Abi Daré

“My mama say education will give me a voice. I want more than just a voice, Ms. Tia. I want a louding voice. I want to enter a room and people will hear me even before I open my mouth to be speaking. I want to live in this life and help many people so that when I grow old and die, I will still be living through the people I am helping."

“I want to ask, to scream, why are the women in Nigeria seem to be suffering for everything more than the men?”

A beautiful book which tells the story of 14 year old girl Adunni who grew up in a village in Nigeria. Her early years were shaped by a loving mother who prioritized education for her daughter. Adunni’s life becomes ten-fold harder after her mother’s death, when she looks after the home and her brother Kayus and Born-Boy until her father sells her as a frightened fourteen year old, to become the third wife of corpulent middle-aged Morufu. She eventually escapes this life of poverty and abuse to work as a maid for a wealthy Nigerian family in Lagos. Here despite the riches Adunni is a virtual slave, subject to beatings by Big Madam, and harassment by Big Daddy. The contrast between the wealth of Nigeria’s upper classes and villagers is stark. Adunni’s only chance at freedom is a newspaper clipping advertising a scholarship application, and her unexpected friendship with one of the wealthy housewives Ms Tia. Tia is an English-educated environmentalist who does not fit in with her Gucci-wearing gossiping neighbours, and makes it her mission to help Adunni reach her goal of speaking and being heard in her voice, not just any voice but “a louding voice”. A story of great courage in the face of hardship. The book is written in dialect, which was easy to listen to with the skilful audiobook narrator Adjoa Andoh, but I wondered if it may have been difficult to read in a physical book. Interestingly the language changes through the book as Adunni’s understanding of English grows. 5 stars for me for an insightful and powerful book… (más)

Adunni is fourteen years old, and living in a small town in Nigeria with her alcoholic father and her brothers. Since her mother died, her limited educational and life possibilities have shrunk, the more so when her father marries her off as the third wife of a much older man. Her dream of somehow becoming a teacher is immediately shattered. A series of disasters sees her become a house servant - a slave really, to a rich, callous and self-absorbed Big Madam. Her dream becomes even more unlikely to be realised. But the plot develops when she is befriended by the house cook, Kofi, and Tia, an unlikely member of Big Madam's circle. Written in the first person, in the author's own version of pidgin, this lively, involving and often humorous story highlights the difficulties and limitations imposed on many women in Nigeria, particularly those of limited means: forced marriage, domestic slavery. Novels such as this may spark conversations that engender change.… (más)

This is narrated by 14-year-old Adunni, in very stilted, ungrammatical English to start with. This makes it difficult to understand at first, but I soon became used to it. I found the first half of the book thoroughly depressing, albeit eye-opening about the terrible situation of many girls in Nigeria.

I almost gave up, but it was a selection for our book group, so I kept going - thankful that I had paid just 99p for a Kindle special offer - and the second half was much more engaging. I found Adunni a bit naive at times, and it was hard to believe that someone undernourished, doing hard physical labour for 15 hours a day (and being regularly beaten by her 'madam') could remain so feisty and outspoken. But I started feeling more empathy for her and found the ending encouraging.

Whether or not someone likes the book, it's a story that should educate people around the world about some terrible abuses that are still happening. I doubt if I'll read it again, but I'm glad I finished it.

Longer review here: https://suesbookreviews.blogspot.com/2024/02/the-girl-with-louding-voice-by-abi-...… (más)