CELTICLADY'S REVIEWS: Soulful Return by Fidelis O. Mkparu Book Tour and Guest Review!

Soulful Return by Fidelis O. Mkparu

Publisher: DX Varos Publishing (November 22, 2022)
Category: General Fiction, Literary Fiction, African-American Fiction, Immigrant Experience
Tour Dates November 2-23
ISBN: 978-1955065603
Available in Print and ebook, 332 pages

Description Soulful Return by Fidelis O. Mkparu

“The hounding voice inside me would not let go.”

Thus begins the emotional journey of Afamefuna Onochie Nwaku, a Harvard-trained medical doctor with a career most can only dream of, a loving wife, and supportive family. Then, he receives a telephone call from his sister who lives in Nigeria that her life is being threatened.

Left with no other fair choice, Afam leaves behind his family, throwing his marriage into turmoil and risking the life he has built in Boston. Instead of the Nigeria that he loves, that he needs, he finds a land and people he barely recognizes waiting for him. Afam decides to stay but realizes that his future in Nigeria is as murky as the River-Niger after a torrential tropical rainfall.

As Afam sets out on a journey to reconnect with the family and heritage that he left behind, he must face new enemies in an increasingly corrupt Nigeria where many people see him as an American intruder. And through it all, he must fight to keep his family together—and alive.

Excerpt Soulful Return by Fidelis O. Mkparu

“While I wondered what to do, a burst of gunfire shattered the silence of the night as bullets shattered the beautiful glass windowpanes of my father’s house. My sister and I laid flat on the kitchen floor, the way we used to during the Nigerian Civil War. The rapid gunfire sounded as if it had come from a machine gun. Our conflict had escalated to a war, with only one side armed: Ejike and his men.

I thought about the sacrifices I had made leaving Boston to return home. Listening to my sister sobbing, I wished there was something I could have done to prevent what she was going through.

“Bury me next to Mom,” Adaku said, weeping uncontrollably. I put my arms around her and wiped her tears with my shirt sleeve.” Page 203

© Fidelis O. Mkparu

Review Soulful Return by Fidelis O. Mkparu

Guest Review by Laura

“It was the 1960s Nigerian Civil War that had brought us together. The bonds of our friendship were as strong as the strings that held our shared genes. War children, they had called us, but we were not at war.”

Afamefuna has a problem. See, he left his home country of Nigeria many years ago to attend medical school and become a doctor in America, but now he feels as though he is being called back home by a voice inside of his soul. Compounding that, Afamefuna's sister also calls him on his 60^th birthday to inform him that she is in danger of losing their father's land if he does not come home to claim it.

Torn between the place that he was born, and the place that he has come to call home for many years, Afamefuna quarrels with his wife over his decision to return to Nigeria, especially as he has recently been offered the CEO position at the Boston hospital where he works. But, unable to ignore the voice, Afamefuna returns home, only to find that his beloved country has changed since he left.

Now plagued by corrupt politicians and greedy police officers, current day Nigeria makes Afamefuna feels as though he is a stranger in his own home. Adding to this, he must figure out how to protect his lands from his selfish cousin, who wants to reclaim land that his mother sold long ago.

This is a wonderful read that will make you feel as though you've been transported to Nigeria and can see the sights and hear the sounds of the country in person. Fidelis O. Mkparu's writing is lush, descriptive and beautiful. I really felt for Afamefuna as a character and the impossible choice that he had to make.

The choice between the family you're born into and the one you create can't be easy, and this book takes that into account in ways that are both beautiful and tragic.

Advance Praise Soulful Return by Fidelis O. Mkparu

“Mkparu has created a masterpiece of immigrant experience and connection, outlining many of the forces that influence and stress modern Africans and Americans alike.” — D. Donovan, Midwest Book Review

Awards and Praise for Fidelis O. Mkparu

2018 EVVY winner, Literary & Contemporary Fiction for Tears Before Exaltation.

Silver Medal: Nautilus Book Awards, Fiction 2016 for Love’s Affliction.

Reader Views Literary Award Winner 2015/2016 for Love’s Affliction.

Finalist 2015: INDIEFAB Book of the Year Award, Multicultural Fiction for Love’s Affliction.

“A must-read, Love’s Affliction is an exceptionally gripping and poignant story. While intense throughout, there is resolution – and not quite what one may expect!”—San Francisco Book Review

“An exceptionally well crafted work, “Love’s Affliction” is an engaging and extraordinary multi-cultural novel that documents author Fidelis O. Mkparu as a talented, first class storyteller. “Love’s Affliction” is very highly recommended for personal reading lists and would prove to be a valued addition to community library Contemporary Fiction collections.”—Midwest Book Review

Multi award winning author, Fidelis O. Mkparu is a Nigerian immigrant in the U.S. who wishes to speak to his experiences and those of his fellow immigrants. He is a professor of Medicine at Northeast Ohio Medical University and a senior attending cardiologist at Aultman Hospital and Mercy Medical Center in Canton, Ohio. Previously, he was a Spaulding fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital at Harvard Medical School.

His preceding novels include Love’s Affliction and Tears Before Exaltation.

Website: https://fidelismkparu.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/fidelismkparu Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fidelis.mkparu

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Giveaway Soulful Return by Fidelis O. Mkparu

This giveaway is for 3 print or ebook copies. Print is open to the U.S. only and ebook is open worldwide. This giveaway ends on November 24, 2022 midnight, pacific time. Entries accepted via Rafflecopter only.

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