Olivia Sose's Blog: Prose fiction

I haven't felt any string pulling at my heart to review a book in a long time but after reading the first page of this book, I knew that not sharing my thoughts about it will be a grave sin.

The Girl With The Louding Voice written by Abi Dare is a powerful, emotional debut novel told in the unforgettable voice of a young Nigerian woman who is trapped in a life of servitude but determined to fight for her dreams and choose her own future.

Adunni is a fourteen-year-old Nigerian girl who knows what she wants: an education. This, her mother has told her, is the only way to get a “louding voice”—the ability to speak for herself and decide her own future. But instead, Adunni's father sells her to be the third wife of a local man who is eager for her to bear him a son and heir.

When Adunni runs away to the city, hoping to make a better life, she finds that the only other option before her is servitude to a wealthy family. As a yielding daughter, a subservient wife, and a powerless slave, Adunni is told, by words and deeds, that she is nothing.

But while misfortunes might muffle her voice for a time, they cannot mute it. And when she realizes that she must stand up not only for herself, but for other girls, for the ones who came before her and were lost, and for the next girls, who will inevitably follow; she finds the resolve to speak, however she can—in a whisper, in song, in broken English—until she is heard. (Synopsis got from Goodreads)

I stumbled across this book while browsing through Goodreads, click this link to follow me on Goodreads. The synopsis immediately caught my attention. The fact that it was written by a Nigerian author and it is set in Nigeria and it talks about a Nigerian teenager, simply bought me over.

My emotions jumped off the roof the moment I read the first sentence, it was a given that I was going to really love this book.

Abi Dare's use of language in this book solidified its authenticity. This wasn't like one of those pretentious Nigerian books that you can't relate to, books that are literally falling over themselves trying to please a western audience.

This book was written from the perspective of a fifteen-year-old poor village girl with very little education and the language reflects exactly that.

I wanted to do this review without posting any spoilers, so I'm going to be very minimal with details but I'm definitely going to do an in-depth analysis of this book, watch out for that.

My favourite character is Adunni (the heroine), her sorrow, her loss, her pain, everything was like a bundle that I carried along with her on this journey.

Deciding on my least favourite character is a bit of a struggle, I can't decide between Big Daddy and Big Madam. I am going to do a detailed characterization during my analysis of the book, so you are going to help me decide which of the characters should take the prize.

This book treats so many important themes like the effects of poverty, the importance of education for the girl child, child marriage, domestic violence, child trafficking and abuse etc. This book is rich with too many lessons which is one of the reasons why I definitely recommend it to everyone. It's an ideal read for teenagers although there are some scenes of sexual abuse, but nothing explicitly graphic.

My favourite quote from this book was a statement by Idowu(Adunni"s mother):

"Your schooling is your voice, child. It will be speaking for you even if you didn’t open your mouth to talk. It will be speaking till the day God is calling you come.

”That day, I tell myself that even if I am not getting anything in this life, I will go to school. I will finish my primary and secondary and university schooling and become teacher because I don’t just want to be having any kind voice . . .I want a louding voice.”

This quote encapsulates the drive behind Adunni's ambition for education. Throughout the novel, we see her resilience and fight to keep her dreams alive.

Adunni might be from a poor family and even if she was wronged by her father, her love for them shines throughout the book. The bond she shares, especially with Kayus, is something that warms the heart and reminds us about the importance of looking out for one another as family.

This story comes with so many intriguing twists, the plot developed seamlessly, It was really difficult to predict what could happen next, every turn was unexpected but completely natural. This is an amazing read and I give it a five-star rating.

If you've read this book, I will love to hear your opinion, please drop your comment below.

Is this a book you are willing to try if you haven't read it yet?

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I walked into the lobby of the hotel with my
stomach tied in knots.

I can't remember how I managed to walk from
my cab to the receptionist and even as I asked
her for directions to the hotel's restaurant, I had
already started to sweat on my arms.

Yes, I was nervous.

I was meeting Kelvin for the first time and
suddenly I felt like I couldn't do this.

I should turn around and go back home but
somehow my legs kept walking towards the
restaurant.

