Oil on Water by Helon Habila

Oil on Water by Helon Habila
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Oil on Water is framed around the search for a missing/kidnapped British woman who is being held captive by "militants" in the country of Nigeria. Nigerian writer Helon Habila narrates the story through the voice of Rufus, a young reporter who is asked by the kidnapped woman's husband to meet with her captors to verify she is alive.

What I think the author does best is to give the reader a sense of how the international oil industry drastically changed the lives of ordinary fishing villages located around the oil refineries. The grime, pollution, and smell of the oil altered the lives of the people in predictable ways, such as affecting the viability of the fishing industry; but also in less predictable ways, such as creating new tensions and divisions within local societies over how they should respond to their new realities.

Overall, I liked the book because it showcased the important work of "witnessing" that newspaper reporters do. The main character Rufus is energetic and relentless. By the end of his journey he comes to realize how important it is for him to write a story that gives voice to all the actors in this saga. My rating of this book is 4 out of 5 stars.


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