The Girl with the Louding Voice



"That day, I tell myself that even if I am not getting anything in this life, I will go to school. I will finish my primary and secondary and university schooling and become teacher because I don’t just want to be having any kind voice... I want a louding voice."

The title if this book was reason enough for me to read the book. This is the story of Adunni - 14 year old, precocious, wise beyond her years and driven. Born and raised in a small village, Ikati, in Nigeria, she's always yearned for only one thing in life - education. Something that's beyond her reach because she's a girl. After her mother, who was also her strongest ally, passes away Adunni finds herself unmoored in life. Her father, unscrupulously, marries her off to a man triple her age in exchange for a bride's price that would be enough to see him and his two sons off comfortably for months to come. Adunni somehow manages to flee from her husband's torments only to find herself in a life full of more trials and tribulations with nobody to call her own. But she's still undaunted and more resolute than ever to carve out her own destiny and find her louding voice.

Abi Dare's story opened my eyes to how divided the lives of Nigerians are, fraught with social divides and superstitious beliefs (even among the well-educated classes). The plot of the story, however, felt no different from the likes of 'A thousand splendid suns', 'The help' and 'The pearl that broke its shell'. But the author has given it a touch of freshness by using dialect as her style of writing, which feels as if you're conversing with Adunni herself. 

At first it was a little difficult for me to make sense of the broken English and the wonky grammar, I soon warmed up to it. But I think the language of the book plays a huge role in indicating how Adunni's hold over the language grows stronger over time, something that was imperative in her journey to freedom. 

A Girl with the Louding Voice is honest, beautiful and heart-warming. When the story ended, I longed to find out how Adunni's life would've unfolded further, whether she'd ever meet her little brother in future as she always planned to and I wondered if it's possible that the author would write a sequel! But to have a sequel would mean Adunni is still surrounded by troubles. So I made my peace stitching together my own happy conjectures about Adunni's life beyond the book. :)

With that I bid adieu to 'The girl with the Louding Voice' and give it 5 shimmering stars. My next read is called 'The Book of Longings'. I've already immersed myself so deep into this story that it was difficult coming out and writing this review. But I'm glad I managed it! 

I'll be back with another review very soon. Until then, happy reading! :)

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