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3.29 AVERAGE
3.29 AVERAGE
This is as harrowing and haunting a book I have read since 2009 and Uwem Akpan's short story collection Say You're One of Them, set throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Edna O'Brien's Girl is the nominally fictional horror story of young girls enslaved by Boko Haram, the Islamic terrorist group that still holds sway in northeastern Nigeria.
In language spare and forthright, O'Brien writes of Maryam, a schoolgirl taken hostage, repeatedly raped and tortured, and forced into marriage by a gang of young soldiers, most of whom were terribly, ironically, forced to pick up weapons and join the fight of zealots and madmen. Maryam shares her experiences in a tone so matter-of-fact the reader senses her profound shock at the devastation of her body and soul, the deep shame of her captivity and abuse. Maryam, still nearly a child herself, gives birth to a girl and soon after she escapes, eventually finding her way back to her family. But she is ostracized as a traitor, and subjected to further humiliation from her own community.
Girl is an agonizing read. I flinched in horror page after page, knowing that even though this is a novel, every scene is taken from the very real lives of Boko Haram's victims. This is a work of fiction happening in real life, real time. There is peace to be found, eventually, for Maryam, but O'Brien ends it as she should, as if it were yesterday, for of course we don't yet know the legacy of these young women and how many may or may not be restored through therapy and new lives.
Another reviewer asserted that as important a story as this is, Edna O'Brien isn't the one to tell it, suggesting an 88-year-old white Irish lady can't or shouldn't assume the voice of a Nigerian teenager. Bullshit. Bullshit. O'Brien has been writing about trauma, injustice, the plight of abused, forgotten, compromised women and girls for sixty years. She writes despair, rage and redemption with greater vision, compassion, and universality that any living writer I have read. Her Author's Notes reveal the great lengths O'Brien went to in her quest to make this story adhere as closely to the truth as possible. This is not cultural appropriation, this is a writer who has devoted her career to telling the stories of the most disadvantaged and silenced so that they will be heard, over and over again.
Multiple trigger warnings, but I encourage you to remember this is happening to young women, right now. To look away is to pretend otherwise.
In language spare and forthright, O'Brien writes of Maryam, a schoolgirl taken hostage, repeatedly raped and tortured, and forced into marriage by a gang of young soldiers, most of whom were terribly, ironically, forced to pick up weapons and join the fight of zealots and madmen. Maryam shares her experiences in a tone so matter-of-fact the reader senses her profound shock at the devastation of her body and soul, the deep shame of her captivity and abuse. Maryam, still nearly a child herself, gives birth to a girl and soon after she escapes, eventually finding her way back to her family. But she is ostracized as a traitor, and subjected to further humiliation from her own community.
Girl is an agonizing read. I flinched in horror page after page, knowing that even though this is a novel, every scene is taken from the very real lives of Boko Haram's victims. This is a work of fiction happening in real life, real time. There is peace to be found, eventually, for Maryam, but O'Brien ends it as she should, as if it were yesterday, for of course we don't yet know the legacy of these young women and how many may or may not be restored through therapy and new lives.
Another reviewer asserted that as important a story as this is, Edna O'Brien isn't the one to tell it, suggesting an 88-year-old white Irish lady can't or shouldn't assume the voice of a Nigerian teenager. Bullshit. Bullshit. O'Brien has been writing about trauma, injustice, the plight of abused, forgotten, compromised women and girls for sixty years. She writes despair, rage and redemption with greater vision, compassion, and universality that any living writer I have read. Her Author's Notes reveal the great lengths O'Brien went to in her quest to make this story adhere as closely to the truth as possible. This is not cultural appropriation, this is a writer who has devoted her career to telling the stories of the most disadvantaged and silenced so that they will be heard, over and over again.
Multiple trigger warnings, but I encourage you to remember this is happening to young women, right now. To look away is to pretend otherwise.
A devastatingly beautiful novel. No one writes the plight of women and girls quite like Edna O'Brien.
This is a horribly fascinating topic. I like Edna O'Brien's writing and I'm sure her research was meticulous but I love the African cadence which is missing here.
Let's see...
I did not like this one at all.
[a:Edna O'Brien|7184|Edna O'Brien|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1262820726p2/7184.jpg] tells the story of Maryam, a schoolgirl that gets kidnapped with her classmates by Book Haram. During her captivity, Maryam deals with an immense amount of traumatic experiences that are incredibly uncomfortable to read: abuse, witnessing death and torture and rape —and the pregnancy that followed. O'Brien explores Maryam's journey after she is able to scape, her journey coming back home and what the relationships that were left behind look like after she returns with her baby .
I disliked the writing style, the weird and unnecessary references to Ireland that reminded me over and over again of the fact that the author is a white Irish woman (am I the only one?). I found myself not really connecting with/caring for the main character, which I think it's awful when you have a story like this one.
I was overall disappointed.
Also — wouldn't it be great if we did not know Maryam's name? I was expecting this from the title of the book and the fact that you find out Maryam's name in a random interaction. I thought I could've been interesting as a commentary on identity/individuality for the main characters... Maybe too on the nose?
I did not like this one at all.
