Some books are hard to describe. They don’t fall into a straightforward genre, and they don’t follow a cookie cutter plot that can be laid out within a few sentences. The Smilodon is one of those books that, while well-crafted and clearly told, is a book that you have to just read and absorb individually. Below is a review of E.K. Ndanguzi’s novel, The Smilodon, followed by an interview with the author.
The Smilodon plot summary
As young boys, Jonathan and Richie Matiku’s lives are turned upside down when their father is killed in a plane crash, their mother turns to alcohol to cope, and their comfortable lifestyle in Dar es Salaam is reduced to a poor, unstable home life. Taking advantage of his one opportunity for a better life, schooling paid for by his uncle, Jonathan earns a degree and begins his career as a struggling journalist. The pay is meager with most of his savings going to support his younger brother who has followed in his mother’s footsteps, alcoholic, jobless, and still living at home.
When Jonathan meets Emilie, he quickly falls in love. Emilie is six years older, comes from a wealthy family, and has a successful career as a lawyer. Without warning, Jonathan dumps Emilie due to his inferior status on meeting her parents and the subsequent loss of his already low-paying job.
Desperate to become a success in order to win her back, Jonathan takes a job at iConnect, a struggling internet company, after a chance meeting with his future boss. He has three months to prove himself a successful salesman. But his efforts are impeded by the head boss, a cold, threatening, and negligent man who is preoccupied with his own family drama. To Jonathan, he seems to be deliberately sabotaging his chances at a successful career with iConnect. Against staggering odds, Jonathan is determined to win the accounts needed in order to secure his job and deem himself worthy of his late father’s pride and Emilie’s love.
The title and genre
It’s always refreshing to read a book that subverts expectations or throws you out of your reading comfort zone. The Smilodon isn’t a book that I normally would have picked up at a bookstore or a library. However, I was drawn to the premise and hooked by its well-rounded characterization and layered plot. It’s a very grounded story that doesn’t fit into a particular box. It’s part coming of age, part romance, and part workplace drama.
The title suggests that our main characters are about to meet some monster or sci-fi reality. In actuality, the story of the Smilodon a metaphor as described to Jonathan by his colleague, the Jimmy Olsen-esque Salum. Essentially, it speaks to the fears and worries that hold us back. Whether those fears are shaped by our past, or insecurities, or the outside world, we can’t let it keep us from happiness.
This is exactly what’s at stake in this story. Jonathan’s traumatic past, the burden of his family, the insecurities of trying to live up to his girlfriends’ family’s wealth, and his sabotaging boss are the battles he must fight. It’s a lot to take on, and there are a diverse cast of characters who either aid or impede him in his journey.
The characters
Many of the characters in the book are outwardly one dimensional. But Ndanguzi slowly pulls back their layers to reveal the motivations behind their behaviors and actions. From Jonathan’s carefree, chauvinist friend Marcus to his tortured brother to the seemingly perfect Emilie, Jonathan is surrounded by many different mindsets, lifestyles, and motivations.
Though it’s a short book, Ndganzui really fleshes out his characters while keeping the perspective tightly on Jonathan’s point of view. He is the hero of this story, motivated by his traumatic past in order to do better rather than fall into the hole that his father’s death left in the middle of his family life.
Jonathan makes poor decisions, but his intentions are always noble. He’s relatable and even admirable in his determination to do right. It’s easy to turn to our vices when we’re dealt a bad hand, which is why Richie’s predicament isn’t deplorable as much as it is sympathetic. But Jonathan’s determination to keep trying despite such stacked odds gives the reader someone to root for.
The narration
The third person narration in this book is very expository. A lot of backstory is told rather than shown when introducing a new character. This makes the narration very weighty. The plot is very reliant on its narrator.
However, it’s just as much plot driven as character driven as it bounces from one era of Jonathan’s life to the next in its short length. There are also numerous side plots, such as Richie’s struggles with alcohol, Emilie’s family drama, and Marcus’ attempt to settle down.
As the story goes on, the narration begins to settle into the background as the dialogue takes over. With so much not being said in the first half of the book, there is a lot of catching up to do as secrets, insecurities, and tension boils to the surface.