Then I saw him, he was exactly like in the pictures
and video chats but he didn't smile back at me
when our eyes met.

I suddenly heard a loud fart, that couldn't have
possibly been from me, or could it?

I quickly looked around to check if anyone had
noticed but luckily no one else was in sight,
It wasn't smelly, but why isn't Kelvin smiling at
me?

I'd tried his phone several times but it wasn't
reachable.

Kelvin and I met via Facebook three months ago.
It was on a heated comment exchange on one of
my controversial posts.
Although he made some reasonable points,
I was annoyed he wasn't on my side of
the debate.

We soon started exchanging messages and here
I am at The Golden Tulip Hotel Port Harcourt
meeting him for the first time.

Kelvin has never been to Port Harcourt and
I invited him so we could become physically
acquainted.

He had asked me to be his girlfriend and I wanted
to give him my reply while looking into his eyes.

I didn't understand why I was so nervous
but most importantly why was Kelvin acting like
he didn't know me.

I mustered up the courage and walked to his table,
“Hey stranger” I greeted with a smile on my face.

He looked at me quizzically, there was no warmth in
his eyes, “Good afternoon”, he replied.

“Kelvin, is there a problem? It's Rose, why are you
acting cold” I couldn't help but voice out my
concern about his behaviour.

“Ohh” he exclaimed softly. “Please sit down” he
ushered me into a seat at the table.

Gone was the confusion that previously clouded
his looks, now there was an amused smirk etched
on his face.

Was I a joke to Kelvin, was this meeting a joke?
These thoughts were running through my mind,
why was he acting so formal with me? This
wasn't the kind of the first date I was expecting.

“Rose!” I heard someone exclaim from behind me.

I turned around and there was Kelvin walking
towards me.

Another Kelvin!

He hurried up to me, pulled me from my seat, and
hugged me so tightly, “I take it you've met my twin
brother” he said.

“Wait, who's my Kelvin?” I asked as I gently pulled
away from his embrace.

They both laughed loudly “I am your Kelvin, that's
André, my twin brother”

I joined them in laughing as I pulled Kelvin into
another deep hug.

P. S This story is my entry for the Content Writing Competition by hotels.ng
The competition requires you to write about top hotels in Nigeria
For more information about this competition and how you can participate, CLICK HERE

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THE OBJECTIFICATION OF WOMEN IN FARAH’S FROM A CROOKED RIB

Nuruddin Farah is a Somali novelist, who has written plays both for stage and radio, as well as short stories and essays.

From a Crooked Rib is his first published novel (published 1970).

The novel is centred on the life of its main character Ebla; the book takes us from her maiden days to her life as a married woman.

A predominant theme in the novel is the objectification of women in Somali, Africa.

Objectification is the process or manifestation or action of degrading someone to the status of a mere object and thereby denying them dignity.

The novel gives explicit and implicit examples of how women are regarded as nothing but possession to be owned and done away with as permitted by religion, culture, and society.

The novel opens with eighteen-year-old Elba who runs away from home because her grandfather gave her out in marriage to a forty-eight-year-old man, although she had younger suitors, her grandfather choose Giumeleh.

We see the grandfather’s reaction and the effect of her elopement from the dwelling; he cursed her, not because he found her action heartbreaking (after all his wife had eloped with him when they were younger) but because he was bitter that he had no one else to look after him.

Ebla who at first is concerned for her grandfather’s welfare later decides to execute her plans, the reason being that after all, he had exchanged her for camels.

Ebla begins to doubt the purpose of her existence:

But why is a woman, a woman? (12)

She realizes that her life isn’t only monotonous but her very reason for existence revolves around the man. A woman gives companionship to man and also beget him, children. After performing this essential “woman” duties, why is a woman still treated as a second class citizen, and, thus, she says:

…surely a woman is indispensable to man, but do men realize it? (7)

The above is a rhetoric question, which requires in-depth reasoning and reflection from the reader. She decides that although a man and a woman need each other, but not at the same degree.

