The Orientation of Dylan Woodger by Chiuba Obele

An emotional work about experiencing amnesia and uncovering harsh personal truths, Chiuba Obele’s The Orientation of Dylan Woodger is a complicated debut novel that touches on difficult subjects.

The last memory Dylan Woodger has is from 2016, when he was heading to Hamilton College to begin his freshman year of undergrad. The next time Dylan wakes up, he’s being tortured – he’s been captured by the Utica mob, and he’s being accused of an enormous crime: taking $3 million from the head of the organization. A powerful drug has erased Dylan’s memory, and the year is now 2019.

The novel follows Dylan as he backtracks and attempts to answer this question for himself – all with the mafia on his tail. As Dylan recalls more information about his previous life, he starts to realize that he’s not entirely blameless in these nefarious activities, and he’ll have to decide whether or not to change in the present, for a story that is at once about regaining his moral center along with his memory, to achieve some measure of redemption.

Author Obele is willing to directly address tough topics in his work, such as rape, drug use, murder, racially-motivated hate crimes, Nazism, and blatant misogyny, through a cadre of flawed characters. The story generally deals with these subjects by having the characters debate the validity of certain ideas directly. Still, these ideas are vital, and more often than not offer an interesting aside to the thriller plot, if not woven seamlessly into the narrative.

The ultimate ending of the novel is a bit tidy, given the harshness that came before it, but it is gratifying to see Obele’s more abusive characters attempt to reconcile with their pasts and change their ways. Overall, The Orientation of Dylan Woodger is a bold debut that takes positive risks in subject matter, interwoven with a gripping mob thriller.