Kanyin Ajayi author page
1 puzzle by Kanyin Ajayi
with Jeff Chen comments
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| T | H | A | T | S | O | M | A | R | I | N | A |
Congrats to Kanyin! It's neat to see another puzzle bloom out of the Diverse Crossword Constructor Fellowship program. I'm a big fan of mini-themed themelesses, so kudos for the neat link between two books written in response to other books. Mini-themes help make themelesses memorable, especially for those of us long-time solvers.
For certain types of themeless puzzles, so much of the solving experiences gets back to one's personal history. I loved THINGS FALL APART when I read it back in college, so plunking it in after reading [Chinua Achebe novel …] thrilled me. And I had no idea it was a response to "Heart of Darkness"! I wish I'd picked up on that during American Lit classes, but my study habits did fall apart back in that delightful period of my life. Fascinating to read about the novel's background.
On the other hand, WIDE SARGASSO SEA didn't elate me since I haven't read it (and I shamefully can't get through "Jane Eyre," no matter how many times I've forced myself).
Bracing myself for the brouhaha from die-hard fans …
I also appreciated how Kanyin furthered the mini-theme with COEHLO's "The Alchemist" and cluing UNDERWORLD to Dante. All in all, an ILLUMINATI feel.
Too heavy a literary focus might make for a HIT OR MISS experience for some solvers, so it was great to get some FAKE TAN, BARTEND, THAT SO?, for those of us who are TOO SLOW on the highbrow uptake. Great to include a modern term, too, in RIDE OR DIE.
I learned about WIDE SARGASSO SEA from an old crossword and then a more recent one, but I didn't give the book a second thought. Today's mini-theme prompted me to think about the book in a new way, encouraging me to add it to my to-be-read pile. Such power in that mini-theme!