A broken people’s playlist — a beautifully curated tale of love, loss and pain
Chimeka Garricks “A broken people’s playlist” is a collection of twelve short stories with underlying themes of love, loss, hurt and pain. It is an expertly curated story, where each story flows into the other seamlessly. Most of the stories are centred in the author’s city of Port Harcourt, and provides a story, a character, that is assured to move or haunt its readers.
Garricks ensures that each story is accompanied by a song, to set its theme. Each story is named after the song. Each song is enjoyable and seems to align with the story, but that does not take away from the well told stories that has been delivered. It however allows for something quite rare, a curated and associative experience between literature and music.
Reading “Hurt” and listening to Hurt by Johnny Cash is an experience. Listening to Johnny Cash as he sings “I will let you down / I will make you hurt”, and you read how an elder brother mourns his younger brother Dami’s death, dealing with his grief as well as his brother being an abuser, looting the family’s funds amongst his many ills makes for a rich experience. This experience is all across every tale Garrick tells. Nina Simone’s booming voice relaying “I put a spell on you because you are mine”, while reading “A spell on you” about how literally the men in the story are being jazzed by their wives to end their adultery or in some cases get commitments out of them is a thoroughly enjoyable experience.
Garricks is an evocative storyteller, A good example is in the short story Song for someone about an addict letting go of past hurtful relationship, you cannot do but feel for the protagonist as she tells her lover in a heated argument “I hope you relapse; I hope you drive yourself when you’re drunk, and you crash and die”.
Across the stories, a central theme exists in the way love is imperfect and tends to dispense pain in very unique ways. In “Lost stars”, we are treated to a tale of love between Kaodina and Sira who eventually choose to fall in love, get married after a on and off relationship spanning decades and beating multiple complications that stand in their way. The haunting end that befalls their romantic tale is assured to break anyone’s heart. In “Beautiful War”, Garricks spins a tale of love and how Ken cheats on his wife Wobia. Even through the infidelity, Ken and Wobia’s love comes across, but the realization of how love can change and harden after betrayal is the type of dysfunction that “A broken people’s playlist” dispenses.
While some stories are a tale of dealing with the heartbreak romantic love leaves in its wake, Garricks also masterfully shows a nuanced perspective of other type of experiences that breaks your heart. The exploration of the relationship between the police force, the city, its unchecked ability to met out extra-judicious killings and the ways it leaves both officers and the victim’s family haunted is expertly captured in “In the City”. “River” offers the mourning of Jon, a best friend, fellow cult member who died protecting the protagonist and how even decades after, the loss endures. That being said, “You suppose know” is this authors favourite short story in the collection. Something about the bantering of the Ngofas in their old age, as they both take care of themselves through multiple health scares is endearing. As in line with the book’s theme, it has a sad ending, but ends with a rather inventive approach to loss, “We should talk less about death and make love more”.
Chimeka Garricks does something powerful in his book, he has a tender, moving and haunting tale for everyone. Across his twelve stories, there is an astute understanding of how love, friendship can prop us up and sometimes deliver a powerful punch. The music choices to accompany each story is inspired and would leave you relishing the experience.
Overall rating: 4.5/5
P.S. If you liked this review, you might like my review on You made a fool of death with your beauty
