The secret romance begins when Reza robs Binta’s home: an unexpected meeting place that foreshadows an electric tension that carries throughout the novel. Reza and Binta’s relationship is further complicated by the histories of each lover. Reza’s young, rebellious nature is a haunting reminder of Binta’s dead son Yaro, while Binta reminds Reza of his estranged mother. Ibrahim makes these parallels quite obvious from the inception of the romance when Binta observes that she had not been touched by a man since her husband’s death 15 year priors, quite literally in the middle of being attacked by Reza. The intersection between these past traumas and the scandalous affair creates an undertone of a weird incestuous complex that is recognized directly by both characters. Although it borderlines creepy, these intersections create a depth to each character that makes us feel for ourselves their suppressed trauma that cannot be vocalized in the traditional Nigerian society. Moreover, through Binta’s wavering commitment to her affair, we see her struggle under the pull of her sexual desires and the reality that her traditional Nigerian society will not accept her liberal sexual endeavors.
While Binta has her foot dipped in this furtive romance, she also teaches traditional motherhood standards to her daughter Fa’iza and granddaughter Ummi. This paradox of teaching traditions aligned with societal expectations of Nigerian society that she herself rebels against makes Binta a character that has a realistic emotional complexity. At the same time, Reza finds himself being used by a corrupt Nigerian senator that uses Reza’s criminal connections for political advancement. Although it works as a side plot, Ibrahim succeeds in using this narrative to critique corruption of Nigerian political figures without it feeling too disconnected to the central plot. Ibrahim succeeds in making both characters three dimensional within and outside of the affair.
But although Season of Crimson Blossoms won the NLNG Nigeria Prize for Literature in 2016, I’m critical of the Western perspective of Nigeria the novel presents. The oppressive role Islam plays in stifling Binta’s sexual desires is concurrent with established stereotypes of the Western constructed “Africa.” Corrupt, backwards, and oppressive. Even though the publisher Cassava Republic is a Nigeria-based press, the narrative feels like it something to prove.
Ibrahim attempts to disrupt these myths with the generational gap between the lovers. Reza fills the role of a younger generation with his unorthodox childhood, his criminal activity, and his affinity for weed. He becomes a universal character of a teenage misfit, except a misfit with government connections that require him to kidnap a young woman. So a little less universal. However, this stark contrast to Binta’s traditional standards works to depict a changing Nigeria in the younger generations, for better or for worse. The romance transforms into a metaphor for breaking through the stifling Muslim traditions in the younger generation.
But tackling a wide range of critiques at once spreads the central focus of the novel. It feels as though we are reading intertwining short stories. However, while the form feels slightly overwhelming, Ibrahim constructs sympathetic, three-dimensional characters that invite immediate investment into the novel. Ibrahim succeeds in tackling a novel that speaks for a generational shift, and the growing pains of a nation balancing on tradition and corruption.
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