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cashleigh98's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
leeyongjin's review
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
michellemybelle's review
5.0
Buchi Emecheta really walked so Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Yaa Gyasi, and all the other contemporary girlies could run. “Kehinde” is essential, Nigerian/West African feminist text. 🤌🏾✨
kansass's review against another edition
5.0
Esta es la historia de la búsqueda de independencia y de encontrarse a si misma de Kehinde, una mujer nigeriana que lleva 18 años viviendo en Inglaterra junto a su marido, Albert, hasta que éste decide de repente volver a la patria, arrastrando a su mujer e hijos, casi en contra de la voluntad de ella. Pero el regreso a Nigeria no es para Kehinde lo que le había prometido su marido sobre todo porque la vuelta al hogar de su infancia, se convierte en una pesadilla porque ella, que se ha occidentalizado durante todos estos años, entra en conflicto y le cuesta gestionar el trato en segundo plano a la mujer en Nigeria. Albert ha cambiado y toma una segunda esposa, con lo cual Kehinde no solo tiene que enfrentarse a la poligamia sino que se ve obligada a quedarse callada y a asumir que ella ya no tiene ni voz ni voto como en Inglaterra: es una ciudadana de segunda categoría. Kehinde es una mujer en continuo conflicto entre dos culturas: la más tradicional e hiperpatriarcal de su patria y la occidental que elige para vivir y encontrar su camino.
Buchi Emecheta es una de mis escritoras favoritas y es una pena que en España no esté siendo editada cuando los temas de los que habla están tan de "moda" hoy en día: el empoderamiento de la mujer, la lucha por subsistir, por encontrar el camino a través de la educación y del trabajo. Es una escritora que habla de temas universales, soberbia en su sabiduría y por haber vivido todos estos pesares en carne propía antes de encontrar su camino a través de la escritura. Es una novela que engancha desde el primer instante por el estilo tan sencillo y auténtico de Buchi Emecheta, cortito y adictivo, se puede leer en una tarde, casi sin respiro. Una novela de estos tiempos por como Kehinde consigue conciliar las dos culturas, la de su infancia y la cultura que la acoge. Os recomiendo que os adentreis en el universo de esta escritora emocionante y tan de ahora a pesar de sus libros llevan ya años escritos :-)
Y desde aquí hago una petición a las editoriales para que la traigan a España, para que resuciten sus novelas y se la conozca más, ya que es una escritora que lo merece!!
https://kansasbooks.blogspot.com/2019/10/kehinde-de-buchi-emecheta.html
Buchi Emecheta es una de mis escritoras favoritas y es una pena que en España no esté siendo editada cuando los temas de los que habla están tan de "moda" hoy en día: el empoderamiento de la mujer, la lucha por subsistir, por encontrar el camino a través de la educación y del trabajo. Es una escritora que habla de temas universales, soberbia en su sabiduría y por haber vivido todos estos pesares en carne propía antes de encontrar su camino a través de la escritura. Es una novela que engancha desde el primer instante por el estilo tan sencillo y auténtico de Buchi Emecheta, cortito y adictivo, se puede leer en una tarde, casi sin respiro. Una novela de estos tiempos por como Kehinde consigue conciliar las dos culturas, la de su infancia y la cultura que la acoge. Os recomiendo que os adentreis en el universo de esta escritora emocionante y tan de ahora a pesar de sus libros llevan ya años escritos :-)
Y desde aquí hago una petición a las editoriales para que la traigan a España, para que resuciten sus novelas y se la conozca más, ya que es una escritora que lo merece!!
https://kansasbooks.blogspot.com/2019/10/kehinde-de-buchi-emecheta.html
tawa's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
hbeawill's review against another edition
3.0
I read this in my Modern British lit class, and I was enthralled. While it isn't the sort of thing I would've picked up on my own, I'm glad I read it. It's awesome because it explores the intersection of race, identity, gender, nationality and post-colonialism in such a simple but powerful way. It's short, too!
extemporalli's review
5.0
Reading Kehinde was a real treat, by turns devastating and joyful, and I'm so glad I picked it up. Kehinde tells the story of a Nigerian woman living in Britain whose husband decides to return to Nigeria for the newly-arrived economic opportunities to be found there and - more ominously - the "respect" he'd get as a big man, and the sense of fulfilment he'd attain being with his family, especially his sisters, whose intervention already causes Kehinde substantial uneasiness. Kehinde has doubts about this proposed return - she enjoys their life in London, and she has a good job at a bank, in fact earning more than Albert does at his job. When she tells Albert she's pregnant, he pressures her to have an abortion.
