My Name Is Nkechukwuọma - Gloria
So, I won a book! An e-book, but still!!
In order to keep track of the books I own (numbering over 1000 now) I used to have a particular book app. However, when that became obsolete I joined a separate app/website called LibraryThing, which - among its other features - has a monthly book giveaway competition. Living in New Zealand, I am not eligible for physical books, sadly, but I am able to apply to receive a copy of an e-book, as long as I review it when I get it.
Gosh, what a sacrifice to make.
So, anyway, My Name Is Nkechukwuọma is the debut novel of a Canadian-Nigerian author named Gloria, and follows a young Canadian-Nigerian woman as she deals with the usual older-teen issues of dating, rebellion against parents and family dynamics. She also has to deal with the traditional Nigerian elements of her upbringing, including aunts that have quite a large deal of influence over her choices in life, as well as gradually growing in her understanding of her Christian upbringing.
If this seems like a lot of themes to focus on, it is, and at times the novel does it better than at others. Gloria focusses in on a scene and lets it play out, setting up various conflicts that would seem to be important, only for a time jump to change the focus to something else. Certain plot-points that could be developed into an interesting focus are side-lined, or only happen 'off-screen' - her young aunt, for example, starts off as a source of frustration, lives with the protagonist's family for a bit, then is suddenly in Nigeria, then has returned and is now married.
In a similar vein, although we follow 'Nkech' while she rebels against her parents by partying and drinking, Gloria doesn't give enough insights into her protagonist's thought processes to really take us on the journey. Instead, we get her heroine having a conversation with her parents that implies she will not party, followed by her sneaking out to a party. Both of these are told in a manner that implies Nkech is sincere in what she is doing, where a little bit of narration giving her thought process could build up the conflict. Her questions around her faith could use a similar polish.
These sort of issues don't ruin the book - the setting and culture itself is interesting enough to keep the reader's attention - but they do seem to be elements that a more experienced writer would know to address. My Name is Nkechukwuọma is definitely a debut novel.
Although all of this may seem negative, I enjoyed the look at a life in a very different context to my own, as well as appreciating the topics the author was choosing to focus on. I look forward to seeing how Gloria develops as a voice going forward, and would still check out her future work.
Completed 9 August 2024.
(LibraryThing Prize Books)
Comments
Post a Comment