Think of a youth with misplaced priorities, think of corruption, think of bad governance, think of promiscuity, these and much more are themes represented in Krisagbedo's Romance of Digi Diaz.

"The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) is a program set up by the Nigerian government during the military regime to involve Nigerian graduates in nation-building and the development of the country. The objectives of the National Youth Service Corps Scheme are clearly spelt out in Decree No. 51 of 16th June 1993 as follows: To inculcate discipline in Nigerian youths by instilling in them a tradition of industry at work, and of patriotic and loyal service to Nigeria in any situation they may find themselves". (Excerpt from Google.)

The fictional story is a narrative of a fresh graduate named Digi Diaz. It recounts his adventures at the NYSC camp in the town of Apikan. Contrary to what the NYSC program is about, Digi takes it upon himself to live a life of promiscuity, chasing every beautiful and curvy being on skirt. He is lucky with a few girls but a few others prove to be very assertive and wouldn't fall for his sweet tongue.

Orientation course drew to a close as the volunteers began to receive their posting letters, even though the NAVOF State Director had assured that the volunteers would be posted according to their areas of specialisation, there were lots of lobbying as Winka who studied Combined Religion & Geography found her way to Stallion Bank and Seme who graduated in Business Education was posted to National Television Service (NTS). Those who studied professional courses but lacked the resources to pull necessary strings that would smooth their paths were posted to secondary and commercial schools in the interior parts of the state.

Another part of Digi's adventure unfolds as Digi is posted to a secondary School in Yawa where he'll be serving. There, he also cajoules some students into having sexual relations with him under the guise of tutoring them privately in order to help improve their grades.

Apart from all these sexual escapes, Digi experienced difficulty with accommodation. Throughout the novel, all that is discussed is Digi's experience during Youth Service.

STRENGTHS
The writer took time to give a clear narration of all that took place in Digi's life through out his entire service year. The characterization is perfect. Every new character introduced in the story played their part well. I don't think any reader will find it difficult to remember each character and the roles they played in the story.
The novel seeks to shed light on major crises that youths face in the course of obeying the clarion call in Nigeria. Examples are accommodation issues, being posted to interior places when unwilling to lobby.

The most intriguing thing for me in the novel was the writer's continuous introduction of great and beautiful life quotes. Few of them include:

Mankind should never lose the opportunity of seeing anything beautiful, for beauty is God's personal handwriting!
-Emerson-(page 29)

A man should hear a little music; read a little poetry; and see a fine picture everyday of his life, in order that worldly cares and worries may not obliterate the sense of beautiful, which the Creator had implanted in the human nature.
-Johann Wolfgang von Goethe- (page 30)

Love that stammers; love that stutters, is apt to be the love that loves best.
-Gabriela Mistral-(page 34)

Love does not begin and end the way we seem to think it does. Love is a battle; love is a war; love is a growing up.
-James Baldwin-(page 35)

Perhaps we're in this world to search for love, find and lose it, again and again. With each love, we're born anew, and with each love that ends, we collect a new wound. I am covered with proud scars.
-Isabel Allende-(page 39)

To love at all is to be vulnerable.
-C. Lewis-(page 43)

A broken promise is like a broken mirror. It leaves one who holds on to it bleeding and staring at fractured images of oneself.
(page 61)

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.
-Martin Luther king-(page 81)

When you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on.
-Franklin Roosevelt-(page 81)

Gold medals aren't really made of gold. They're made of sweat, determination, and a hard-to-find alloy called guts.
(Page 117)

There's a time for daring and there's a time for caution; a wise man understands which is called for at any given moment.
(Page 121)

CRITICISM

I personally disliked the time travel paradoxes because it could leave the readers confused if they don't read carefully. I also didn't like the writer's use of ambiguous words. I feel it was way too much. There were lots of poetic phrases that I feel most readers will find difficult to comprehend.

Summarily, I equally did enjoy reading this novel. I do recommend it for fellow students in the tertiary institutions with reasons being that it will give them an idea of what they're likely to encounter during their service year and this will help them prepare for all the stress and every other thing that awaits them. The females especially should look out for people like Digi in the NYSC camp. Ladies should stay smart always and not fall for male corp members who are purposeless, liars and sweet talkers whose aim is just to lure them into their bed.

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PUBLISHING DETAILS

TITLE: Romance of Digi Diaz

AUTHOR: Krisagbedo

CATEGORY: Fiction

PUBLISHER: KUMCEE - Ntasaeshe Press Inc.

PLACE OF PUBLICATION: Enugu State, Nigeria.

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 2004

NUMBER OF PAGES: 150

ISBN: 9788048692

Below are links to those I've posted so far.

Book Review - Season of Crimson Blossoms

Book Review: Sally Thorne's The Hating Game

Hearts Like Yours - A book that touched my mind and soul

I'm looking forward to promoting more books by African and specifically Nigerian writers. If you need book recommendations or want to know which books I've read, I'll implore that you visit my blog weekly for some interesting updates.

^{All images used are mine}

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