Black Volta


Fiction - Literary
451 Pages
Reviewed on 10/18/2019
Buy on Amazon

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Free Book Program, which is open to all readers and is completely free. The author will provide you with a free copy of their book in exchange for an honest review. You and the author will discuss what sites you will post your review to and what kind of copy of the book you would like to receive (eBook, PDF, Word, paperback, etc.). To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email.

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Review Exchange Program, which is open to all authors and is completely free. Simply put, you agree to provide an honest review an author's book in exchange for the author doing the same for you. What sites your reviews are posted on (B&N, Amazon, etc.) and whether you send digital (eBook, PDF, Word, etc.) or hard copies of your books to each other for review is up to you. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email, and be sure to describe your book or include a link to your Readers' Favorite review page or Amazon page.

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Donation Program, which was created to help nonprofit and charitable organizations (schools, libraries, convalescent homes, soldier donation programs, etc.) by providing them with free books and to help authors garner more exposure for their work. This author is willing to donate free copies of their book in exchange for reviews (if circumstances allow) and the knowledge that their book is being read and enjoyed. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email. Be sure to tell the author who you are, what organization you are with, how many books you need, how they will be used, and the number of reviews, if any, you would be able to provide.

    Book Review

Reviewed by K.C. Finn for Readers' Favorite

Black Volta is an intense and interesting work of literary fiction penned by author Pete KJ. As the title suggests, much of the novel centers around the Black Volta River in Ghana, Africa, with events speared across three decades as lives from the past come back together in the present. One such figure is Carlos, who seeks deep atonement for the sins of his past, and returns to Ghana to own up to the crimes of his youth. Liz has long since left Ghana for more opportunities in the USA, but she has to support the family she has left behind, and slowly she too is drawn back to the river where her own secrets and traumas lie.

Author Pete KJ writes with highly atmospheric prose that evokes every sense when he writes of Ghana. The culture, climate and harrowing oppression of poverty are powerfully evoked in a truly literary way, and the characters are used to convey the bleak history of such a unique and beautiful place in the world. As the river flows through the novel to give it its rich flavor, the characters slowly come to life and we learn more about their grievous pasts. Themes of race and identity are the most prevalent, with effective close narration that gives us much from the characters’ internal psyches and produces a highly emotive arc for them both as a result. Overall, Black Volta is a highly accomplished cultural novel with plenty of intrigue and strong character plot arcs to keep readers thrilled from beginning to end.