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Ugwu, a boy from a poor village, works as a houseboy for a university professor. Olanna, a young woman, has abandoned her life of privilege in Lagos to live with her charismatic new lover, the professor. And Richard, a shy English writer, is in thrall to Olanna's enigmatic twin sister. As the horrific Biafran War engulfs them, they are thrown together and pulled apart in ways they had never imagined.
Yejide is hoping for a miracle, for a child. When her in-laws insist upon a new wife, it is too much for Yejide to bear. It will lead to jealousy, betrayal and despair. Unravelling against the social and political turbulence of '80s Nigeria, Stay with Me sings with the voices, colours, joys and fears of its surroundings. Ayobami Adebayo weaves a devastating story of the fragility of married love, the undoing of family, the wretchedness of grief and the all-consuming bonds of motherhood.
'I would like to ask that we begin to dream about and plan for a different world. A fairer world. A world of happier men and happier women who are truer to themselves. And this is how to start: we must raise our daughters differently. We must also raise our sons differently....' What does feminism mean today? In this personal, eloquently argued essay - adapted from her much-admired TEDx talk of the same name - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie offers listeners a unique definition of feminism for the 21st century, one rooted in inclusion and awareness.
In Purple Hibiscus, she recounts the story of a young Nigerian girl searching for freedom. Although her father is greatly respected within their community, 15-year-old Kambili knows a frighteningly strict and abusive side to this man. In many ways, she and her family lead a privileged life, but Kambili and her brother, Jaja, are often punished for failing to meet their father’s expectations. After visiting her aunt and cousins, Kambili dreams of being part of a loving family.
Penguin presents the unabridged downloadable audiobook edition of Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi, narrated by Dominic Hoffman.
Effia and Esi: two sisters with two very different destinies. One sold into slavery, one a slave trader's wife. The consequences of their fate reverberate through the generations that follow.
Commissioned by the New York Times to write a story on any aspect of the 2016 presidential campaign, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie created a delicious, subversive, incisive fictional account of Melania Trump. Once, in the early years, before she fully understood him, she had asked what his favourite flowers were. 'I use the best florists in the city, they're terrific,' he replied, and she realised that taste, for him, was something to be determined by somebody else, and then flaunted.
Ugwu, a boy from a poor village, works as a houseboy for a university professor. Olanna, a young woman, has abandoned her life of privilege in Lagos to live with her charismatic new lover, the professor. And Richard, a shy English writer, is in thrall to Olanna's enigmatic twin sister. As the horrific Biafran War engulfs them, they are thrown together and pulled apart in ways they had never imagined.
Yejide is hoping for a miracle, for a child. When her in-laws insist upon a new wife, it is too much for Yejide to bear. It will lead to jealousy, betrayal and despair. Unravelling against the social and political turbulence of '80s Nigeria, Stay with Me sings with the voices, colours, joys and fears of its surroundings. Ayobami Adebayo weaves a devastating story of the fragility of married love, the undoing of family, the wretchedness of grief and the all-consuming bonds of motherhood.
'I would like to ask that we begin to dream about and plan for a different world. A fairer world. A world of happier men and happier women who are truer to themselves. And this is how to start: we must raise our daughters differently. We must also raise our sons differently....' What does feminism mean today? In this personal, eloquently argued essay - adapted from her much-admired TEDx talk of the same name - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie offers listeners a unique definition of feminism for the 21st century, one rooted in inclusion and awareness.
In Purple Hibiscus, she recounts the story of a young Nigerian girl searching for freedom. Although her father is greatly respected within their community, 15-year-old Kambili knows a frighteningly strict and abusive side to this man. In many ways, she and her family lead a privileged life, but Kambili and her brother, Jaja, are often punished for failing to meet their father’s expectations. After visiting her aunt and cousins, Kambili dreams of being part of a loving family.
Penguin presents the unabridged downloadable audiobook edition of Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi, narrated by Dominic Hoffman.
Effia and Esi: two sisters with two very different destinies. One sold into slavery, one a slave trader's wife. The consequences of their fate reverberate through the generations that follow.
Commissioned by the New York Times to write a story on any aspect of the 2016 presidential campaign, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie created a delicious, subversive, incisive fictional account of Melania Trump. Once, in the early years, before she fully understood him, she had asked what his favourite flowers were. 'I use the best florists in the city, they're terrific,' he replied, and she realised that taste, for him, was something to be determined by somebody else, and then flaunted.
Afua Hirsch is British. Her parents are British. She was raised, educated and socialised in Britain. Her partner, her daughter, her sister and the vast majority of her friends are British. So why is her identity and sense of belonging a subject of debate? The reason is simply because of the colour of her skin. Blending history, memoir and individual experiences, Afua Hirsch reveals the identity crisis at the heart of Britain today. Far from affecting only minority people, Britain is a nation in denial about its past and its present.
Blessing and her brother Ezikiel adore their larger-than-life father, their glamorous mother, and their comfortable life in Lagos. But all that changes when their father leaves them for another woman: Their mother is fired from her job at the Royal Imperial Hotel - only married women can work there - and soon they have to quit their air-conditioned apartment to go and live with their grandparents in a compound in the Niger Delta. Adapting to life with a poor countryside family is a shock beyond measure.
