“When I was a little boy
Down the expansive beach I used to roam
Searching for strange corals
And bright pebbles
But I found sketches on the sand
While voices in the wind
Chanted the code of secret ways
Through the boundless seas”

A life story that dwells from the writers want of escape from the confusion that surrounds the very existence of a young Africa. An Africa whose attire is customary, which speaks of tradition; and yet one, who in its own land is condemned for the same.

Dangerous love is a story of two people who find love in order to find peace in a land of turmoil. Its about two young souls who belong to a generation which aches for change, peace and serenity. A generation which needs to overthrow the shackles that dominate their lives.

Omovo, a young painter, finds himself living in a ghetto with his father and step-mother. He is a part of a family, which aches for togetherness but is unable to express the yearning. Omovo is the witness to the turmoil that has grasped each member. His escape is Ifeyiwa, another man’s woman.

Omovo thinks he loves her for she is a sufferer. He doesn’t really know. She loves him for no reason at all. The truth is that they are bound by a force that protects them from everything else. They relate with each other despite their very different backgrounds and this dissimilarity is the reason why the relationship provides an escape from situations which form a part of their meaningless existence.

Dangerous love, through Okri’s pen, is not merely a love story. It’s a story about love, humanity, life, Africa, disdain and want.

It is the story of Dr. Okocho-the sign board writer, the artist; it is the life story of Keme- the journalist; of Dele, a young African who loves the idea of foreign land, especially of the states; of Okoro- who finds it difficult to escape the nightmares of war ; of chief-omovo’s father, who is unable to relate with his children and wife; finally of Umeh and Okur, the brothers who are in search of home.

I eat my words-its not a story, its life as told through Ben Okri’s pen. A magnificent recapitulation. ( )