2023 in Books
Best reads of my year
- Yinka where is your husband? By Lizzie Damiola Blackburn
One thing I’ve always loved about African books is that I could totally relate. Everything happening is something I’ve seen before or is something very likely to happen to me. So it really wasn’t a surprise that I happened to like this book very much. It literally managed to express all the frustrations of the unwed woman in her 30’s, who happens to be from a traditional African family, trying to stave off the pressure of her over eager mother. It also managed to make a very bold statement about knowing who you are, well, not just knowing who you are but believing that really, you are who you say you are.
We follow the story of Yinka, almost 30, unmarried, not even dating, pressurized by her mother’s relentless nagging, her little sister’s perfect marriage and her aunt’s public prayers on her behalf. She is tempted to change herself and throw away her values just to be in a relationship so she could escape the pitying glances from her friends and family. But then, in the end, she learns that the fact that she is not in a relationship does not mean she’s not capable of being loved, and that love will find her at the right time, definitely.
2. The secret lives of Baba Segi’s Wives by Lola Shoneyin
The secret lives of Baba Segi’s Wives
Imagine having 4 wives and 7 children, and yet you find out that after all these years you’re completely infertile like zero, zero chance, azoospermia. There’s definitely got to be an interesting, scandalous story behind this, isn’t it? So let’s meet the wives:
1. Iya Segi: first wife, mother of the house, 'wife of all wives' . Mother of three. The most clever wife too, the plan to deceive their husband was hers. Having to endure it all when a new wife comes and choosing at her discretion to impart the secret of living a peaceful prosperous life with their husband
Father of her children: Her husband’s driver.
2. Iya Bolu: 2nd wife, mother of two. Sold into marriage as a clueless child, she is mostly reserved and allows the other wives to dictate for her and her children.
Father of her children: Meat seller. Iya Segi literally threw her at him.
3. Iya Femi: 3rd wife, mother of 3. Of all the wives she’s the most wicked and problematic. Driven to Christianity by a love for vengeance against her enemies, which includes her uncle and aunt who stole her inheritance and sold her off. She personally took revenge for that by burning down their house, so yeah, she probably has a few loose screws.
Father of her children: The son of her former employer, who she loathed to the sky and back - the employer, that is.
4. Bolanle: Last wife, mother of none. Bane of all the other wives' existences, and her empty womb is the cause of her husband’s sleepless nights. All the other wives, well apart from Iya Bolu, either want her head or want her gone, and they’ll do anything to get, even risk having their years of lies exposed.
3. A broken people’s playlist by Chiemeka Garricks
The most wonderful collection of stories each with their own sentiment to convey. Some were hilarious, others broke my heart and quite a number of them made me cry. And I really felt I could connect to most of the stories too. What I loved most was that each story had its unique writing style and point of view. The most splendid ones were those in 2nd person, present tense which is a pretty difficult style to pull off but the author did it with such panache and aplomb it left me wishing every book could be written as such.
The story that made me smile most and will definitely make you smile too was book 4, "Song for Someone", the one with the broken daughter, a contrite father, some ginger tea and workers of wonders Ortsiejolomi.
The story that made me laugh most was book 6, 'I put a Spell on you’, the one where the Wives do a 'ritual' on their husbands to stop them from chasing other girls. That was when I realised a wife can be a very dangerous creature when she really wants something.
And I cried most when I read book 8, 'Beautiful war’, the one where the husband cheats on his wife and doesn’t have the good sense to lie about his reasons for doing so. Honesty is the best policy, really, but sometimes some things are better left unsaid. The saddest part was that they were 'firsts' for everything - they were each others first and only loves, have been dating since they were like 16 and have been together ever since -. So the wife was really, really hurt it almost broke her.
One of the main themes that run through all the stories was that relationships, of all kind, come with a vulnerability to a broken heart but then that shouldn’t stop you from going for it.
4. Remember when by Judith Mcnaught
I couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed with this book. Having read almost everyone of Mcnaught’s books, this one just didn’t live up to expectation. And it was sad because the storyline was wonderful actually. Diana and Cole - sort of friends when they were teenagers. Diana was let’s say 'little miss perfect' - perfect family, perfect skin, perfect disposition, perfect wealth (if there’s such a thing). And there’s Cole - stable hand with hardly enough to eat but with big dreams, very big dreams.
So after 15 years they meet again at a charity ball. Cole is badly in need of a wife so his compny shares don’t pass to his nice and nephew (yes he managed to make all his dreams come true), and Diana is desperately in need of a husband after her fiance jilts her for an 18 year old, making her a laughing stock. So they agree to a 1 year marriage, separate lives, no emotional involvement whatsoever, after which they get a divorce. Of course this doesn’t exactly go as planned and they fall for each other (rather quickly). But then some secrets and lies from the past resurface threatening their marriage and Cole’s business which they have to pull through.
What i didn’t like mostly was that I didn’t get the chance to get to know the characters and I really didn’t feel Diana and Cole’s connection either. I felt the focus was more on the scenery the business progressions than the people concerned and that was very inconvenient.
5. Americana by Chimamanda Ngozie Adichie
So I was so sure I wasn’t going to like this book because I was so sure it was going to be a romance novel where the guy leaves his wife for his childhood sweetheart. Believe it or not, I happen to be against breaking up a perfectly good marriage in favour of 'new attraction' or rather, in this case,’old attraction’. That did happen, quite unfortunately, but I still happen to like this book very much because this was not a romance novel. It was rather a calling to arms in the fight against racism. It was a tribute to all beloved souls slighted, wrongfully accused because they were every race but white. It was an eye opener for people, like me, living in places where we’re just people, not blacks. A mantra for all the people who had to lose themselves just to fit in a world made for the survival of white people. I especially loved the little blog posts she did at the end of some of the chapters, and this happens to be my favourite quote from them.
"...race is not biology; race is sociology. Race is not genotype; race is phenotype. Race matters because of racism. And racism is absurd because it’s about how you look. Not about the blood you have. It’s about the shade of your skin and the shape of your nose and the kink of your hair..."
6. Hunger games by Susan Collins
I honestly don’t know what made me decide to read this ( I really didn’t know they were making a prequel movie this year). I’ve watched all the movies made and I probably knew the whole story already but then seeing this book on every 'best young adult books' recommendation list got me thinking I definitely had to read this book and finally I did.
I know this is not a movie review but then I have to say the movies made do not do enough justice to a book so wonderful written. I really liked how the author was able to make her story come alive especially the battle and survival scenes in the arena. She also managed a love triangle romance where you’re torn between rooting for Gale, Katniss' best friend with his strong appealing character front and loverboy Peter who worms his way into your heart with his kindness and selflessness.
As the book progresses you’re also drawn into a realization of the importance of human lives and just how power can be an instrument of mass destruction as well as hope. I think Miss Collins deserves 5 stars for managing to pen down such a magnetic, compelling story with a world of lessons to impart.
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