My recommendation
The Smilodon is a great, quick read for someone looking for a real and relatable story. It encompasses a variety of human emotions including grief, love, humor, anger, and depression, giving it a forward-moving energy that ebbs and flows with the plot. It also makes us realize the ideas about ourselves and others that we manifest as the result of our fears and insecurities and how that affects the choices that we make in life. What’s more relatable than that?
Author Interview with E.K. Ndanguzi
About the author
Author links (links open in new tab)
Book Title: The Smilodon
Genre: Literary Fiction
Links to buy:
Book summary
Jonathan wants to live his best life. He wants his heart calm, his vision clear, and his soul lit. But instead, he ends the only meaningful relationship he ever had and then continues to live in constant fear of everything else around him falling apart at any moment. He is unaware that there are forces he cannot see, influencing his life and his worst fears may also be about to be realized.
It is a story of a young man’s struggle with life as he lives with the burden of his childhood experiences on his shoulders until he eventually has to face his demons.
Book excerpt
Joyce was no longer the socialite and toast of the neighbourhood that she once was when Michael was around. She resented her situation deeply and tried to resist it with repeated attempts at keeping appearances – at her sons’ expense, spending the little money that she earned on clothes and socializing while often skipping meals at home or simply getting a loaf of bread and telling Jonathan to prepare tea for dinner. Her denial blinded her from seeing the pain and abandonment that her boys were enduring.
Jonathan had to grow up fast to adapt to the changes that were happening around him. After school, he would go to his uncle’s house to have lunch and pick up Richie who now spent the day there because Joyce would be at work. They would then go home together. As brothers, they grew closer.
Jonathan finished primary school two years later and was selected to join a public boarding school in Coastal Region, an hour’s drive from Dar Es Salaam. Richie was also about to start primary school. Next to losing his father, leaving Richie to go to boarding, was one of the most painful experiences Jonathan had had at that point in his life. Uncle Brandon would continue footing the bill for his education and expenses and help out occasionally at home. Richie started crying the night before he was to leave for school. As he was about to depart the following morning, Richie would not let go of him as they embraced. They both sobbed as a deep sense of loss engulfed them yet again.
At this tender age, deep in Jonathan’s psyche, a picture of what type of woman his heart would yearn for was already imprinted and it was what his mother wasn’t.
Review excerpt
A bar in modern-day Dar Es Salaam. Emilie and Jonathan have just broken up. Jonathan, who ends everything, is not yet fully aware of the true reason of his decision.
As the story moves on, we discover a thirty-year old protagonist who, in his quest for comfort and love, unconsciously does everything to make a chaos out of his life to run away from responsibility and facing reality. When he meets Emilie, Jonathan feels unworthy of her because he is not rich and successful. From the break-up to the struggle to get and keep a job, his haunting childhood experiences rush into his present life and sometimes prevent him from seeing things clearly.
K. Ndanguzi’s novel has a cinematographic dimension to it which makes the scenes and the dialogues move before the reader’s eyes. This vividly visual and kinematic novel depicts the inner landscape of a universal character who, like everybody else, is afraid of the unknown effect of his past on him, as well as of facing his own life.
This haunting shadow is epitomized by the Smilodon, an ancient species of tiger which used to terrorize all the animals (including the forefathers of the human beings), yet whose presence is seldom seen. Therefore, the Smilodon was not so much present per se as he was in the minds and the imagination of the others who feared him; his aura outlives him. At the end of the day, the author seems to tell us, our deepest fears only exist in our own minds, and they are our own Smilodons.
Talking Shop
What do you want readers to take away from your books?
I want the reader to become more conscious of the motives behind their actions. We motivated predominantly by fear fueled by childhood traumas. This can limit us in all areas of our lives. We are all brilliant in our own ways and we can be the best we were meant to be once we go past that incessant fear.
What’s the best review/compliment that you’ve received about your book?
One reader told me it was much more than a story to her. She had learnt so much. The book made her think. As a writer, when you hear this, your job is done.
What famous books can you compare to your own?
I often compare my book to The Alchemist by Paulo Coehlo based on the intention behind the book. I also think our messages are similar even though the stories are completely different.
