The Bride Price: 1800 Headwords (Oxford Bookworms Library)

The Bride Price by Buchi is an amazing read. It takes you into the way of life of the people of an amazing culture, which in this case are the Ibo people of Nigeria and their approach to solemnization of marriages. The historical aspect of the story is up to perfection. The way the Ibo people treat woman is clearly depicted, and from this book, we have a sense of how much changes the people have undergone in their treatment of woman in the modern times. Unlike before when the relatives of a dead husband are entitled to inherit the wife, woman now are days are free to choose a different path in life. It is a remarkable story. The characters are rich and vibrant, the plot is amazing and the setting is perfect. I recommend this book to any ready who loves a good story, especially one with an African setting.

Also recommended: THE USURPER AND OTHER STORIES, DISCIPLES OF FORTUNE, THE CONCUBINE

Another amazing account of struggling women in Africa. After reading Emecheta's Joys of Motherhood I went to read The Bride Price and I was not disappointed. Emecheta rich ethnographic style of writing is working with full power and keeps the reader asking for more. We should be thankful for the fact that Emecheta is a prolific writer, who is willing to enlighten the western audiences about the downside of women's life in Africa. Throughout the novel I was hoping that Aku-nna would manage to escape the claws of harmful traditions of Africa and to my great disappointment she ended up as the victim of the system of traditional beliefs. It will be a great day when Africans finally part with the some of the harmful traditional practices that hurt human beings and realise that it human life is the most precious thing in the world.