[a:Edna O'Brien|7184|Edna O'Brien|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1262820726p2/7184.jpg] tells the story of Maryam, a schoolgirl that gets kidnapped with her classmates by Book Haram. During her captivity, Maryam deals with an immense amount of traumatic experiences that are incredibly uncomfortable to read:
I disliked the writing style, the weird and unnecessary references to Ireland that reminded me over and over again of the fact that the author is a white Irish woman (am I the only one?). I found myself not really connecting with/caring for the main character, which I think it's awful when you have a story like this one.
I was overall disappointed.
Also — wouldn't it be great if we did not know Maryam's name? I was expecting this from the title of the book and the fact that you find out Maryam's name in a random interaction. I thought I could've been interesting as a commentary on identity/individuality for the main characters... Maybe too on the nose?
This is a really hard read but is a beautiful narration and it reads quite fast. Is a story of a girl who was kidnaped by the Boko Haram and all the things that happen to her since she arrives there. After every page you think that things will go better for her but then something else happens that makes your heart shrink a bit more, yes is fiction but is based in true stories, is based in stories of women that have been kidnapped and what they see. Is not surprise that it was long listed for the #womenprizeforfiction
I read Girl because it is on the longlist for the 2020 Womens Prize for Fiction. Maryam, is a young Nigerian girl kidnapped by Boko Haram. She is forced to convert to Islam, “married” to one of the fighters, has a baby and later escapes when government forces attack their camp. Despite being written in first-person it is rather abstract, literary and detached in tone. It was hard to identify with Maryam’s plight, even when it was fairly graphically depicted. There was little in the book that tethered the story to a particular time and place and Maryam’s voice did not sound like that of a Nigerian teen. This all sounds very negative and yet I didn’t actually dislike the book.Rather it was more universal that I'd hoped for.
Harrowing but not because this was anything exceptional but because it isn't fiction for some women out there.
Started as a super strong narrative, but declined towards the end.
Edna O’Brien’s ’Girl’ tells the story of Maryam, one of the school girls abducted by Boko Haram, beginning with her abduction, through her ordeal, all the way through to her eventual escape and the new life she must forge still marked by the horrors she experienced, both internally and by the community around her.
I know there’s been plenty of talk around this novel, about if Edna O’Brien was the right person to try and tell this story and I’m honestly not sure that’s the right discussion to be having here. I understand and agree that there’s a need for more diversity in publishing and for POC to be able to tell their own stories, but I also do not believe that there should be red lines in fiction, just as in any medium, that stops a person from being able to fully realise their art. A writer inhabits many different lives and tries to tell these stories as best they can and either they succeed or they fail at this. It may be that O’Brien failed in this, and it may be that this failure comes from the fact that she’s an 88 year old Irish, white lady rather than a 14 year old Nigerian, black teenager, but that decision should be made from the content of the novel and not from that fact in and of itself. I don’t believe that O’Brien shouldn’t be allowed the attempt, but she should (and likely did) accept that she may not be able to satisfy people’s expectations based on these circumstances. It’s also important to point out that O’Brien did not ‘steal’ or exploit the story (a la Arthur Golden) and attempted it with as much respect as possible; she also travelled to Nigeria to do as much research as she could in order to tell the story effectively.
It’s also clear by the way O’Brien chose to write this story that she wasn’t trying to push her luck. The matter of fact tone the story is written in is a tool to juxtapose mundanity against a horrific tale, in order to emphasise how terrible it is, not only on the face of it but that it became routine enough to be explained in such a way. This is a great tool in literature and definitely serves both the story and O’Brien in different ways. I may just be cynical, but in the beginning, as a stylistic choice I can’t help but feel the tone was used in order for O’Brien to protect herself. By not having to delve as deeply into the horrors that occur to Maryam and the other abducted girls, O’Brien saves herself some criticism about how successful her attempt was. With the discussion of her suitability to write this novel already out there, by not failing on the major point (the abduction and treatment during), this discussion somewhat dissipates. O’Brien uses her distance from the situation as a literary tool, mirroring it in Maryam’s distance from the horrors as a form of self preservation, which enables O’Brien to do less with this half of the novel. Depending on your personal opinion, you can either see it as genius or a cop out. I sadly thought the first half (most people seem to either enjoy the first half or the second half more than the other) was a little lacking. The tone is definitely a contributor to this, but also the pacing was off meaning that neither goal is achieved: O’Brien does not adequately describe the experience, and the matter of fact tone as a reason why does not fully make up for that. For me, the choice of this style is legitimate but not executed well enough in this part of the novel to be considered successful. It also meant that whether intentionally or otherwise, Maryam as a character is not fully explored. Even after finishing the novel, I could tell you very little about who she is as a person, except that she is someone who went through a horrific ordeal and I would definitely consider this one of the novel’s biggest failures.
However, I would say that this style really enhances the second half of the novel, when her ordeal appears to be over but instead she is beginning a different one. The use of this coupled with the quick pacing of her moving between hospitals and press conferences and returning home is much more successful. The almost banal style really enhances the almost going through the motions of it all and just fits with the narrative so much better. These were the points of the novel that felt truly original and were the most memorable for me. I almost wish the entire novel started from this point as I feel the exploration of this was better and a more interesting take, especially when writing from more of an outside position like O’Brien is.
