The Son of the House

Two words: Trauma and Drama!

In the foreword, the author mentions this is a story inspired by actual events which makes it all

the more heart-wrenching. The novel opens when two kidnapped Nigerian women are thrown into a filthy holding cell and seek comfort and sanity from each other by sharing their life stories.

While ransoms are demanded, we learn that Julie is a well-educated, wealthy widow who enjoyed a happy childhood in a fairly progressive two-parent home and seemingly basked in the privileges of being a pampered wife. The other, Nwabulu, motherless at childbirth and fatherless by age eight, is horribly mistreated by an uneducated, vengeful, angry stepmother who “sells” her off as a housegirl by age 10. Her childhood is marred by neglect, malnutrition, and molestation. Looking for love in all the wrong places, fate deals her some very hard blows before she catches a break and claims some semblance of happiness and peace.

We learn that both women have an innate resolve and cunning to do what they must to get what they want. The “six degrees of separation” theory is at play and it enjoyable to see how the author cleverly connected the plot points.

There is a lot to unpack in their stories and I learned some things -- the story highlights a myriad of Nigerian/Igbo customs, traditions, and social/familial expectations. As the novel’s title implies, there is a strong male/patriarchal bias that cause havoc and heartbreak at various points of the protagonists’ lives. For example, a common theme was the societal expectations placed on men to sire sons (regardless of whether it’s with their wives or not) to preserve their lineage. There is also pressure for women to enter marriage (early) and embrace motherhood to achieve social approval and acceptance. Children “belong” to their father amid custody disputes. The author also presented the clash some face when European laws and Christian edicts conflict with traditional views toward polygamy, gender bias concerning inheritance, and traditional familial obligations regarding widows and orphans.

I enjoyed my time with this novel and look forward to any future releases from this author.(