Love (Happy and Tragic) and Nigerian Women: #BookoftheWeek - January 27, 2014

 Looking for a good book to read? Every week, ZODML spotlights three great books from our extensive collection to inspire readers to try out books they might not have previously heard of. The selections fall under three major categories – fiction, non-fiction and children and young adult literature – so there’s a book to suit every taste. All of the books are available to borrow for free at our Community Library on Awolowo Road, Ikoyi. Be sure to check out our archives to see which books have been selected in the past.
Fiction: Americanah by Chimamanda Adichie As teenagers in a Lagos secondary school, Ifemelu and Obinze fall in love. Their Nigeria is under military dictatorship, and people are leaving the country if they can. Ifemelu - beautiful, self-assured- departs for America to study. She suffers defeats and triumphs, finds and loses relationships and friendships, all the while feeling the weight of something she never thought of back home: race. Obinze - the quiet, thoughtful son of a professor - had hoped to join her, but post-9/11 America will not let him in, and he plunges into a dangerous, undocumented life in London. Years later, Obinze is a wealthy man in a newly democratic Nigeria, while Ifemelu has achieved success as a writer of an eye-opening blog about race in America. But when Ifemelu returns to Nigeria, and she and Obinze reignite their shared passion - for their homeland and for each other - they will face the toughest decisions of their lives. Non-Fiction: Nigerian Women: A Historical Perspective - ed. Bolanle Awe This collection of essays contributions which women - from Queen Amina of Zaria to Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti - have made to Nigerian society in the past. The lives of these famous women raise issues which are pertinent to the development of Nigeria and the effective participation of women in its future. Children and Young Adults: The Concubine by Elechi Amadi Ihuoma, a beautiful young widow, has the admiration of the entire community in which she lives, and especially of the hunter Ekwueme. However, their passion is fated, and jealousy, a love potion and the closeness of the spirit world, lift this simple Nigerian tale onto a tragic plane.