Reviews

The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Daré

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jencunn2024's review

4.0

3.75 stars rounded up. I’ve read a lot of other reviews and I think I’ve gathered an understanding of the dislikes, likes, and loves because I related to all of them at some point while reading this novel. I highly recommend combining audio and print together to help with the most complained about aspect — the broken English narrative of the protagonist. It is important to note that the broken English is intentional and improves somewhat as the girl expands her knowledge of the language. It is not done perfectly and I felt as though the author was also trying to bridge the gap between English and Nigerian dialect. I think she came to a happy medium even if you aren’t a fan of the language in this novel. I also have to agree with some others that have pointed out that the if the narration were more realistic the thoughts of the main character should have expressed more native language and fluency than her speech. However, this novel was written extremely well linguistically, especially when you consider that this is Dare’s debut.

So in the beginning I wasn’t latching onto the story or characters as well as I would have liked. The plot was slow and dull and full of tropes. This has been criticized heavily by some. But as I moved through with the story with Adunni (loved her name even before we were told it’s meaning), I realized this was mainly done to express the plight of young Nigerian women and the assortment of dangers, obstacles and battles they can encounter. Perhaps placing this all in one narrative was too much but the story grew on me and so did the characters. Later on I was compelled to go back and revisit certain parts of the story and the earlier characters. Having the printed copy on hand made this a simple process.

The story was mostly predictable but still offered several surprises, mostly heart-breaking. This novel though is important because it tells so much about the horrors of life for so many Nigerian women in a small space and at a level understandable at a YA level. The message and revelations are important to be shared with non-Nigerians and give girls, women and others a glimpse into their world and lives. I think going in I expected this to be more about a girl making a way for herself than stumbling into a stream of luck, whether good or bad luck. It seemed more about fate than creating her own space. However, what was inspiring was her determination and the hope felt by other characters helping her, even some that were problems along the way. I think the emotion that stirs along with the beautiful, descriptive prose and spiritual songs are what make this novel a standout.

Regarding audio… it drove me crazy at first between voice and the broken English but I got used to it and loved the spirituals and eventually melted into the characters, pronunciation, and culture because I listened concurrently to reading it in black and white.

d_lapri's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes

4.0

kim_j_dare's review

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5.0

In contemporary Nigeria, 14-year-old Adunni wants nothing more than an education so that she can make a difference in the world. Her widowed father has other plans: he sells her into marriage to pay off his debts. Adunni must learn to navigate a household with two other wives, one very cruel to her, and repeated sexual assault by her new husband. When Khadija, the wife who has attempted to ease Adunni’s way, dies from pregnancy complications, Adunni flees the marriage and the village. Desperate, she gratefully accepts an offer of employment as housemaid for a wealthy Lagos couple. All to soon, she realizes she has been trafficked into working for a cruel woman and her lecherous alcoholic husband.

Adunni relates her story in nonstandard English. While this works beautifully for the audiobook (narrated by Adjoa Andoh), I’m guessing that I would have been more distracted and less engaged reading the print version.

Bearing witness to Adunni’s experiences is not easy. The power of the story is in that thin line if resolve that Adunni manages to hold onto, and her unshakeable faith in the possibility that she will somehow be able to change her circumstances. Nigerian author Abi Daré has given us a protagonist who shines a light on the beauty and the ugliness of the country, and who amplifies the changes that need to occur for all young girls to claim their louding voices.

allisaw_carla's review

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emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

signorponza's review against another edition

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5.0

Questo libro parla di una giovane ragazza nigeriana alla ricerca della propria voce. La protagonista si chiama Adunni, vive in un piccolo villaggio della Nigeria e ha 14 anni. Come accade per molte sue coetanee, è costretta ad abbandonare la scuola e presto si ritrova moglie di un uomo molto più adulto che la considera uno strumento per fare figli, possibilmente maschi. La vita di Adunni non è facile, ma diventa ancor più difficile quando si trova costretta a scappare dal suo villaggio e approda a Lagos. È un romanzo che ingrana lentamente, ma che già arrivati a metà rende impossibile non affezionarsi ad Adunni. Si ride, si soffre, si gioisce insieme a lei, facendo il tifo affinché riesca a coronare il suo sogno di tornare a scuola. Ho letto The Girl with the Louding Voice in inglese perché purtroppo non era stato ancora tradotto in italiano: non è una lettura semplicissima, soprattutto all’inizio. L’autrice infatti ha scelto di narrare utilizzando la prospettiva della stessa Adunni, scegliendo un registro linguistico coerente con il suo livello di inglese. E infatti un altro aspetto che mi ha fatto amare particolarmente questo libro è l’evoluzione del linguaggio che si può notare man mano che passa il tempo, seguendo la crescita della conoscenza della lingua da parte della protagonista.

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