The Son of the House - Family Saga Novel | Historical Fiction Book for Adults | Perfect for Book Clubs & Literary Enthusiasts

An uncle once said that African marriage from the perspective of an African woman, is like committal to an institution. Cheluchi has captured the weight of that institution through the lives of the women in this story.Gender inequality is glaring in this book, but Cheluchi does not name it. Instead, using entertaining and graphically introspective prose, she lays bare how ruthlessly culture asserts itself over women. The title may mislead you into thinking the story is about a man or men, but that is not the case. The lives of the men in this book are screened through the experiences and emotions of the women whose own agency must be dampened and subsumed in the face of the men's frail egos; men who society upholds and venerates despite their shortcomings.For example, "‘He will marry one day,’ Mama Afam, as everyone called my mother, continued. ‘Yes, a woman will marry this drunken brother of yours. For love; for money, though God knows how he will ever make any; for his tall foolishness; or for children. Why? Because he is a man. With a penis between his legs. But you are a woman. With a womb which comes with an expiry date.’ Did penises have no expiry dates? a stray demon asked me."The stories of Nwabulu and Julie lead us through the rise and pitfalls of the quintessential quest of the Igbo man for a male heir. In the process, Cheluchi touches on a little known Igbo culture where women marry women for the sole purpose of raising children (sons hopefully) to sustain the male lineage. Just recently BBC examined this phenomenon in Kenya and shed light on the subjugation of the rights of such brides. Like the BBC documentary speculates, Nwabulu is literally sold into such a marriage and then cheated off her son. The subsequent turn of events ultimately bring her and Julie together, though unknown to them until the very end, they share a stronger link in the son that each woman genuinely and rightfully claims as her own.If you bear a nostalgia for Igbo land of the 70s and early 80s and some of it's long forgone mannerisms, sayings and traditions, this book will provide you ample fodder for reminiscence.Cheluchi writes like Buchi Emechata. The prose is simple and witty, yet resonates with deep wisdom. This is the kind of book that you enjoy not just the story, but the telling of it.