"The Girl with the Louding Voice" by Abi Daré.
This book was chosen by Elaine as a holiday read.
The book explored the position of young girls in the culture of Nigeria especially in subjugation to male dominance and child slave labour.
Despite some weaknesses the book was well received in the club and created a good discussion.
The central character, Adunni, grows up in a village, is sold to become the third wife to a repressive husband and escapes to the city where she becomes enslaved.
Her position is eventually resolved by learning and education.
The central difficulty with the book is that it is written in conversational style in a version of pidgin English; the language needed constant “translation” and slowed the reading considerably.
One member commented that the appearance of a little bit of normal English on page 187 felt like a blessed relief.
Other criticisms included naivety or weakness of the central characters, “Gone with the Wind” style monologues, and the plot tipping into melodrama at points.
However, the appearance of a mobile phone brought the story right into the current millennium, and the reminder of the millennia of male dominance and the existence of modern day slavery are both needed.
There are far too many girls and women who could own this story.
The ending is optimistic in portraying education as the route to individual freedom(s).
PC. 30th July, 2022.
AABC 3.75
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