World Book Day Recommendations: “Five Books that Shaped my Writing” — Hymar David

For World Book Day, 2021 and #365DaysOfBookOclock, we asked Nigerian writer, Hymar David to share with us five books that has either shaped his writing or he generally loves.

Hymar David grew up in Lagos and Ogun states. He wanted to be a lawyer and instead became a writer and now, seeing how much tech guys make, he spends his time wishing he had obeyed his father and studied computer something. He lives in Lagos and has a memoir that’s currently not in circulation. He is the author of I for don blow but I too dey press phone.

Read him:

In no particular order, these are five books that have shaped my writing:

1. The Baboon King by Anton Quintana

Set in the grasslands of Kenya, this book tells the story of a half-Masai, half-Kikiyu hunter who struggles to carve an identity in a world where he’s not considered legit enough. He ends up an outcast and finds a home among a troop of baboons where he has to carve a place for himself with sheer violence, force and wits.

I read the story the first time when i was maybe 17 years old( ended up stealing the book from the owner, lmao, and it has been with me ever since), I saw a lot of myself in the main character. I identified with his struggle for acceptance, for placement. The violence, the rawness of his existence in the jungle, the rebellion in his heart, the enduring power to survive in the brutal, unforgiving world of both man and beast, I saw myself in that too.

And the minimalist but vivid style the author used gave me an idea of the kind of writing style I wanted to model my own writing after.

2. Jesus Out To Sea by James Lee Burke

This is my favourite collection of short stories. James Lee Burke is perhaps the most expressive writer alive. I loved how he uses words, how his metaphors, his imagery are vivid. And I love his ability to title a book or a story. Almost everything about his writing is poetic without being pretentious.

His writing forced me to pay more attention to my sentences, to work on my descriptive abilities. And his storytelling style, he would end the story and you would get angry because "hey man, the story was just starting nau," then you realize you had been tricked. You feel like a puppet under the mastery of his narration. You feel like, Oh so this is what elite writing feels like eh?

3. Appaloosa by Robert B. Parker

I am not really into Westerns. But Robert Parker's writing is so electric that when I picked this book, I found myself in page 15 before I knew what was happening. Every chapter pulls you into the next and the next and the next.

I believe good writing should make you want to keep going even when you have other things to do with your life.

I believe good writing should make you want to lock yourself in the toilet during office hours at work just because you want to know what the hell Butch was thinking shooting up Wolfson's bar like that.

Also, one thing that stood out for me about Mr. Parker’s writing is how he was very, very fixated on his characters' conversations. A huge chunk of the book was just people talking. An entire chapter would be 95% conversation and the story would still be moving at breakneck speed. No description of scenery or even the characters themselves. He let their talking do the talking. And I think that’s genius. I try to do that in some of my writing and I go "Omo, this thing no easy o."

4. The Long Walk by Stephen King

The real horror in a Stephen King novel is not the monsters he creates, it is the way he makes you feel deeply attached to his characters and then midway you realize something bad may happen to them and you can't handle it.

And my favourite thing was his simple use of prose. The relatable yet rich clarity of his writing. Now and then he would sneak in a sentence or phrase that would make you roll it over and over in your head, savouring the elegance.

Stephen King remains one of my favourite authors. And I don’t even give a shit about horror like that. I just love how he invests into his characters, how his stories, his characters throw up mirrors and surprises and heartbreaks without any fear of God. He writes as if his readers no get feelings. The man no dey try. In the Long Walk I thought I was rooting for Garraty then, next thing, I found myself on Sebastian’s side, then in an eyeblink, I just wanted everybody to make it.

And of course, you can guess what Stephen King did in the story.

You may also like: World Book Day Recommendations: ‘Five Books I Love’ — Sihle Ntuli

5. The Great Hunt by Robert Jordan

Omoooooo. This was the first book I can say blew me away. To pieces. And it was bulky. Seven hundred pages of non-stop fantasy action, thrilling writing, brilliant characters and a powerful visionary plot. It was the first book I read and instantly hated the author because "where una dey see this talent nau?"

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World Book Day Recommendations is a series of book recommendations made by African contemporary writers for World Book Day, 2021 and Book O’Clock’s anniversary.