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A review by octavia_cade
Awu's Story: A Novel by Justine Mintsa, Therese Kuoh-Moukoury, Cheryl Toman
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
I'm not entirely sure that the blurb I read on this book gave an accurate depiction of the contents. Yes, it's about a woman, Awu, who struggles with the traditions of her rural village and how they conspire to remove all agency from her life (the ceremony she undergoes as a new widow is absolutely horrific, and the stripping of all her resources so that they can be given to male family members is almost as disturbing to read). And that's done very well: the book, from what I gather from the very interesting introduction, is an invitation to critique the place of traditions (some beneficial, some not) in modern life - particularly those traditions that impact most heavily on women. As a feminist text, it's certainly effective... although I say that as someone who comes from a very different culture than Awu and Mintsa, so I can't answer for the impact it's had in Mintsa's own communities.
Back to the blurb, though: Awu is taken as a second wife, as Bella, the beloved first wife of their shared husband Obame, cannot conceive. I rather got the impression that the book would be focused on the relationship between the three people involved in this marriage, but Bella dies before three pages are up, ostensibly of a broken heart. The focus of the book, then, is less on the marriage than it is on Awu and her navigation of matrimony and widowhood. A second storyline, following Awu's twelve year old niece Ada, sexually abused by her schoolteachers and subsequently pregnant, echoes the theme of female exploitation in rural Gabon; this can be quite a grim read in places. As I said, though, it strikes me as a particularly effective one.
Back to the blurb, though: Awu is taken as a second wife, as Bella, the beloved first wife of their shared husband Obame, cannot conceive. I rather got the impression that the book would be focused on the relationship between the three people involved in this marriage, but Bella dies before three pages are up, ostensibly of a broken heart. The focus of the book, then, is less on the marriage than it is on Awu and her navigation of matrimony and widowhood. A second storyline, following Awu's twelve year old niece Ada, sexually abused by her schoolteachers and subsequently pregnant, echoes the theme of female exploitation in rural Gabon; this can be quite a grim read in places. As I said, though, it strikes me as a particularly effective one.