Title: Tomorrow I Become a Woman
Author: Odafen, Aiwanose
Publisher: Simon Schuster Audio UK
Pages: N/A
Date Read: 02 December 2023
Bookshelves: read
My Rating (out of 5): ⭐⭐⭐⭐
3.5 stars rounded up
It was difficult to love most of the characters in this book as the author made little effort to make the reader understand the motivations behind their actions. The characters lacked a certain complexity I have come to appreciate in works of fiction. It was as though the author aggregated popular stereotypes of how the Nigerian society demands people to be and designed characters solely around these rigid definitions. As a consequence, most of the characters were without nuance and soul.
The only character I came to love was the protagonist’s uncle the family lost to the war. We know of him by how he is remembered by his sister and niece. The family’s continued search for him, decades after the war, gave me something to look forward to even as the excitement of the main story began to wane. I also appreciated that the author wrote about the war, as it allowed the reader to leave the story knowing a bit more about their history.
The story, by itself, was not novel, which I understand as this work the author’s debut and it’s probably wise to play things safe. It was a mostly sad, revolting read about culture; reminding us that culture, the way we live, is not a thing we must accept as canon. We must always interrogate, constantly refine and assiduously review all aspects of tradition that dictate what is classed as normal in society
While this book doesn’t get a five star from me, it does not escape me that this is an author with serious promise and I hope to read their works in the future.