"The Joys of Motherhood" by Buchi Emecheta: Review:

“God, when will you create a woman who will be fulfilled in herself, a full human being, not anybody’s appendage? she prayed desperately.”

The title may be speculative of a happy story but you'll find yourself reading about expectations of motherhood .The story centers around Nnu Ego ; the daughter ,the women ,the wife and more importantly for her the mother .Nnu Ego is born in a little Ibo town called Ibuza in Nigeria ,her father was a prominent leader in the village .And we're set to follow her journey ,.It is set in the 1900's in Nigeria then a british colony.Her story begins by getting married into a respectable family but she's discarded after failing to conceive ,seeking shelter in her father's house afterwards.

Who after a certain time begins searching for a new husband ,hoping for a better future .This time she's set to marry in Lagos far from home and from her culture .There begins another chapter of her life.

I cried by the end of the story ,I don't want to spoil the story but Nnu Ego's yearning for motherhood was so strong .The sacrifices she has made to be a mother .It's also sad that her value was attached to her fertility ,it's still the case even in our society .What she endured for her children and the expectations she's put in her children weren't met .

The story revolves around many themes including the political atmosphere with colonisation and its modern form of slavery (with the abolition of slavery in 1800's),the patriarchy and the tribal conflicts .

I had many reflections after reading the book ,I would love to discuss it here but it contains spoilers .So who have read the book ? What do you think about it ?

For those who haven't read it yet ,I highly recommend it .