The Girl With the Louding Voice
by Abi Dare
Published by Dutton Books
on February 4, 2020
Genre: Adult, Literary Fiction, Bildungsroman
Length: 371 pages
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Quick synopsis:
The unforgettable, inspiring story of a teenage girl growing up in a rural Nigerian village who longs to get an education so that she can find her "louding voice" and speak up for herself. The Girl with the Louding Voice is a simultaneously heartbreaking and triumphant tale about the power of fighting for your dreams.
My Thoughts:
Adunni is a fourteen-year-old girl who lives with her father and brothers in a small village in Nigeria. She wants nothing more than to become a teacher but her father sells her for rent money to be married to an old man named Morufu. Her new husband already has two wives at home, one of which is pregnant, as well as many daughters, one of which is Adunni's age, but Morufu is determined to have two male heirs. When something happens to the pregnant wife, Adunni knows she will be blamed and killed so she runs and ends up in the employ of Big Madam, a wealthy fabric merchant who gives Adunni a job. Life isn't much easier for Adunni but she is determined to get an education and become a girl with a 'louding voice'.
This was a tough but hopeful read. Adunni is a young girl with a dream and determination but her coming-of-age story is a rough one. Adunni has many difficult twists and turns ahead of her, most of which are rather unpleasant, but she finds a way to work toward her dream nevertheless.
This very much reminded me of The Color Purple by Alice Walker, which was a rather life-changing story for me. In The Color Purple, Celie is married young and struggles to find her voice, though she eventually does. Adunni suffers the same fate but is determined to find her voice and teach it to be loud. Both have a happy and hopeful ending.
I was surprised to see the stark differences in the small villages that Adunni grew up around and Lagos where she is sold as a housemaid to Big Madam. In Adunni's small town an old tv may be used as a decoration though there's no cable to be had, while in Lagos everyone has smart phones and modern internet capabilities. I enjoyed the added facts about Nigeria, which helped to give a bigger picture of the country and the financial disparity between it's citizens. This was definitely an eye-opening and worthwhile read!
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