Veteran African writers have earned several reputations for their writing but one characteristic that seems universally accepted by all is their niche of relatability. They weave stories that the everyday Africans can connect, relate and bond with and therefore become blankets of familiarity to snuggle into when away from home. It is in this esteemed tradition that Micheal Chiedoziem Chukwudera, Editor of Voice of the East and Director of Umuofia Book Fest, follows, in his debut novel, Loss is an Aftertaste of Memories, a coming-of-age story with events playing in Benin, Southern Nigeria featuring Nosike, a character from the Eastern part of Nigeria. Michael however took it further by exploring themes of loss, memory, childhood, and nostalgia that resonate with people from all walks of life. And the old saying “Do not judge a book by its cover” seems not to apply here, as the captivating and descriptive book cover reflects the treasures within the pages of the book.
Michael’s writing journey began in 2015 when he stumbled upon a community of young writers on Facebook. Their creativity and passion inspired him to write poetry. However, it was a chance encounter with the accomplished Professor Wole Soyinka at UNIBEN in 2016 and a fellow writer 500-manuscript that made him take the leap and write a novel. As is typical of most first attempts, Michael failed in properly writing his novel but his unwavering determination propelled him. In 2017, Buchi Emecheta’s Second Class Citizen resonated deeply with him and he started anew and completed it in 2019. With the completion of the novel, he started another, pouring his heart and soul into it and afterwards giving birth to Loss Is An Aftertaste of Memories.
Although preparing for his book tour, he made time for a chat with Culture Custodian about his inspirations, writing process, and hopes for his debut novel.
What inspired you to write Loss Is An Aftertaste of Memories?
I wanted to explore the riches of memory and how we reconsider certain things that happened to us, and the dynamics of our relationships with people, when we look back and say, “Oh, this happened at this time and I looked at it like this. But now I remember it in this way and now I think that perhaps, it was not as it seemed.” And perhaps, the readers and everyone according to how they relate to the story can derive its messages from it.
Can you walk me through the writing process for this book, and any challenges faced?
While writing is very difficult for me, as for most writers, I don’t think it was very challenging to write this book. It’s like in that saying by Rumi, ‘When you do things from your soul, you feel a river moving in you, a joy.’ It was in writing it that my craft took a turn, assimilating all the ideas I’d been absorbing from reading over the years. I found myself writing a little at a time, frequently, almost every day. It kept flowing.” When I began writing, one of the things that struck me was that most of the best stories by writers are stories they want to tell. Not what was in vogue or the literary trend. Audacity is the fuel to create refreshing art.
Let’s talk about your characters. How did you develop the relationships between your characters?
I usually begin with the main character and an important event or memory in their life. And then, whatever is happening and however they are reacting to it, there is someone right beside them either as a companion or perhaps putting them through it. Character is all about how they react to whatever happens to them. This is what determines how much the reader relates to the people in the book or not. I also draw from the behaviors of the people around me, some of whom inspired different characters in the novel. That is not to say that the people in the novels are portraits of people who are in, or at some point were in my life. Mostly it is a mixture of what is in my imagination and someone I know. Often a mixture of more than one person creates a hybrid character that becomes a person in the novel. But the combination is largely a subconscious process as I stated in the beginning.
Can you share a memorable or emotional moment while writing?
There are many memorable events in writing the book. I remember that there were different points where I began to write about a scene which seemed already fully formed in my mind, but I never had a premonition of it, never planned it, and it just came at the right time, fully formed. But one particularly unforgettable event while writing the book was towards the end. It was early in the morning. I was on my table and writing and I felt a powerful upheaval of emotions, as though it was coming out from my guts, like an uncontrollable wail that runs out of you. It was a very intense moment, one of the most intense I’ve felt in my writing life and writing is often intense for me.
How does the book resonate with your personal life?
Every book by an author resonates with their personal lives since the creative works of an author are born by either imagination, observation or experience—all of which are influenced by something deeply personal. Loss is an Aftertaste of Memories certainly has some aspects of my story in it, but then that is not fully the point of the book. The book, if it is any good, should portray life beyond the premise of life and I will be happy if what readers get from the book is beyond the confines of my personal life.
The book cover. Yes, what was the inspiration behind the captivating book’s cover?
The book is largely centered on family, and the cover portrays that. It was an effort by the designer and I. I remember in a book club meeting, our curator, Edna Ohabughiro, analyzed how the cover of an edition of Chinua Achebe’s Arrow of God portrays the message of the story, and we wanted to achieve something like that with the cover of the book. But I’m not keen on interpreting it as a whole. Like the book, it is open to interpretation, and I think when one reads the book, the cover interpretation will probably assume a new depth.
How does your book explore themes of identity, culture, or social issues?
These themes are largely interwoven into the lives of the characters. Although admittedly, I did not set out to write a book on any of these themes, I think that they are largely present in the novel. There is no anxiety about cultural identity in it, but the main character faces a bit of a social and religious crisis. His reactions to them in respective instances are different. And that shows the nuances of how different problems affect us, what parts of our beings they touch, and what our reactions to them say about who we are. But I think the book is more a book about memory, and under the lens of memory, everything is dynamic. I wonder what the reader might take from that.
What do you hope readers and critics take away from your book?
It is not totally up to me, but I think that if there’s something I want people to get from the writing and publication of Loss is an Aftertaste of Memories, it is that more people should have faith in their experiences and imagination—and of course, find their creative impulse and follow it. A lot of the novels which come from the Nigerian mainstream for a while now have been born from prescriptive kinds of creative endeavors. And a lot of the writers we have, lack the guts and conviction to truly tell the story they want to tell. They write what they think the world wants to read. When I began writing, one of the things I learnt that stuck with me was that most of the best stories by writers are stories they wanted to tell. Not what was in vogue or the literary trend. Audacity is the fuel to create refreshing art. As for what readers and writers will gain from the book artistically, it is not fully up to me, but as for the story of the making of the book and its publication, I think more people should take the lesson of being audacious from it.
What’s next for you? Are you working on a new project?
Oh well, I am working on a novel now. A collection of essays too. Either of them will be out by next year, all things being equal.
Oh, that’s exciting. From one young writer to another, what do you think they should know about?
I think this goes for every struggling writer, and even for writers who have written a book before. Find a story you’re passionate about, find as much peace of mind as possible to work on it, don’t do freelance writing while working on a book, find another kind of job instead which doesn’t interfere with your writing life, construct a routine, when writing don’t exhaust everything at one sitting, follow Ernest Hemingway’s advice of stopping where you know what will happen next so you’re excited to begin the next day, go over what you wrote the previous day the next day, try to work on it every day, and most especially do not be in a hurry, try to enjoy it because the journey matters as much if not more than the destination.
Precious Nwosu is a culture, content, and creative writer from Abia State living in Lagos, Nigeria. Precious has written for reputable magazines like AMAKA Studio, Resonate, Voice Box, Carefree Magazine, Project Myopia, Adventures From, Document Women, Gay.Uk, etc. and is also a book reviewer. When she is not reading, writing or studying, she is vibing to Ayra Starr’s songs. You can reach her on Twitter @adannaya.
