A review by saintsaens
Under the Udala Trees by Chinelo Okparanta

emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.0

The story and its developments were interesting, tackling a rare subject (lesbianism in Nigeria, a very religious country). Following the span of the main character's life, it was both deeply beautiful at times and very very boring (unfortunately). I felt invested in the book only after a good third of the novel when the main character gets to the boarding school. Before that, the writing was bland, unsophisticated. It did not exactly pick up after, but as the story handled themes and approaches I found interesting, I felt drawn to know what happened. The end was bittersweet, but I can say it was a good read. 
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