The Son of the House

April 5, 2021
Onyemelukwe-Onuobia's striking debut tackles gender inequality, abuse, and classism in a story of friendship and resilience set in Nigeria. Nwabulu, orphaned at eight, is sent by her wicked stepmother to work as a housemaid, first at 10 and then again at 12, in Enugu. At 16, she falls in love with Urenna, the only son of a wealthy family. Their relationship ends after Urenna gets Nwabulu pregnant and denies ever knowing her. Nwabulu is then sent home by her employers to "the red dusty earth of village," where she is forced to marry Nathan, whose grieving mother wants a grandchild to carry on the family name, and who ends up taking the child from Nwabulu. The narrative also follows a teacher named Julie, who tricks her married lover into leaving his wife for her by pretending to be pregnant. Thirty years later, an unlikely friendship blooms between Julie and Nwabulu, but it's only when both women are abducted by kidnappers that they discover that they have a deeper bond. Onyemelukwe-Onuobia's intimate study of the issues facing contemporary Nigeria resonates, and her masterly storytelling makes this consistently entertaining. The result is as moving as it is thought-provoking.

July 1, 2021

DEBUT In a damp, musty room in southeast Nigeria, two women, shackled and handcuffed, are being held for ransom. Unemployment plagues the country's young people, and extortion is a way of life. As Julie, a wealthy widow, and Nwabulu, her dressmaker, await word that their families have complied with the kidnappers' demands, they agree to pass the time sharing their life stories. Each represents the changing roles of women in Nigeria's patriarchal Igbo society, where a lower-class girl like Nwabulu, smart and ambitious, faces a life of servitude by the age of 10, while the more fortunate Julie, educated, independent, and successful, is pitied for her lack of a husband and sons. Though their origins are wildly divergent, Julie and Nwabulu discover a devastating bond that, once revealed, evokes both rage and joy for Nwabulu and a redemptive sense of peace for Julie. VERDICT In cinematic prose, debut author and women's rights attorney Onyemelukwe-Onuobia unveils the contradictions between tribal traditions and colonial English laws affecting marriage and parenthood, while imbuing her characters with the canny ability to overcome the system's liabilities and to thrive. With its strong feminist themes, this 2019 winner of an International Fiction Award in Sharjah will resonate with smart discussion groups.--Sally Bissell, formerly with Lee Cty. Lib. Syst., Fort Myers, FL

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