Reviews with content warning for Religious bigotry - Under the Udala Trees

Listening to this audiobook was probably the best choice for me in order to be able to get through it. This book is written in such a way that you feel the weight of the emotions, the tension, the grief, the longing...
We follow Ijeoma, from her childhood, living through civil war in Nigeria, the aftermath, her coming of age, and learning that she's in love with another girl, all the way through to her adulthood. Her mother leans heavily into religion as she mourns her husband and that has a very strong impact in Ijeoma's life and is a heavy theme throughout the book. Another big theme is folktales. We get multiple short folktales told by various characters at different points in the story, those were my favorite parts.
I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a book that portrays the history of how queer people are treated in Nigeria through the eyes of a lesbian girl who grows up in that culture. There's a lot of shaming, emotional abuse, homophobia, war, etc. so do read with care!

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sapphicsolace's review against another edition

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challenging emotional inspiring sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

toofondofbooks_'s review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-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? Yes

4.5

I was blown away by this book - in good ways and in devastating ways. I had to put this down for days at a time to recover from what I was reading. It was beautiful writing, but often too sad for me to read too much of it in one sitting. The story is told from Ijeoma's POV, and her voice is so strong throughout the book that it was almost like I could hear her voice in my head as clearly as if I were listening to someone tell me a story right in front of me. The themes found throughout were powerful, and the use of nigerian folktales within the narrative was such a wonderful touch.

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laurareads87's review

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challenging emotional hopeful reflective 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? No

5.0

Under the Udala Trees is an extraordinary novel spanning decades -- from the Nigerian-Biafran war of the late 1960s to the 1990s -- following Ijeoma, who grows from a young girl to an adult over the course of the book. From a young age and through her school years, Ijeoma finds herself attracted to her female friend in a country where same-sex relationships are not accepted. The novel explores the ways that Ijeoma is pushed into conforming to heteronormative expectations -- including marrying a man -- not only by her mother, who tries to pray her sexuality away, but by her own self-doubts, fears, and internal struggles. At the same time, the book explores ethnic and class dynamics, women's roles, generational tensions, and the struggles of articulating one's identity so thoughtfully, and incorporates intertextual references and multiple languages so well. Beautifully written, Under the Udala Trees will stay with me a long time.

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bookswithgeorgia's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense 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

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