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In the Nigerian city of Enugu, young Nwabulu, a housemaid since the age of ten, dreams of becoming a typist as she endures her employers' endless chores. She is tall and beautiful and in love with a rich man's son.
Educated and privileged, Julie is a modern woman. Living on her own, she is happy to collect the gold jewelry lovestruck Eugene brings her, but has no intention of becoming his second wife.
When a kidnapping forces Nwabulu and Julie into a dank room years later, the two women relate the stories of their lives as they await their fate.
Pulsing with vitality and intense human drama, Cheluchi Onyemelukwe-Onuobia's debut is set against four decades of vibrant Nigeria, celebrating the resilience of women as they navigate and transform what remains a man's world.
Contains mature themes.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
February 22, 2022 -
Formats
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OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9781666127515
- File size: 313890 KB
- Duration: 10:53:56
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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April 5, 2021
Onyemelukwe-Onuobia's striking debut tackles gender inequality, abuse, and classism in a story of friendship and resilience set in Nigeria. Nwabulu, orphaned at eight, is sent by her wicked stepmother to work as a housemaid, first at 10 and then again at 12, in Enugu. At 16, she falls in love with Urenna, the only son of a wealthy family. Their relationship ends after Urenna gets Nwabulu pregnant and denies ever knowing her. Nwabulu is then sent home by her employers to "the red dusty earth of village," where she is forced to marry Nathan, whose grieving mother wants a grandchild to carry on the family name, and who ends up taking the child from Nwabulu. The narrative also follows a teacher named Julie, who tricks her married lover into leaving his wife for her by pretending to be pregnant. Thirty years later, an unlikely friendship blooms between Julie and Nwabulu, but it's only when both women are abducted by kidnappers that they discover that they have a deeper bond. Onyemelukwe-Onuobia's intimate study of the issues facing contemporary Nigeria resonates, and her masterly storytelling makes this consistently entertaining. The result is as moving as it is thought-provoking.
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