Name: The Joys of Motherhood
Rating: 4.666666666666667 (9 reviews)
ISBN: 9780807616239

Buchi Emecheta

Stephane Robolin

First published in 1979, this feminist literary classic follows Nnu Ego, a Nigerian woman struggling in a patriarchal society, as she, finally becoming a mother, must protect her children during World War II after she is abandoned by her husband and her people. Reissue.

A Novel

The Joys of Motherhood

...a graceful, touching, ironically titled tale. - John Updike A new edition of her classic novel to coincide with the publication of her other works in the African Writers Series. Nnu Ego is a woman devoted to her children, giving them all her energy, all her worldly possessions, indeed, all her life to them -- with the result that she finds herself friendless and alone in middle age. This story of a young mother's struggles in 1950s Lagos is a powerful commentary on polygamy, patriarchy, and women's changing roles in urban Nigeria.

Eri Asahi

** spoiler alert **
           I don’t even know where to start. I wanted to believe the title of the book until the last time. The story of Nnu Ego is one of the gut-wrenching one. Makes me really think that women, in any time, any world, can only be daughters, sisters, wives, and/or mothers. They can never be themselves. And that is okay. That is noble. Depends on how you see it.

The Joys of Motherhood A Novel

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