How is this a debut novel?! 

An absolutely immense story rich with Nigerian culture and history. I listened to the audiobook narrated by Nneka Okoye and it just made everything 1000 times better. From the Nigerian language, accents, raw emotions, differing voices, I'm not exaggerating when I see this might have been the best audiobook I have ever listened to.

This book made me feel all kinds of things - absolute rage towards the patriarchy and the misogyny inherent in many cultures, especially the one central to this story, sadness that women have to suffer from abuse from their husbands but then having to relent for the sake of preserving the sanctity of their marriages and the image of their family. On top of that, the main character, Uju, has a complex relationship with her mother, who never seems to be on her side and struggles to break the generational cycle of abuse. Many times, I had to stop listening because I was too infuriated by some of the characters - but this is the stark reality that women all around the world face. I learnt so much about Nigerian history, too - the horrors of the Civil War in the 1970s and the hardships that Nigeria as a nation had to face. 

The ending Aiwanose Odafen gave us satisfied me enough. It was a glimmer of hope in a dark, dark setting. Ah I could just go on and on about this book. I may never shut up about it, that's how much of an indelible impression it made on me.