bookshy: Chika Unigwe

It's been another great year of African literature. Sefi Atta, Nadine Gordimer, Chuma Nwokolo, and Ahdaf Souief were some of the authors that returned with new works. There were debuts from Emmanuel Iduma,Yejide Kilanko, Sue Nyathi, Chibundu Onuzo, and Tolulope Popoola to name a few; anthologies from Caine Prize and NaijaStories; and the much awaited memoir from Chinua Achebe, as well as memoirs from Ngugi wa Thiong'o and former Vice President (and now President) of Ghana, John Dramani Mahama. And there's also the wealth of African publishers bringing us even more amazing books.

Some 2012 books I'm dying to read Some 2012 books I was able to read

While I wasn't able to read all the books that were published this year, I was fortunate enough to read some, and I figured I couldn't end this year of reading without my very own "Best Of" list.

I am constantly making lists, but this is my first ever "Best Of" list, and it was much harder than I thought to choose my favourite books of the year. I initially started off thinking I would chose three books, but it was much harder than I thought to do that. In the end I decided to pick my five favourite books that were published in 2012 - and even that was hard. I nearly made it a top seven (there were a couple more books I wanted to add), but in the end I held my ground, and stuck to five. Well, here they are in no particular order:

Absolutely loving these books was definitely one of the reasons they made my top five, but I also think it's their difference that made me choose them in the end. These indeed are very different books, but I guess that's why I loved them. To me they represent the diversity of contemporary African literarature.

Chika Unigwe's Night Dancer portrays three very different women's complex lives in a patriarchal society excellently; AfroSF shows the possibility of Science Fiction as a literary genre in Africa; after spending a month reading his translated novels Alain Mabancknou can do no wrong in my eyes, and Black Bazaar (which thankfully was translated into English this year) took me to the world of African immigrants in Paris; I found Looking for Trasnwonderland by Noo Saro-Wiwa refreshing and honest, especially after a not-so-good experience with another travel guide on Nigeria; and Fine Boys, what more can I say that I haven't already said - beautifully written and authentically and unapologetically Nigerian.

So these are mine but what were your favourite books of 2012? I would really love to know.

12:04 2 Comments

Originally published as De Feniks in Dutch, The Phoenix is Chika Unigwe's first novel, and if I wasn't already sure I was a fan of hers, reading this novel definitely cemented it.

The Phoenix tells the story of Oge, a Nigerian woman, married to a Belgian, living in Belgium. It's told from Oge's point of view so from start to finish we are with Oge - seeing what she sees, feeling what she feels, sharing her highs and lows, her past and her present.

Early on in the novel you get the feeling that Oge is out-of-place in her new home and this sense of constant loneliness. Even amongst the other Black people she meets in her day to day living in Belguim, she does not feel a connection, as they do not reciprocate her smiles or niceness - they go about their daily existence in Belgium trying to be invisible. As the story goes on, we begin to understand the root of Oge's feeling of "foreignness" and loneliness. In addition to that, Oge is also battling two griefs/losses - one which happened a year ago which she has failed to come to terms with, and the other, a recent addition, which she is struggling to accept. All these combine together to affect not only her, but her marriage.

In all her novels I've read, I've noticed Chika Unigwe has this ability to transport us back to our main characters previous lives, to give us a glimpse in to who they were, who they knew and how their past experiences may have shaped their present. And in The Phoenix, she doesn't fail. We get glimpses (through Oge's flashbacks) of her life in Enugu (back in Nigeria), the fun times she used to have with friends, including her best friend, Angel, her family, how she met Gunter (her husband), and even her initial experiences in Belguim.

The theme of loneliness and alienation in a foreign land was ever-present and ever-constant. Even when Oge had people around her (like her coffee-drinking friend, Lisa) she still felt alone, different, and foreign. Additionally, Oge is also dealing with a different cultural way - being able to show up unannounced and stay for days, weeks on end at relatives places in Enugu vs having to call in advance and plan for a few hours visit in Belgium - which seems to frustrate her. The lack of community also added to her loneliness. There is also the issue of stereotypes that Oge has to face, with Belgian's she meets having a particular image of "Africa" (the country) that they are not willing to let go - an old lady on the train is adamant Swahili is the only language Africans speak and is unable to fathom that Oge, who claims to be African does not know, or understand Swahili; or a recruiter assuming that Oge, a gradaute of banking and finance, was at the recruitment agency to look for work as a cleaner.

This is a pretty short novel (183 pages), but it packs a lot. To me what stood out in The Phoenix was how it portrayed the issues of loss and how that can be compounded by feelings of loneliness and alienation in a foreign land. Also, the title of this novel couldn't have been more perfect considering what it's about - dealing with loss and loneliness and accepting it (which to me signified the being burnt and reduced to ashes part of being a phoenix) in order to one day hopefully rise again, a new person (just like the phoenix).

I am not sure if this novel is available outside of Nigeria, Belgium or the Netherlands, but I do hope it is because it's a remarkably wonderful story, and one I woud definitely recommend.

4 out of 5 stars

15:08 3 Comments

Released on June 7, Night Dancer is Chika Unigwe, author of On Black Sisters' Street, third novel. And what a beautiful novel it is.

Night Dancer is set in Nigeria (Enugu to be exact) and tells the story of Mma and her stubborn mother Ezi. Ezi's unexpected death leads Mma to learn about her mother's past and rethink the resentment and contempt she has held for her mother her whole life. Mma resents her mother who likes to say things twice like 'dance-dance' and 'happy-happy' and who won't let Mma know anything about her father - Ezi left her husband, Mike, and life in Kaduna, when Mma was a baby to raise her as a single mother.

Written in three parts, Chika Unigwe tells a beautiful story, which reveals what happened, why everything is the way it is and why every character in the book did what they did. It starts in 2001, after Ezi's death, and concentrates on Mma's very negative feelings and hatred towards her mother. From Mma's point of view we see what being raised by a proud single mother did to her childhood and how it affected Mma's life. When Mma starts reading Ezi's letters, or her 'memoirs', Mma finds out the truth about her mother, her past life and why she did what she did. Her mother's letters also leads Mma to be reunited with the family she never knew she had - grandfather, uncles, aunts, father. It then goes back to 1960 where we find out what exactly happened to make Ezi leave her husband Mike, and raise their daughter Mma on her own. And it comes back to 2002 when Mma eventually meets her father, Mike, and begins to change her mind about her mother. In these three parts, we hear both Ezi and Mma voices.

When Night Dancer started I felt Mma's pain and sorrow and understood why she felt the way she did towards her mother, but as I read, I began to understand why Ezi was the way she was and my views towards her completely changed. You end up sympathising with, and understanding, both Ezi and Mma. Being a single mother in Nigeria is not easy, but being a single mother who isn't widowed, and who refuses to tell anyone about the child's father is even tougher. What happens when you defy tradition? What happens when you do what is right and what you strongly believe in, even if it goes against tradition? How does a modern woman cope with the battles of tradition versus her thinking, feelings, beliefs? And how do you survive in contemporary Nigeria and make a living once you have defied tradition?

From start to finish I loved everything about Night Dancer, and couldn't put it down. If you loved On Black Sisters' Street you will also love this.

5 out of 5 stars.

13:51 2 Comments

13:42 3 Comments

23:43 No Comments

About me

Follow

recent posts

Blog Archive

Popular Posts

Get in touch!