How does it feel to be constantly regarded as a potential threat, strip-searched at every airport? Or be told that as an actress, the part you're most fitted to play is 'wife of a terrorist'? How does it feel to have words from your native language misused, misappropriated and used aggressively towards you? How does it feel to hear a child of colour say in a classroom that stories can only be about white people? How does it feel to go 'home' to India when your home is really London?
In February 2014, Reni Eddo-Lodge posted an impassioned argument on her blog about her deep-seated frustration with the way discussions of race and racism in Britain were constantly being shut down by those who weren't affected by it. She gave the post the title 'Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race'. Her sharp, fiercely intelligent words hit a nerve, and the post went viral, spawning a huge number of comments from people desperate to speak up about their own similar experiences.
A powerful and timely story of marriage, class, race and the pursuit of the American Dream. Behold the Dreamers is a dazzling debut novel about life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness - and of what we're prepared to sacrifice to hold on to each of them. 'We all do what we gotta do to become American, Abi.' New York, 2007: a city of dreamers and strivers, where the newly arrived and the long established jostle alike for a place on the ladder of success.
Okonowo is the greatest warrior alive and one of the most powerful men of his clan. Determined not to be like his father, he refuses to show weakness to anyone - even if the only way he can master his feelings is with his fists.
Elijah, seven years old, is covered in scars and has a history of disruptive behaviour. His adoptive mother Nikki believes that she and her husband Obi are strong enough to accept his difficulties - and that being white will not affect her ability to raise a black son. Elijah's birth mother Deborah loves her son like the world has never known. Elijah thinks it's his fault they can't be together. Each of them faces more challenges than they could have dreamed, but just as Elijah starts to settle in, a shocking event rocks their fragile peace and the result is devastating.
David Olusoga's Black and British is a rich and revealing exploration of the extraordinarily long relationship between the British Isles and the people of Africa. Drawing on new genetic and genealogical research, original records, expert testimony and contemporary interviews, Black and British reaches back to Roman Britain, the medieval imagination and Shakespeare's Othello.
Random House presents the audiobook edition of Unseen, written and read by Reggie Yates. From Grange Hill to Top of the Pops, Reggie Yates has been on camera nearly all of his life, but it's as a documentary filmmaker - and a pretty fearless one at that - where he has truly been making his mark, investigating everything from gun crime in Chicago to life as a refugee in Iraq.
Newlyweds Celestial and Roy are the embodiment of both the American Dream and the New South. He is a young executive, and she is an artist on the brink of an exciting career. But as they settle into the routine of their life together, they are ripped apart by circumstances neither could have imagined. Roy is arrested and sentenced to 12 years for a crime Celestial knows he didn't commit. Though fiercely independent, Celestial finds herself bereft and unmoored, taking comfort in Andre, her childhood friend, and best man at their wedding.
In this moving collection of thought-provoking essays infused with her unique wisdom and deep humor, Union tells astonishingly personal and true stories about power, color, gender, feminism, and fame. Union tackles a range of experiences, including bullying, beauty standards and competition between women in Hollywood, growing up in white California suburbia and then spending summers with her black relatives in Nebraska, coping with crushes, puberty, and the divorce of her parents.
"This is your country, this is your world, this is your body, and you must find some way to live within the all of it." In a profound work that pivots from the biggest questions about American history and ideals to the most intimate concerns of a father for his son, Ta-Nehisi Coates offers a powerful new framework for understanding our nation's history and current crisis. Americans have built an empire on the idea of "race", a falsehood that damages us all but falls most heavily on the bodies of black women and men.
This was a poweful collection of short stories with the general theme of Nigeria and Nigerians.
The stories include interaction between Africans and Whites, integrating with other cultures, Nigerian history, the problems women face under the rule of men and other cultural aspects that make the lives of Africans so different from inhabitants of much of the West.
Having loved Purple Hibiscus but ground to a halt in the middle of Half of a Yellow Sun, I was thrilled to have the chance to read another of Adichie's books. It did not disappoint.
I particularly liked the female slant on the tales and the strong female characters. All in all a very satisfying read and definitely recommended.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
Chimamanda uses her excellent writing to deliver 12 powerful stories in a way that touches the heart so deeply that I was close to tears a few times.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
Great collection of short stories - beautifully written, compelling, and thought-provoking with a solid narration by Adjoa Andoh. In the past I'd found some of her American accents grating, but when they did come up from time to time in these stories, they were toned down and much better. All in all a great listen that I'd highly recommend if you've enjoyed any of Adichie's other work or if you are interested in Nigeria.
I am an African of Nigerian descent, so I guess I am biased about this collection of stories by Chimamanda you will agree with me. She has brought Nigeria alive in colourful words to the wider world. She lays bare the nudity of a nation scarred by corruption, celebrated by culture and splashed by relationships. Her ability to blend the African to West is uncanny. As a diasporan, it made me homesick. Chimamanda's style is fluid and beautifully jagged for attention. The descriptions are palpable and as haunting as it is inviting. I loved this book very much. The reader is superb, however, she is Ghanian and so tries to attempt a Nigerian brogue. The subject matters vary and are shocking in places, the characters are alive and the plots are drawing. Read it and love it.
"Africa" for us western readers is a great unknown, with few exceptions. Chimamanda's powerful voice can be a great introduction to a whole world. Between a mythical, at times painful, past and a complex, nuanced present her characters - especially the courageous proud women, struggle to conquer happiness, self-esteem and respect.