteenth birthday and the loss of his tongue when he decides to instead flee the city and venture out into The Forever Desert on a quest to find water.
I found The Lies of the Ajungo to be excellent. It’s a short read that manages to establish a unique tone from the first sentence: There is no water in the City of Lies. Utomi invokes a folklorish prose throughout the book, and at times the sentences felt like they should be spoken around a campfire instead of read from a page. Utomi doesn’t manage to maintain this through the whole novella, but the sections that reach this feeling truly shine.
The Lies of the Ajungo is imbued with African influences throughout—which was a treat for a reader of primarily Western-influenced fiction like myself. The setting is harsh and unrelenting, and Utomi does a great job in emphasizing the ever-present severity of The Forever Desert. In the first few chapters, so much vivid emphasis was put on the stifling dehydration that I became emotionally invested in each droplet of water Tutu encounters. The book really excels in building that initial investment quickly, which is essential in such a short format.
The narrative closeness to folklore creates both strengths and weaknesses for The Lies of the Ajungo. On one hand, it allows for a unique voice, a tight story, and a mythic feel. On the other, it does mean that it can sometimes feel obvious and a little too clean around the edges. For instance, the ending has a great full-circle feel to it that often comes with parables—but it is also heavily foreshadowed and somewhat predictable (but not entirely without twists!). Additionally, some parts felt a bit too quick, and it would have benefited from more time developing Tutu alongside the other characters.
Overall, The Lies of the Ajungo was a great read and a very impressive debut by Utomi. Although I do think there were a few shortcomings, many of these seem common to the novella format, and I look forward to seeing what Utomi can do with some additional space. More than anything, it made me want to read more non-Western fiction, and it made me look forward to reading more from him specifically. And if a debut makes a reader say that, it’s a successful one.
You should read The Lies of the Ajungo if:
You want an engaging, fast read in an African-inspired setting.
You are fine with harsh, brutal stories.
You want to read a strong debut novella that often feels like a fable.