Under the Udala Trees

it’s for my coursework so i had to buy it

This novel starts in the Biafran civil war, when the narrator's father is killed in an air raid and her mother is forced to send her away to live with family friends. There she develops a friendship with another young girl orphaned by the war, which over time develops into something more. The novel goes on to explore her life as a lesbian woman in a country where homosexuals face the risk of being murdered by mob violence.Ijeoma is a likeable narrator and her story is compelling without being melodramatic. It is disturbing to see how characters who are otherwise decent and well-meaning become utterly transformed over the issue of sexuality into cruel and unreasonable behaviour. Rather than painting those opposing Ijeoma as simple monsters, Okparanta's depiction of them as ordinary people is in many ways more upsetting and hard to comprehend. She also gives plenty of page time to the Biblical passages used by those opposing homosexuality on religious grounds, which was very interesting to read and gave me more understanding of the reasoning of those with these beliefs even though I don't agree with them.Overall it is a powerfully written novel about an important and current topic.

As seen in the picture and this is a very good book

This is a good book, looking at the struggles of a girl coming into adulthood and trying to understand her sexuality in Nigeria. I enjoyed many aspects of this book, particularly the relationship between the main protagonist and her mother. However I felt that it was just to short for the amount of content. I would have liked the other relationships in the book to have been looked at in a lot more detail. Because they were glossed over to a degree, I found it hard to connect to a lot of the characters, or find the relationships believable.

I've read this before but somehow couldn't remember it so I read it again. And I'm glad that I did.

I was unsure about this book because it’s not what I normally read (I’m into crime). I was recommended this by a friend and I am so glad I gave it a go. Couldn’t put it down. It’s so well written and the story is captivating. Honestly you will not be disappointed with it.

A beautifully written novel about a young girl living in war torn Nigeria, dealing with depressed parents and being sent off to live with others to ease the burden on her parents.Set in South-East Nigeria, starting in 1968, the height of the Nigerian civil war through to 2014 when the Nigerian President, Goodluck Jonathan, signed a bill criminalising same sex relationships into law. This is Ijeoma’s coming of age story. It is also a story about Nigeria and its people.Under The Udala Trees is a story about an unlikely friendship between a young Hausa girl and an Igbo girl at a time when those tribes don’t mix. It is a story about a romantic connection between two girls and the part culture and religion played in ridding them of the connection.It is a beautiful story with well developed characters that grow through the pages. I especially loved the growth in the older characters.

Enjoyed this book so much and so happy to read a contemporary novel about a queer West African character.

Good story, well written. Touching story, difficult at time to read because of the topic. You can only have empathy for the main characters.

The story starts of a bit distorted but as you turn the pages it gets more interesting. A feeling of sadness, shock, love ,happiness and anger. Love it and love is love

Great book. A journey of discovery in a war torn country written in a simple but beautiful way. Read it

Chinelo Okparanta’s Under the Udala Trees tells the story of Ijeoma with the girl’s voice and perspective. We meet her at age 11 in the midst of Nigeria’s civil war. Her father soon dead, Ijeoma tells us about war from a civilian point of view, a female point of view, the point of view of a girl who sees headless bodies along the road as common as flowers or mud. Privation and danger are everywhere, but when her mother sends her away to “safety,” she falls in love with another girl, and this forbidden love puts her in as much danger as the war.As the novel develops, we are swept into a world of myth and legend, a world of religion, where love is narrowly defined and verses used to punish and thwart, not inspire or reward, a world of rapid change, both personal and nation-wide. Ijeoma must learn to protect her love, hide it, and understand it without guidance from elders or scripture. Not only is this a war story and a love story, it is a coming of age story, the strands of which are woven tightly and the colors blended to form complex images of the deepest human complexity.From student to store clerk to running wild to marriage and finally to setting off on her own dangerous but loving path, Ijeoma becomes a brave woman, as free as she can be, and a loving soul. The novel does all this with a realistic style and details tinged with the magic of folk tales.The novel reminds me of Richard Wright’s masterful autobiography, Black Boy, insightful in society’s violent injustices, brave in its truth and love of life, and daring in its revelations.

What an amazing book. Deals with some heavy topics very eloquently. The writing was on point and flawless. Very much recommended.