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A review by willowbiblio
Under the Udala Trees by Chinelo Okparanta
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
"Sitting in the taxi as it drove off, I thought once more about the way that life so often takes us the long way around. But perhaps it didn't matter, long or short, as long as we eventually found our way to where we needed to be."
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I was deeply moved by this book. It felt like a different version of a story I'm very familiar with, what life could have been like for people I love very much if they had made different choices.
Okparanta used nonverbal communication so well, like how people shift their gaze or the way our bodies/face/eyes can betray our true feelings despite our words. The scene in which Ijeoma and other women from the "church" hid in the bunker as their friend was being brutally murdered was so powerful because it was a very clear assertion that there was an ongoing war being waged against the freedom to love.
The description of Aminita as a shadow was so inspired because it conveyed how completely she was integral to Ijeoma's personhood. As was the moment when Ijeoma believed Aminita must have died when she didn't show up, because for Ijeoma, the only thing that would keep her apart from Aminita was death. It was interesting that Ijeoma then chose the same route, marrying a man, and enacted her own betrayal against Ndidi but still saw herself as the victim when she thought Ndidi wasn't writing her letters.
Okparanta shifted her descriptions of Chibundu from open and handsome with perfect teeth to "monster-like" as their relationship deteriorated. The description of him "writhing into" her invoked the imagery of a snake, correlating back to her refrain on Adam and Eve. I also loved her use of dreams as introspection/self-reflection for the characters.
I was really impressed by this book, especially how at the end Okparanta addressed that our own awakenings may be someone else's tragedy.
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I was deeply moved by this book. It felt like a different version of a story I'm very familiar with, what life could have been like for people I love very much if they had made different choices.
The description of Aminita as a shadow was so inspired because it conveyed how completely she was integral to Ijeoma's personhood. As was the moment when Ijeoma believed Aminita must have died when she didn't show up, because for Ijeoma, the only thing that would keep her apart from Aminita was death. It was interesting that Ijeoma then chose the same route, marrying a man, and enacted her own betrayal against Ndidi but still saw herself as the victim when she thought Ndidi wasn't writing her letters.
Okparanta shifted her descriptions of Chibundu from open and handsome with perfect teeth to "monster-like" as their relationship deteriorated. The description of him "writhing into" her invoked the imagery of a snake, correlating back to her refrain on Adam and Eve. I also loved her use of dreams as introspection/self-reflection for the characters.
I was really impressed by this book, especially how at the end Okparanta addressed that our own awakenings may be someone else's tragedy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Religious bigotry, Violence, Murder, Homophobia, and Hate crime
Moderate: Rape, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse