Book ReviewAdunni is a young, teenage girl who has grown up in rural Nigeria. Her only goal in life is to continue her education to get what her mother refers to as her “louding” voice. But when her father marries her off as the third husband to a taxi driver, and trouble makes her flee to Lagos where she becomes a maidservant to a very wealthy family, Adunni’s hope of continuing her education is all but destroyed. She will have to rely on her own strength to get through all of the horrible things she must live through while she tries to find her louding voice. The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Daré was my February 2020 pick for my book box subscription of the time, and while it took me a while to pick it up, I’m so glad I went with this novel. There was a couple day slump when I was about 3/4 of the way through, but once I picked the book up again I flew through. Adunni is a character you can’t help but love. Despite her insistent naivety, you just want to see her succeed and go to school and be able to learn. Her story, while heartbreaking and occasionally a parade of misery and sorrow, is a look into young girls’ realities that is too important to skip over. The representation in this book is what makes it so powerful, and the knowledge that this fictional book is rooted in fact makes it a hard read. The story is written from Adunni’s perspective and is in broken English. I found it off putting at first, and despite understanding the point of the story being written that way, I didn’t fully appreciate it’s importance as a way to help tell the story until 3/4th way through, and now I can’t imagine it being written any other way. It was a really great style choice by Daré. My one negative for the book is that the middle felt long. I kept waiting for something to happen. Something different to happen. While I do think having the repetitive nature of having negative and horrible things follow each other holds power in reminding the reader that for some people there is no escape or putting the book down, I was also ready for the plot to keep moving forward. In spite of that nit-picky critique, I can’t say enough positive things about this book and its place in world literature. Representation is so important, and giving a voice to those that are unable to find their own “louding voice” is an important thing to do to raise awareness and bring about change. The Girl with the Louding Voice gets 🎶 4/5 songs for its lovable characters and important messages. Adunni makes my heart ache and soar at the same time, and stands as a great reminder to stay positive in these trying times. If you enjoyed either The Rent Collector or Sold, I highly recommend this book. I think of it as an amazing combination of the two stories. Feminist Analysis The Girl with the Louding Voice is definitely a feminist novel. Despite Adunni having to experience negative, sexist experiences time and time again, she is unphased. She keeps pushing for change, to be the change. While there are parts that she isn’t as vocal about things that are happening to her, she knows what’s happening shouldn’t be and that’s what matters. Even the woman she works for, Big Madam, has a positive change. While Big Madam starts in this contradiction of challenging gender norms and upholding them, at the end she has a realization that pushes her to make changes that, personally, feel feminist.
The importance of this novel for me is the representation and awareness that happens. Horrible things happen to Adunni that only happen because she is a poor girl in a poor village. But it is Adunni’s knowledge and awareness and desire to change it that really puts this book in the feminist category for me and gives it a 4/5 rating.
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Hello, love! Please, don't mind the cat hair. I'm a lover of all genres (except romance, ironic, I know), and potentially --accidentally-- obsessed with feminist literary theory. Feel free to scroll around, hopefully see a few cats, and find a good new book or two!
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