A review by beckykphillips
Every Drop of Blood Is Red by Umar Turaki

adventurous challenging dark emotional slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Every Drop of Blood is Red centers on Murmula Denge, a young muslim woman, and Dareng Pamson, a Christian man who has just recently found out he'll become after after cheating on his wife, Rahela. Murmula begins to entrench herself in Dareng's life as she seeks revenge after he heartlessly stole her father's land leading him to disappear. However, both their lives change after a mass event rocks the lives of everyone throughout the world. 

This book very much focuses on the relationships between the characters and we slowly learn more about their lives and backstories as the story progresses. I think Dareng's backstory was particularly interesting as my opinion of him and what he'd done really took a lot of turns as the story progressed. Murmula was also very complicated with her revenge quest and the aftermath of her decisions. I wish a little more time had been spent meditating on that, but the twist in the story comes about halfway through and kind of rocks everything. As a result, I also wanted more time with the world at large after the event, and particularly more on the religious aspects. I think I also would have gotten more out of the book if I had been more familar with Nigerian politics and the history of the conflicts between Muslims and Christians in the country. 

The narrator does a really great job of reading and I recommend the audiobook. Thank you very much to NetGalley and Brilliance publishing for the advanced copy.