The words of late American author and motivational speaker, Zig Ziglar; “I believe success is achieved by ordinary people with extraordinary determination”, reverberate in Dr Ugoji Egbujo’s latest work of fiction.
Published in 2024 by TSOD Arts, the novel titled “Uju Jupiter”, explores the extent to which a determined individual could go, to achieve that which seems impossible. The compelling narrative is therefore a story of resilience, exposing the continued suppression of women in a chauvinistic society.
The novel, divided into three parts; ‘The Patchwork’; ‘Stretch, Strain and Tear’; and ‘The Rupture’, explores varied themes of forced marriage, determination, unfounded jealousy, domestic abuse, lust, suppression, abandonment, selfishness, resilience, envy, infidelity, etc. And so, at eighteen, Uju blossoms with an alluring female anatomy. With lustful eyes fixed on her beautiful curves, Alaba millionaire, Okenwa Okonkwo, nicknamed De Phenomenon, the only son of his father, and his overbearing mother believe the untouched Uju is most suitable to serve as a baby factory. The name –Okonkwo, must not disappear from the face of the earth.
Uju’s prayer in page 224 captures the entire scenario. She is at her lowest ebb and her words will melt the stoniest of hearts. “Mama Olisa didn’t wait; she dropped me and dropped off. I came in a time of plenty, but that plenty included not having a mother’s breast to suckle. Ogbuefi Nnanyelugo saw all that and chose to die after training others so that Obianuju, who came in a time of plenty, could barely finish secondary school.
That Okenwa’s marriage with his side chick Maya produces three girls, is evidence of good storytelling, and an indication that the man determines the sex of a child. Last, last, Okenwa remembers he has a son in Obeleagu. But does the young boy give a damn about having a father? The author’s power of description is quite impressive. Vivid descriptions of events and places can make the reader to as much as smell the level of poverty in most homes in the mega city. With penchant for vividly chronicling narratives about the chaotic city of Lagos, like he did in “The Spirit of Danfo”, Egbujo in the book under review, exposes the commotions that make the mega city where he resides, notoriously fascinating.
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