“If you ask me for that 'book recommendation' that is a must-read this year, The Middle Daughter by Chika Unigwe will be that recommendation,” said Enwongo Cleopas-Akwa, a lawyer and wildlife conservationist, in a 24 Publication report. October on Facebook.
“From my heart,” she said, revealing how much the recommendation meant to her.
According to her friends, Enwongo is a woman with a beautiful soul. She almost constantly aspires to touch everyone and everything around her and make them look beautiful. And when you love something, you want the world to love it too.
In his Facebook post, Enwongo spoke about Unigwe's writing style in The Middle Daughter, the themes of the novel, which was first published in April 2023, and why everyone should read it.
“As I tell my friends, Chika (Unigwe) knows how to tell a story and make you completely absorbed, leaving you wanting more at the last point,” he said.
“It is a book that is both heavy and light. It makes you experience a wide range of emotions; that you almost feel like you are living the story told, in a simple way.
“It's interesting how children experience the loss of a parent in different ways. For some families, shared pain unites them, but for others, it is the beginning of a journey to Hades. This is one of the themes explored in the book.
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“The other topic explored in the book is one I no longer like to talk about: the ensnaring and manipulative side of religion. Many of us think we are above falling prey to religious scammers, but we are all one step away from succumbing to this, especially in this part of the world,” referring to Nigeria.
“It is worse for women, especially when vulnerability and the desire to have a partner or be accepted are combined. Many marriages have been established on this religious predation.
“This book makes you sit up with one of those examples.”
About the author
Unigwe, 50, is the author of four novels. Her novel, On Black Sisters' Street, won the 2012 NLNG Nigeria Literature Prize.
The Nigerian writer previously lived in Belgium with her husband and four children before moving to the United States in 2013.
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In June 2016, Unigwe told PREMIUM TIMES that Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe and Second Class Citizen by Buchi Emecheta are two books that shaped his life.
“The first gave me permission to write and validated the African experience as something worth writing about (at a time when I was inundated with Enid Blyton books), and the second opened the way to immigrant literature,” he had said. .