The power of this novel is to be found in its brevity and stark, plain language in speaking to patriarchy, power structures, familial coercion, and plain old cruelty. There's somehow something very striking about how Kehinde's life is changed without warning and then continues to unravel from thereonin - and something so uniquely identifiable, too, about how people you love and trust can suddenly change or show a side you weren't previously aware of. Emecheta is uniquely accomplished in depicting these about-faces, these commonplace betrayals, as a function of Nigerian classed and family structure. What holds it together is how unremarkable Kehinde first is, before the plot develops, and how complicit she was in those structures before they turned in on her.
There's also a subplot about the spirit of Kehinde's dead twin which, if I have to be honest, wasn't as developed as it could be, but did add an eerie, unsettling power to the story. Ultimately, though, this isn't a depressing novel, it's a story about joy and redemption, told in the most understated way possible: one of my very favourite parts was how she and best friend were able to forgive each other and help each other out (and one of my favourite lines in the novel is Moriammo's epistolatory aside: "By the way, the interest I mentioned earlier is a joke, just in case Nigeria has made you lose your sense of humour. You keep the money. It's a way of saying I am sorry for being such a wet blanket."). And how also, at the end of the day, the narrative was able to deliver sweet justice to Albert and Rike while having Kehinde be able to float away good-naturedly and live well, which is, of course, the sweetest revenge.
The power of this novel is to be found in its brevity and stark, plain language in speaking to patriarchy, power structures, familial coercion, and plain old cruelty. There's somehow something very striking about how Kehinde's life is changed without warning and then continues to unravel from thereonin - and something so uniquely identifiable, too, about how people you love and trust can suddenly change or show a side you weren't previously aware of. Emecheta is uniquely accomplished in depicting these about-faces, these commonplace betrayals, as a function of Nigerian classed and family structure. What holds it together is how unremarkable Kehinde first is, before the plot develops, and how complicit she was in those structures before they turned in on her.
There's also a subplot about the spirit of Kehinde's dead twin which, if I have to be honest, wasn't as developed as it could be, but did add an eerie, unsettling power to the story. Ultimately, though, this isn't a depressing novel, it's a story about joy and redemption, told in the most understated way possible: one of my very favourite parts was how she and best friend were able to forgive each other and help each other out (and one of my favourite lines in the novel is Moriammo's epistolatory aside: "By the way, the interest I mentioned earlier is a joke, just in case Nigeria has made you lose your sense of humour. You keep the money. It's a way of saying I am sorry for being such a wet blanket."). And how also, at the end of the day, the narrative was able to deliver sweet justice to Albert and Rike while having Kehinde be able to float away good-naturedly and live well, which is, of course, the sweetest revenge.
bodiesinbooks's review
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Abortion, Child death, Death of parent, Homophobia, and Sexual assault
Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Car accident
literaryinfatuation's review
4.0
Do you find yourself drawn to a pretty cover? I was looking to pick up a novel by Buchi Echemeta, who I had never read before. I ended up picking Kehinde over The Bride’s Price (plot looked fantastic !) because I just loved this cover. And it turned out to be the perfect pick. Similar to Juletane by Myriam Warner-Vieyra that I recently read, Echemeta tells us a story of polygamy, and women deceived and forced by tradition and economic dependency to take it. To swallow their pride, embrace the betrayal. But the main characters could not be more different and they drive the story in different directions. While Juletane is more emotional and sort-of a psychological thriller, Kehinde follows a more traditional line of storytelling. I loved it and it won’t be my last Echemeta for sure.
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