That pregnant widow in the battle ring

Publisher: Coast2Coast, Lagos Pages: 269 ISBN:  9783490052 Reviewer: Abubakar A. Ibrahim The first thing that strikes one about this book, once you get beyond the rather ambiguous title, is the ambience of pathos that dominates this book by this award winning author. It opens with the sentence: The news of the sudden death of Udo, […]

Publisher: Coast2Coast, Lagos

Pages: 269

ISBN:  9783490052

Reviewer: Abubakar A. Ibrahim

The first thing that strikes one about this book, once you get beyond the rather ambiguous title, is the ambience of pathos that dominates this book by this award winning author. It opens with the sentence:

The news of the sudden death of Udo, son of Okike shocked the teeming lovers of wrestling in Mbaozo.

From then on, Odili engages the reader in a ride into a rainforest teeming with well formed characters and a wealth of Igbo culture amply demonstrated by Odili’s forerunner and mentor, Chinua Achebe. His story, set in pre-colonial Igbo land, is the classic tale of good versus evil, of the travails of a widow, who apart from mourning her husband, shaving her hair and wearing black has also to contend with allegations of adultery proffered against her by her husband’s uncle.

Her husband, Udo Okike, was a champion wrestler and his sudden and mysterious death shocked the whole village. He left a beautiful window, hitherto childless, to confront the bitter rift threatening to tear apart the prestigious Okike family. Things took a turn for the worse when Ekemma, the widow discovered she was pregnant only after her husband’s death.

The paternity of the pregnancy becomes the subject of controversy in the village of Mbaozo. There were allegations that the widow put aside her mourning garb to indulge in an adulterous affair with her late husband’s friend. In the rumours, the Okike family patriarch and Ani Priest, Eze Ochendo, found the opportunity he sought to destroy the seed of his half-brother’s son, Udo Okike.

The chief priest’s decision to capitalize on the rumours even when he, more than anyone else, knows it is false brings him into confrontation with another family stalwart, Udemba, who insist that the matter should be judged according to its merit, not sentiments.

With Ekemma and her pregnancy in the centre of the story, Odili carefully weaves around her a story of power struggle and intrigues between two powerful men garnishing it with a delectable oral tradition, proverbs and wits.

It is obvious; Odili drank from the same fountain of rich folklore and oral tradition as Achebe. When his contemporaries, the internet generation, are writing about internet fraud, political upheavals and corruption, Odili decides to write about an ancient battle for the soul of morality in the heart of Igboland outside the influence of colonial dictates.

In Ekemma’s plight, he captures the oft told tale of women in the “misty abyss of widowhood” but this time, the intrigue and the power in the plot makes this more than just a story of a pathetic, suffering widow.  For a long stretch, the widow seems removed from the story as the two men plotted and strategized against one another, sometimes using dubious and underhand methods, often at grievous and tragic personal costs. In the intensity of the conflict, the widow herself is graciously sidelined.

Another thing, Odili manages to bring to the front burner with this remarkable novel is the role women play in the victimization of fellow women. Ekemma’s ostracism is championed by her fellow women who should have protected her, prominent among whom was her late husband’s sister, Egondu, who had previously loved Ekemma almost as much she had loved her only brother.

The Women Council, whose duty it is to investigate the matter is all too willing to relinquish its obligation to a higher body that could easily condemn the widow to death, simply because they had presumed her guilty. They encouraged their wards to insult the pregnant widow while they tongue lashed her. Without being too obvious about it, Odili subtly points to the fact that women more often than not, perpetrate greater atrocity on their own gender than the traditional villains – the men folk.

In the same vein, this novel highlights the propensity of villains to see evil as good, never believing they are wrong even when it is so glaring. Eze Ochendo’s determination to fight his cause to the end, even  when the god, to which he is a chief priest, shuns him, aside from striking him with momentous calamities to call him to reason. The old priest insists that “when a man is defending his territory, his enemies think he is wicked.”

Though the language can be tightened with a little more editing and the ending seemed a bit rushed, there is no denying this book is a compelling read rigged with twists and turns to keep the pages turning. One commendable thing about this novel is the handling of the theme, which though common, is treated from a different perspective. Odili makes no secret of his admiration for Achebe and it shows very much in his writing style. Where Achebe excels in description without being boring, Odili matches with pace and intrigues except towards the end where he seemed to descend from a rather steep slope.

I will certainly be looking forward to more of his books and you should too.