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Ogadinma: Or, Everything Will Be Alright

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Ogadinma: Or, Everything Will Be Alright

By: Ukamaka Olisakwe
Narrated by: Adjoa Andoh
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About this listen

A startling debut novel from a bold new voice in literary fiction.

Ogadinma: Or, Everything Will be All Right tells the story of the teenager Ogadinma as she battles against Nigeria's societal expectations in the 1980s. After a rape and unwanted pregnancy leave her exiled from her family in Kano, thwarting her plans to go to university, she is sent to her aunt's in Lagos and pressured into a marriage with an older man.

When their whirlwind romance descends into abuse and indignity, Ogadinma is forced to channel her independence and resourcefulness to escape a fate that appears all but inevitable. Ogadinma, the UK debut by Ukamaka Olisakwe, introduces a heroine for whom it is impossible not to root and announces the author as a gifted chronicler of the patriarchal experience.

Ukamaka Olisakwe is a Nigerian novelist, short-story writer and screenwriter. In 2014 she was chosen as one of Sub-Saharan Africa's most promising writers under the age of 40 in Africa39. Her writing has appeared in Catapult, the New York Times and The Rumpus. She wrote the screenplay for The Calabash, a Nigerian television series that premiered in 2015 on Africa Magic Showcase.

©2020 Ukamaka Olisakwe (P)2020 W. F. Howes Ltd Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Women's Fiction

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Critic reviews

"A stirring, unflinching novel that further cements Olisakwe as an important feminist voice." (Rob Spillman)

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Good storytelling but was a bit disappointed by the ending. Plus some of the situations seemed far fetched.

The pronunciation of words was terrible

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I really enjoyed the performance of Adjoa Andoh even if she did not get all the pronunciations and intonations correct you can tell that she tried instead of reading all the characters in a flat British accent.

The story was heartbreaking especially, as another reviewer mentioned, the relief never comes and one is saddened by the repetition of abuse and subjugation. If I had known from the start how emotionally challenging the story would be, I would probably not have listened to it but once I started I could not stop.

For everyone who mentioned that the story is not believable, one has to understand the timing and context of it. Nigeria in the 1980‘s was a strictly patriarchal society and a 17 year old girl without any family backing had literally nowhere to turn to in such situations. Sex and rape in exchange for a chance in life was and still is common practice and not just in Nigeria. Ogadinma was naive but she also was left to her own devices at a very young age in an environment where there is no safety net to catch the fallen.

Very well written and performed. Also a very important eye opener for many.

Heartbreaking and Excellent

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I could not stop listening, it was so interesting. Also the reading performance is incredibly good, almost as if it was a radio play for more voices.

The story is very strong, the reading is incredible!

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I liked the story, but I was upset with how the author let the other characters see Ogadinma as the villain, even when she got 'emancipated', that the author never gave her the voice to speak up and call out the nonsense and pain that she was put through. Don't get me worng. I liked the story, I just wish she had been given the voice to speak up for herself.

Hmmm.. .

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Tough storyline beautifully narrated by Adjoa. Just wanted to scup Ogadinma up. Needs a sequel

Roller coaster

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