What is a fun or strange source of inspiration that ended up in your book?
We moved into a town called Mwanza in Tanzania when I was 12 years old, and there was a kid called Malu (pronounced Maloo) in the neighbourhood. I came to find out it was short for Marcus. I couldn’t understand how one can shorten Marcus to Malu. Later I learned how as explained in the book. It was hilarious to me.
How long did it take to write your book from the day you got the idea to write it to the day you published it?
It took me about two years. I work full time and had to often wake up at 4 am and write before going to work. I was learning a lot as I wrote because it was my first novel, so I did not want to rush it.
How long have you considered yourself a writer? Did you have any formal training, or is it something you learned as you went?
I wanted to write my first novel when I was 11 years old but didn’t think anyone would read it. The bug just went into sleeper mode and woke up four years ago. I wrote two short non-fiction books then and started considering myself a writer then.
If you don’t make a living exclusively writing, what is your day job? How, in any way, does it relate to your life as a writer?
I have worked in sales in various industries, now specifically financial technology. My experiences and relationships at work have been a mirror to who I am, showing me my fears, weaknesses and strengths. These attributes are displayed in varying degrees in almost every character in my book.
How well do you handle criticism, either while writing, editing, or reviews? Do you ever use that criticism to change your story?
As a writer, I want to grow and become as impactful as I can. I need criticism (or feedback) to do that. I welcome criticism. You cannot fix something if you are not aware that it is broken. I have made a few changes to The Smilodon as a result of some criticism from my beta readers. That said, my heart is my compass and at times I disagree with some feedback even though I welcome it.
“What If” Scenarios
If your book ever becomes a movie and you get final say over the cast, which actors would you hire to play your characters?
Because the story takes place in Africa, I would have to pick black actors to play the roles.
Jonathan – Daniel Kaluuya
Emilie – Kerry Washington
Beatrice – Gabrielle Union
Marcus – This character was inspired by radio personality Lenard Larry Mckelvey (Charlamagne Tha God), and I really wish he could be made to look thirty-ish and play this role himself. It would be easy for him because he would just have to be himself.
If you could have one person that you admire, living or dead, read your book, who would it be?
My late father. Although he loved reading non-fiction, I think he would have loved reading this book
A wealthy reader buys 100 copies of your book and tells you to hand them out to anyone you wish. Who do you give them to?
I want as many people as possible to read this book so I would distribute them to different libraries.
Your book becomes a best seller. What do you do next?
I would explore the idea of a film adaptation.
Your story gets picked up by a streaming service to make into a series. What service would you want it to be, and would you want them to follow your story closely, or would you rather see what directions they take it in?
I would want it to be Netflix because of their reach, and I would want them to follow my story closely.
Just For Fun
What legacy do you want to leave behind?
I want to help as many people as I can in their quest for self-knowledge, healing and self-actualization as others have helped me.
A movie or a piece of music that changed your life.
There is a film called Half Nelson starring Ryan Gosling. I watched it four times and said to myself. I want to write and I want to write this good. That movie was speaking to me. It was subtle, slow paced and had a lot of depth. I later found out it was critically acclaimed and that gave me confidence in my judgement of what a good story should look like.
Favorite time of/part of your day.
Morning. My mind is clear and that is when I get my best ideas. I like to write early in the morning too.
Favorite place you’ve visited/place you want to visit.
I want to go to Cape Town – South Africa. I have been to Johannesburg but never Cape Town; I think it’s majestic.
Celebrity you’d want to be friends with.
Trevor Noah. I think we would have a lot of interesting conversations
A talent you have and a talent you wish you had.
I think I may possibly be a good actor (smile). I excelled in drama when I was younger. But life took me down a different path. I wish I could sing and had the voice of Stevie Wonder.
When time travel is achieved, do you go forward or backward?
Life is now. Everything we experience is supposed to help us become a better version of ourselves, even the painful experiences. Lessons and blessings only. Going back is literary going backwards. Going forward is skipping essential lessons and opportunities, so in a sense it is also going backwards. Joy is in the journey and in the creation, which is now. The joy of publishing this book comes from the fact that I wrote it. All our blessings and all we want in life is in the now.
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