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A review by tjwallace04
Under the Udala Trees by Chinelo Okparanta
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
"Under the Udala Trees" is a moving portrait of life for a young queer woman in Nigeria in the 1970s and 1980s. The book moves slowly, quietly through the life of Ijeoma, from the death of her father during the Biafran Civil War, to her first young love with another displaced girl, to an adulthood in which she balances on the knife's edge between desire and self-knowledge vs. traditions and expectation.
The writing is lovely and lyrical, but I struggled a bit with the many prayers, Biblical quotations, and prophetic dream sequences, which slowed down the plot even further from its already leisurely pace. But I loved Ijeoma and her inherent sense that, in spite of everything her society was telling her, she had a right to be who she was and to love whom she wanted. I particularly loved how at the end, she uses the Bible to understand God as a being who is open and understanding of change.I thought Chibundu's character was very interesting; in some ways, he seemed much more gentle and accepting than I would have expected many Nigerian men to be in similar circumstances; other times he was horrible to Ijeoma and their daughter. So basically, he was a complicated, rounded character, not a one-sided villain, which I appreciate. I also really enjoyed learning more about the history and culture of Nigeria, the different ethnic groups that live there, and the Biafran Civil War.
Nigeria currently has very restrictive laws against LGBTQ relationships, so this humane, heartfelt book is especially powerful and important. I hope that it opens hearts and minds!
The writing is lovely and lyrical, but I struggled a bit with the many prayers, Biblical quotations, and prophetic dream sequences, which slowed down the plot even further from its already leisurely pace. But I loved Ijeoma and her inherent sense that, in spite of everything her society was telling her, she had a right to be who she was and to love whom she wanted. I particularly loved how at the end, she uses the Bible to understand God as a being who is open and understanding of change.I thought Chibundu's character was very interesting; in some ways, he seemed much more gentle and accepting than I would have expected many Nigerian men to be in similar circumstances; other times he was horrible to Ijeoma and their daughter. So basically, he was a complicated, rounded character, not a one-sided villain, which I appreciate. I also really enjoyed learning more about the history and culture of Nigeria, the different ethnic groups that live there, and the Biafran Civil War.
Nigeria currently has very restrictive laws against LGBTQ relationships, so this humane, heartfelt book is especially powerful and important. I hope that it opens hearts and minds!