The split of the novel between the first half and the second (the ordeal and post-ordeal parts) is not something explicitly done by the novel itself, there is no “Part 2” actively expressed, however it feels really evident when listening to people’s opinions about ‘Girl’ that it almost feels like two parts of one story put together. As I expressed earlier, it also appears that people tend to enjoy one half more than the other (myself included) which also seems to make the novel an unfortunate compromise that doesn’t quite please anyone Maybe it’s this compromise that makes the intention of the novel feel less emphatic, and contributes to it feeling slightly hollow.
Overall I felt ‘Girl’ was just slightly average. It was well written and I felt it was executed in the way O’Brien meant for it to be, but it was lacking in too many areas for me to be able to praise it more highly. I think 3 stars is completely fair, and I definitely wouldn’t try and talk anyone out of reading it. However you feel about O’Brien’s choice to write this novel, it’s definitely a worthwhile read that seems to both succeed and fail in equal measure.
I know there’s been plenty of talk around this novel, about if Edna O’Brien was the right person to try and tell this story and I’m honestly not sure that’s the right discussion to be having here. I understand and agree that there’s a need for more diversity in publishing and for POC to be able to tell their own stories, but I also do not believe that there should be red lines in fiction, just as in any medium, that stops a person from being able to fully realise their art. A writer inhabits many different lives and tries to tell these stories as best they can and either they succeed or they fail at this. It may be that O’Brien failed in this, and it may be that this failure comes from the fact that she’s an 88 year old Irish, white lady rather than a 14 year old Nigerian, black teenager, but that decision should be made from the content of the novel and not from that fact in and of itself. I don’t believe that O’Brien shouldn’t be allowed the attempt, but she should (and likely did) accept that she may not be able to satisfy people’s expectations based on these circumstances. It’s also important to point out that O’Brien did not ‘steal’ or exploit the story (a la Arthur Golden) and attempted it with as much respect as possible; she also travelled to Nigeria to do as much research as she could in order to tell the story effectively.
It’s also clear by the way O’Brien chose to write this story that she wasn’t trying to push her luck. The matter of fact tone the story is written in is a tool to juxtapose mundanity against a horrific tale, in order to emphasise how terrible it is, not only on the face of it but that it became routine enough to be explained in such a way. This is a great tool in literature and definitely serves both the story and O’Brien in different ways. I may just be cynical, but in the beginning, as a stylistic choice I can’t help but feel the tone was used in order for O’Brien to protect herself. By not having to delve as deeply into the horrors that occur to Maryam and the other abducted girls, O’Brien saves herself some criticism about how successful her attempt was. With the discussion of her suitability to write this novel already out there, by not failing on the major point (the abduction and treatment during), this discussion somewhat dissipates. O’Brien uses her distance from the situation as a literary tool, mirroring it in Maryam’s distance from the horrors as a form of self preservation, which enables O’Brien to do less with this half of the novel. Depending on your personal opinion, you can either see it as genius or a cop out. I sadly thought the first half (most people seem to either enjoy the first half or the second half more than the other) was a little lacking. The tone is definitely a contributor to this, but also the pacing was off meaning that neither goal is achieved: O’Brien does not adequately describe the experience, and the matter of fact tone as a reason why does not fully make up for that. For me, the choice of this style is legitimate but not executed well enough in this part of the novel to be considered successful. It also meant that whether intentionally or otherwise, Maryam as a character is not fully explored. Even after finishing the novel, I could tell you very little about who she is as a person, except that she is someone who went through a horrific ordeal and I would definitely consider this one of the novel’s biggest failures.
However, I would say that this style really enhances the second half of the novel, when her ordeal appears to be over but instead she is beginning a different one. The use of this coupled with the quick pacing of her moving between hospitals and press conferences and returning home is much more successful. The almost banal style really enhances the almost going through the motions of it all and just fits with the narrative so much better. These were the points of the novel that felt truly original and were the most memorable for me. I almost wish the entire novel started from this point as I feel the exploration of this was better and a more interesting take, especially when writing from more of an outside position like O’Brien is.
The split of the novel between the first half and the second (the ordeal and post-ordeal parts) is not something explicitly done by the novel itself, there is no “Part 2” actively expressed, however it feels really evident when listening to people’s opinions about ‘Girl’ that it almost feels like two parts of one story put together. As I expressed earlier, it also appears that people tend to enjoy one half more than the other (myself included) which also seems to make the novel an unfortunate compromise that doesn’t quite please anyone Maybe it’s this compromise that makes the intention of the novel feel less emphatic, and contributes to it feeling slightly hollow.
Overall I felt ‘Girl’ was just slightly average. It was well written and I felt it was executed in the way O’Brien meant for it to be, but it was lacking in too many areas for me to be able to praise it more highly. I think 3 stars is completely fair, and I definitely wouldn’t try and talk anyone out of reading it. However you feel about O’Brien’s choice to write this novel, it’s definitely a worthwhile read that seems to both succeed and fail in equal measure.