Ben Okri's work, The Famished Road, gives a very strong impression of the "in-between" than other magico-realist texts we have read in this course have presented before. Mainly with Azaro and the fact that he is an abiku (which is linked to Yoruba mythology): a child destined to die before reaching the age of twelve. Azaro is constantly confronted with his predestined death; being torn between the spirits who came to get him and the mother he loves – which seemed interesting to me because it is said that abiku don't particularly care about their mother's grief (because they always return to the same mother, and still never consider staying in the land of the living). I think because we are introduced, from the beginning, to both the land of the living and the spirit world, there is an element of cohesion that lies in the constant state of in-between for all the characters. This book introduces us to the concept of myth right from the start, and I believe it is a big contributor to this book being called a magical-realist text. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”? Get an original essay The story begins with the phrase “In the beginning” which, although reminiscent of the Bible, mainly reminded me of the myths of creation that I have I looked in another class. Even the idea of ​​the cyclical nature of life, especially for that of the abiku, in that everyone is meant to be born, live, die – wash, rinse and repeat. This openness to the text also shows how this world works and why knowledge is relevant to the story, in relation to abiku. All of this is important, I think, because despite the Yoruba folklore and cultural element of this story which creates a situation for those of other cultures, particularly Western and European audiences, to be "othered", it makes us also gives insight and an ability to understand, a little, the journey that this text will take us on. I also found the father's statement that it is more difficult to love than to die, in the context of colonialism, very interesting. I mean, the very nature of colonization depends on whether those doing it consider themselves superior to those they are colonizing. They cannot be considered people, otherwise the emotional toll would prevent events such as colonization from happening. The idea that “people who look like humans are not human beings” and that humans only seek to fade away, instead of understanding each other. that their destiny demands unity. Alongside this, the idea that "machines, poisons and selfish dreams will devour us", which, looking at the history of not only colonization, but also industrialization and capitalism, shows us to to what extent there is personal and societal reflection to be carried out. of these statements.