Ebla decides that societal demands of womanhood were denoting the status of women and

…she loathed this discrimination between the sexes. (15)

She concluded that:

Maybe God prefers men to women. (15)

Ebla escaped to Belet Wene where she went to her cousin’s house (Gheddi) and served as a maid servant for his pregnant wife (Aowralla). There she met the widow (whose nephew she later married).

The widow narrates the story of her first marriage to Ebla, the story significantly draws a comparison between her Arab husband and the male monkey.

The male monkey, so possessive about his female mate cover her private area with sticky wet mud before leaving her, this will enable him to know whether or not the female has been made love to in his absence; if he sniffs her private part and there is an opening :

…he beats her like the devil. (57)

Ironically, Ebla who runs away from a forced engagement is given away by her cousin (Gheddi) to a broker. The broker offered him money for her dowry which he used to pay the fine charged by the police.

Ebla realizes that yet again she has been sold as cattle. She confirms that women in her society are just:

…like cattle, properties of someone or other, either your parents or your husband. (80)

Thus, there is no difference between her and a cattle.

Her cousin didn’t bother informing her about his exchanging her for financial assistance but instead, the widow informed her. She was to be married to the broker, a man very sick with tuberculosis.

Here again, we see Ebla question the purpose for marriage. She realized that enslavement and not love or friendship was what existed between the married couples she had met; the woman was the slave.

There is no friendship between a husband and a wife; the husband is a man and the the wife is a woman, and naturally they are not equal in status. Friends should be equal before they can become friends. if you despise or look down upon somebody, he cannot be your friend, neither can you be his friend. (156)

She also realized that most women got married simply for the sake of living a married life and thus, avoiding spinsterhood.

The thingification of the girl child is further solidified in the novel with this shocking quote:

From experience, she knew that girls were materials, just like objects, or items on the shelf of a shop. They were sold and bought as shepherds sold their goats at market-places, or shop-owners sold the goods to their customers. To a shop-owner what was the difference between a girl and his goods? Nothing, absolutely nothing. (84)

She further laments that this injustice against the girl child can’t be corrected since men are the law:

If a woman wants to argue about her fundamental rights, it is always a man that she must see – at the government office and every other place … before she has opened her mouth, she is already condemned to the grave. Aren’t men the law? (84-85)

She concludes by stating her helplessness:

I am nothing but an object. I am nothing. (151)

Ebla steals control of her life by eloping with Awill; she decides that she would not marry any man unless she chooses him.

On the night they get to Mogadiscio, Awill rapes Ebla and claims that she is his wife even though they hadn’t been properly married by a sheikh. He rains blows and kicks on her when she refuses to let him have his way, and, then we learn that:

… a woman never fought with a man, she should be submissive and never return his blows. A good woman should not even cry aloud when her husband beat her. (96)

The above statement further buttresses the fact that in addition to being oppressed, women are also forbidden from crying out; they are expected to keep mute and bear the pain in silence, therefore showing no emotions like inanimate objects. We see how culture has helped in the oppression and reification of women.

Awill travels to Italy for work purposes, leaving Ebla under the care of Asha (his landlady). While he is away, Ebla discovers Awill’s unfaithfulness to their marriage with a white lady. As a way of revenge, Ebla secretly gets married to Tiffo, following the counsel of Asha. She decides on this because to her:

I love life, and I love to be a wife. I don’t care whose. (125)

She decides that if Awill rejects her upon his return she’d remain married to Tiffo. We see here that Ebla’s whole existence depends on her being a wife. What else could life possibly be outside marriage? She fell fulfilled only as a wife to someone, it doesn’t matter whose.

Ebla gets irritated with Asha’s control over her life and says:

I am master of myself (but then she contradicts herself by saying) … at least, not until Awill comes home. (142)

The above statement proves that the African woman is always controlled by either culture, religion, society, nature or the law; there seems to be no absolute freedom. Moreover:

… a woman’s prophet and second-to-God is her husband

At the end, Ebla goes back to her marriage with Awill because he needs her even though it might just be for sex, besides:

…woman was created by God from the crooked rib of Adam, she is too crooked to be straightened. And anybody who tries risks breaking her. (150)

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