Name: Under the Udala Trees
Rating: 4.074074074074074 (27 reviews)
ISBN: 9780544003446

Chinelo Okparanta

Inspired by her mother s stories of war and Nigeria s folktale traditions, "Under the Udala Trees "is Chinelo Okparanta sdeeply searching, powerful debut about the dangers of living and loving openly"

Under the Udala Trees

archie

From the narration in the early chapters, Ijeoma always tried to find light/comfort in everything that happened.  

Uzo. It was the kind of name I’d have liked to fold up and hold in the palm of my hand, if names could be folded and held that way. So that if I were ever lost, all I'd have to do would be to open up my palm allow the name, like a torchlight, to show me the way. 

I wonder how many people still feel this way. 

"Don't let me hear that you threw it away or let it go to waste. Remember Biafra.”

She said, “A woman without a man is hardly a woman at all. You won't stay young forever.”

Ijeoma’s mum tried so much to hide her grief 😩

“With a man, life is difficult. Without a man, life is even more difficult. Take it from me"

You don't drink kai kai for its taste. You'e focusing on the wrong sense. You drink it to feel its effect on you. Feel, not taste.

Lindy

I'm puzzled by everyone calling this a romance when it's a (very good example of) bildungsroman.

Montgomery Pierce

This book needs so, so much more love. A historical fiction wrapped up in a coming-of-age narrative neatly and lavishly sprinkled with sapphic romance spanning the entirety of the book with beautiful prose and beautifully complex characters and deep examinations of the cultural experiences of queer, Nigerian women? Yes. 

Under the Udala Trees is for you if: 
-You enjoy non-western historical fiction, particularly centering non-western examinations of culture, feminism, and LGBT+ experiences. 
-Historic sapphic romance. 
-Queer romance where the main character's arc involves the discovery of their sexuality young, exploring it, and the growth between youthful love to mature, adult love. 

Content Notes: There is (challenged) sexism, misogyny, and homophobia; non-depicted and non-graphic murder of gay men and women; non-depicted and non-graphic spousal rape; the depiction of a miscarriage; conversion therapy. This also deals with themes of depression.

the sentences are constructed so beautifully, i was grinning like an idiot in every (which is an admittedly small amount of) sapphic moment THE TENDORNESS OF WLW IM ALL HERE FOR THIS SHIT
i dont like how it didnt stick to otp and instead two sapphic ships, especially when both sapphic ships occupied a similar length in the plot. the whole thing with amina just felt empty. i wish for this book to go back a bit and for ljeoma to realise amina didn’t betray her and it’s simply circumstances that made her decide to marry a guy. 


Shelby Doherty

Likes: 
- I really enjoyed the audiobook narration, especially the songs.
- Things are not sugar-coated in this book! I wouldn't say it is exploiting trauma but it definitely recognizes that we all experience suffering and does not try to portray things through rose-colored glasses.
- Enjoyed how religious intolerance was shown throughout the book. Towards the LGBT community and towards other groups of people. Especially with the Bible verses that her mother tries to use to "cure" her.
- A fine book with a very interesting subject (just maybe not the best book for me personally)

Dislikes:
- Honestly, not really my style of book. I didn't really find the use of language that interesting nor did I feel very invested in the characters.
- The second half of the story was really not that interesting to me (after she gets married). That being said I found the miscarriage scene very emotional.
- Personally, it felt a little bit long towards the end for me

Maxime van der Wal

i have not been this close to crying because of a book in ages. proper review to come

Brook

The language was nice, and so were passages, especially early, about the beautiful land. After that, the desire to tell every second of a rather boring life took over. Instead of lingering over characters to build any kind of interest, we're rushed about as the reader. No one has complex motivations. The characters are as deep and interesting as cardboard. Was glad I could at least finish this quickly.

Emma Cragg

Ogochukwu Ihetu

One day in 1968, at the height of the Biafran civil war, Ijeoma's father is killed and her world is transformed forever. Separated from her grief-stricken mother, she meets another young lost girl, Amina, and the two become inseparable. Theirs is a relationship that will shake the foundations of Ijeoma's faith, test her resolve and flood her heart. In this masterful novel of faith, love and redemption, Okparanta takes us from Ijeoma's childhood in war-torn Biafra, through the perils and pleasures of her blossoming sexuality, her wrong turns, and into the everyday sorrows and joys of marriage and motherhood. As we journey with Ijeoma we are drawn to the question: what is the value of love and what is the cost? A triumphant love story written with beauty and delicacy, Under the Udala Trees is a hymn to those who've lost and a prayer for a more compassionate world. It is a work of extraordinary beauty that will enrich your heart.

Under the Udala Trees

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