BOOK REVIEW: THE FAMOUS FRIENDS BY OMORUYI UWUIGIAREN

The Famous Friends is a story about Blaize, the cat, who is rescued by Drood and later becomes the messiah who rescues Drood and his boss, Mr. Stanfield, from the den of kidnappers with the help of his dog, Thatcher.

Review by John Chizoba Vincent

Uwuigiaren’s exploration of life’s essence, particularly in The Famous Friends, is why his writings strike a chord with people from all walks of life.

The Famous Friends is a story about Blaize, the cat, who is rescued by Drood and later becomes the messiah who rescues Drood and his boss, Mr. Stanfield, from the den of kidnappers with the help of his dog, Thatcher.
Drood finds Blaize, a drowning cat, clinging tenaciously to a piece of wood that keeps him from adding his death to the tragedy which the early rainfall has caused in the town. This happens after his friends—Fred and Dag—leave him to die alone in the canal. Drood rescues him from dying. However, after he is rescued, Blaize follows Drood home instead of going back to the town to look for his friends—Dag and Fred.
While at Drood’s place, he watches him dine while his dog, Thatcher, waits for crumbs of food on the ground. Blaize wants to pay Drood back for saving his life. So, in the night after Drood sleeps off, Blaize discovers one problem in the house. There are rats all over the house, and Thatcher has been trying to kill them but couldn’t. Blaize helps.
“He could kill the rats to thank Drood for saving his life,” he thinks to himself.
Immediately the idea comes to his mind, he goes to work. After a few minutes, he stumbles upon a rat in the compound. Blaize gives chase and eventually causes a disturbance as he rounds some drums and other things in the house to pounce on the rat. On hearing the disturbance, Thatcher jumps to his feet and begins barking. By the time Thatcher reaches where the commotion is happening, the rat has breathed its last, as Blaize stands with his paws over it.
Thatcher is not happy to see Blaize at first. He reminds Blaize that …
“This is my territory. You don’t have any right to hunt here!…”
Thatcher and Blaize finally become friends after they make a deal following their encounter and confrontation. By the next morning, they had killed all the rats in the house. When Drood wakes up in the morning, he sees dead rats littered everywhere in front of the house. Then he raises his head and glances about and finds the cat he rescued the previous day asleep in the corner. He smiles at him and is grateful to Blaize.
“I guess you did this. Thank you!”
Blaize and Thatcher are happy that Drood likes what they do during the night. They roll on the ground as Drood brings in food for them. Later, while Drood goes to work, the two trailed him.
Thatcher is not aware of where Drood works. He only knows that his master, Drood, has always wanted to be a magician, hence the name: Master of Enchantment. But his father, who is a professor, wants him to learn something he can do with his hands.
At Drood’s workplace, something happens. A vehicle pulls up in front of the factory. A few armed men leap from the van and rush into the factory. Soon after, Drood and Mr. Stanfield emerge from the factory with the men. They quickly put them into the van and drove off. At the sight of Blaize and Thatcher, Drood and Mr. Stanfield are kidnapped, and a plan to rescue them is necessary.
So Blaize and Thatcher trail the kidnappers until they get to where Drood and Mr. Stanfield are tied up in an abandoned building. The kidnappers have already contacted Mr. Stanfield’s people, demanding ransom. They must plan how to rescue the two from the den.
Blaize brings in a hare who helps to loosen the rope used on Drood. The three escape, promising to come back for Mr. Stanfield. They report to the nearest police station, and the police officers apprehend the kidnappers in their den, and they set Mr. Stanfield free.
The Famous Friends is a story of “One good turn deserves another.” It tells us the importance of being there for our fellow humans, irrespective of their problems. We may not find it easy to help, but it is always important that we help people who need us because tomorrow we might be in a position that requires another person to help us solve our problems.
Omoruyi Uwuigiaren writes about the essence of life, and The Famous Friends is one of the many reasons his works resonate with people of unique minds, ages, and races. He knows how to pass a powerful message subtly. And he makes sure the lessons from the message he passes across to his readers stay with them.

Read full review: https://africanbookscollective.com/the-famous-friends-by-omoruyi-uwuigiaren/

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