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kawi's review
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, and Rape
browngirlreading's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy, Rape, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Abandonment, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Sexual assault, and Sexism
serendipitysbooks's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
The Middle Daughter is inspired by the Hades and Persephone myth but has a feminist twist and is set in modern Nigeria. Following the deaths of her older sister and then her father 17 year old Nani is reeling. That she is grieving in a different way than her mother and younger sister leaves her feeling isolated and confused, vulnerable to the attention of Ephraim, an itinerant preacher. The plot then goes on to cover some heavy topics so do check for trigger warnings. I don’t want to give away spoilers but I will say I admired Nani’s strength and resilience, the way she was able to stay strong for her children. Her husband made my skin crawl and my blood pressure skyrocket, so kudos to Unigwe for such effective characterisation. He was a chilling representation of power hungry men who misuse religion for their own twisted and selfish ends. I struggled to connect with Nani’s mother. She loved her daughter so I have to accept that she believed she was acting in Nani’s best interests, but it really felt like she was simply trying to save face by avoiding gossip and public shaming. I couldn’t help but draw comparisons with Clarissa, an 18th century novel where the parents cut their daughter off, because she won’t obey them, but in so doing push her into a terrible situation with no means of escape. Loved that the end here offered hope after all the hardship.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Death, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Rape, and Grief
blessing_aj's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Whew! 💆🏽♀️ Where to start with this one… 🥺
The first thing to note about this book is that it is supposedly a feminist retelling of the Greek myth of Hades and Pesphorone, in which amongst other things Hades abducted Pesphorone and tricked her into marrying him and then loving him. Stating this outright because IMO, it’s gives necessary context to the framework of the story and I realized that the synopsis on my copy doesn’t mention it at all.
In The Middle Daughter, Chika Unigwe flips the script and makes everything much more intense. We meet Nani, a young woman who in the course of mourning for her father and resenting her family for moving on too soon, falls into the hands of Ephraim, a wicked preacher who will go on to unleash an untold acts of violence and oppression on her, after he tricks her into a sham marriage.
Irrespective of however anyone feels about this book, I think that one thing we can all agree on is the fact that her talent at putting together beautifully crafted prose, speaks for itself. While reading this book, I encountered a good number of such passages and sentences and I just had to reread before moving on, for the sheer pleasure of it. The Udodi, Chorus interludes, had a lot of these.
Unfortunately as heartbreaking and emotionally grueling as Nani’s story turned out to be, I was unable to suspend disbelief enough to feel fully submerged into her reality. This is a big deal for me because even though this is a retelling, it is also literary fiction and the major thing that endears most readers - myself included - to this genre is its proximity to real life as can be obtained from fiction. This is not to say that a young Nigerian woman cannot be deceived by a man in similar circumstances as Nani was, but in many scenarios, the actions of a lot of characters as developed in this book, did not come across to me - as a Nigerian and an Igbo woman - like what one would expect from them in real life.
If I hadn’t felt so exasperated by the actions and inactions of all the major living characters in this book, I probably would have better appreciated what the author was trying to do. But irrespective of whatever I feel about it, I think it’s one of those cautionary tales new adults and women in general need to read to beware of manipulative people and to learn empathy for the women who may have become victims of such abuse.
The first thing to note about this book is that it is supposedly a feminist retelling of the Greek myth of Hades and Pesphorone, in which amongst other things Hades abducted Pesphorone and tricked her into marrying him and then loving him. Stating this outright because IMO, it’s gives necessary context to the framework of the story and I realized that the synopsis on my copy doesn’t mention it at all.
In The Middle Daughter, Chika Unigwe flips the script and makes everything much more intense. We meet Nani, a young woman who in the course of mourning for her father and resenting her family for moving on too soon, falls into the hands of Ephraim, a wicked preacher who will go on to unleash an untold acts of violence and oppression on her, after he tricks her into a sham marriage.
Irrespective of however anyone feels about this book, I think that one thing we can all agree on is the fact that her talent at putting together beautifully crafted prose, speaks for itself. While reading this book, I encountered a good number of such passages and sentences and I just had to reread before moving on, for the sheer pleasure of it. The Udodi, Chorus interludes, had a lot of these.
Unfortunately as heartbreaking and emotionally grueling as Nani’s story turned out to be, I was unable to suspend disbelief enough to feel fully submerged into her reality. This is a big deal for me because even though this is a retelling, it is also literary fiction and the major thing that endears most readers - myself included - to this genre is its proximity to real life as can be obtained from fiction. This is not to say that a young Nigerian woman cannot be deceived by a man in similar circumstances as Nani was, but in many scenarios, the actions of a lot of characters as developed in this book, did not come across to me - as a Nigerian and an Igbo woman - like what one would expect from them in real life.
If I hadn’t felt so exasperated by the actions and inactions of all the major living characters in this book, I probably would have better appreciated what the author was trying to do. But irrespective of whatever I feel about it, I think it’s one of those cautionary tales new adults and women in general need to read to beware of manipulative people and to learn empathy for the women who may have become victims of such abuse.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Abandonment, Bullying, Violence, Torture, Sexual violence, and Physical abuse
chapstickdealer's review
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Rape, Death of parent, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Classism, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Pregnancy
Minor: Lesbophobia and Police brutality
kirstym25's review against another edition
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Violence, and Pregnancy
booktrovert's review
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
Moderate: Domestic abuse
clotalksbooks's review against another edition
challenging
dark
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
4.5
What a powerful story. Although a retelling of the Hades and Persephone myth, I was glad to hear that there would be a hopeful ending when I attended an event with the author. That made listening to this bearable, as it is such a gut-wrenching story. It is so sad and terrifying that this sort of thing happens in the world.
The characters are so well drawn, and the conflicts within are painted so fully.
The narrators are wonderful, and I loved the parts in different languages. The setting is brought alive through the language and voice.
I hurtled through this, desperate to see what would happen to the characters. This shows the strength of the writing, as usually with such bleak subject matter I'm in no rush to pick it up. Wonderfully tackled in this book though.
The characters are so well drawn, and the conflicts within are painted so fully.
The narrators are wonderful, and I loved the parts in different languages. The setting is brought alive through the language and voice.
I hurtled through this, desperate to see what would happen to the characters. This shows the strength of the writing, as usually with such bleak subject matter I'm in no rush to pick it up. Wonderfully tackled in this book though.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse
Moderate: Rape
thesapphiccelticbookworm's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Thank you to Netgalley and Canongate for a copy of this book.
Aged 17 Nani loses her older sister, Udodi and shortly after her father.
The resulting grief leads her to find comfort with a preacher man, but she soon finds herself trapped in an abusive marriage.
This is a heart-breaking novel with gorgeous prose.
This is a story about finding strength and hope even in the darkest places.
Looking forward to reading more of Unigwe's work.
Aged 17 Nani loses her older sister, Udodi and shortly after her father.
The resulting grief leads her to find comfort with a preacher man, but she soon finds herself trapped in an abusive marriage.
This is a heart-breaking novel with gorgeous prose.
This is a story about finding strength and hope even in the darkest places.
Looking forward to reading more of Unigwe's work.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Domestic abuse, Rape, Toxic relationship, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Homophobia
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