A delightful story of womanly strength
A young widow stands up to the village chief, refusing to be a passive victim
Nigerian author Odafe Atogun writes when the world is asleep, mining those magical hours of stillness and silence when the rest of the humanity is deep in dream.
You can feel this otherworldly quality in his work — the quiet tranquility, the blurring of fact and fiction, the weaving of fable and folklore into the fabric of 21stcentury life.
Atogun’s 2016 debut Taduno’s Song, a tribute to Nigerian musician and human rights activist Fela Kuti, won praise for its polished prose and stirring storytelling, and was chosen for the BBC Radio 2 Book Club. Now he’s back with a second novel, Wake Me When I’m Gone, which proves a deeply satisfying and delightful, read.
The story opens with Ese, a beautiful young widow and market vendor living in a small village. She has many admirers, including the town’s alcoholic Chief, who’s so intent on marrying her he’s prepared to dredge up ancient traditions, and call on priests and gods, to force her hand. In danger of losing her son Noah to these old laws, Ese finds herself at a crossroads.
Ese is no passive victim here, but a determined author of her own destiny. She rebels against the Chief, and takes on Noah’s concern for local orphans, who, by custom, are also shunned and abused.
Astory of womanly strength and power, and the bonds of love, Wake Me When I’m Gone casts an enchanting spell, unfolding chapter by chapter in a voice that never fails to captivate.
Atogun’s gifts are ones we should all celebrate, particularly given the fact that in the not-too distant past we may not have had access to them.
In a recent Guardian essay, Atogun shares that he passes writing breaks counting his shoes. “I remember the days when I had no shoes at all, as a child living under a master who had two wives,” he writes. “(Cataloguing shoes) purges me in a way, and helps me channel my creative energies when I get back to my desk.”
For this emerging talent, there is no better place than the desk, and the page. And we can count ourselves lucky that he keeps finding his way back there. Tara Henley is a writer and radio producer.