Gozie is Obianuju’s perfect man – he is a Christian, Charismatic, Handsome and an Igbo man. He reminds her of her uncle Ikenna – her mother’s brother who disappeared after the civil war. Obianuju accepts Gozie’s marriage proposal despite an uncertain feeling for Akin – a man her family wouldn’t accept. She marries Gozie to make her mother happy. She experiences the shock of her life with her perfect man after the wedding ceremony. The novel also describes the friendship between Uju and her two best friends from school as well as the struggle of women to meet society’s expectations.
After I read the last page, I reached out to the author to say Thank You. This is what this book means to me.
This book is one of my strongest debuts of 2022. I love how the author describes the cultural restraints on women. Women who do not meet traditional values and expectations are seen as failures in society. It is funny how everything in this book is common in this part of our world. It’s seen as normal. If you think Uju’s story is isolated -read Ogadinma by Ukamaka Olisakwe, The Second Class Citizen and The Joys of Motherhood by Buchi Emecheta and Stay With Me by Ayobami Adebayo among others. Though based on fictional characters, these are stories we hear every day. The Patriarchy is an unending cycle. It’s a system designed to make women suffer and see men always benefit. I wanted to hate Mama so badly but by the last chapter, I was filled with pity for each of the women in the book. At the end of the day, it’s an unending cultural cycle.
This book is an emotional rollercoaster. I was upset – upset is an understatement. I was fuming with rage reading this book.
Another thing I loved about this book is the language, writing, short chapters, and their respective titles. This book is a page-turner. Even though my emotions were all over the place, there was ease in reading it.
This book did not only centre on women, it also critically examined the effects of the Biafra War on the citizens. Another aspect I enjoyed was the friendship between Uju, Ada and Chinelo.
This is a must-read!
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