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A Good Name tells the story of Eziafa, who after living abroad for over a decade, decides to go to his village to find a woman to marry. It is the author’s 4th book, published in 2021.
The almost-40-year-old Eziafa wants someone he can mould to his taste and “make a name for himself.” Zina, the woman he chooses, is 18 at the time and out of duty to her family, abandons her dreams and agrees to marry him, unaware of what her new life abroad would entail.
Apart from being biased and happy to read everything this author writes, the sprinkle of Igbo phrases made me very happy to read this book. The short chapters also made the book quick and easy to read, but it’s a very heavy story.
The book is dedicated to “Rachel and the sisters we lost” and one can already tell how the story ends before even turning the first page. Everyone knows a Zina or an Elinma, or at least, knows someone who does.
“A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.” - Proverbs 22:1 (NIV)
Eziafa Okereke had lived in America for about 12 years and he didn’t have much to show for all that time. At the beginning of the story, he is working as a taxi driver and lives in a small apartment with basic, mismatched furniture.
At an Igbo Cultural Association meeting, he meets Jovita and they start dating soon after. They have a wonderful relationship but as soon as Eziafa realizes she doesn’t fit his bill for a wife, he decides to end the relationship; except that he doesn’t have the nerve to tell her. He just runs off to Nigeria, leaving her a message.
Eziafa’s sister, Evelyn, had made a list of eligible women for him to see and make a choice, and his mother had spoken to their mothers. However, on the way to visit his uncle, Eziafa spots a young girl and starts to ask about her. It turns out she was on the list of possible matches so his mother sets up a meeting.
Zina is 18 when Eziafa prances into her life and in a matter of days, she becomes his wife. Her dreams and aspirations dissolve into nothingness as she is bound by her family’s expectations. When Zina joins him in Houston, Eziafa assumes the role of a master planner, dictating what Zina would and could not do, ensuring he enforced all his wishes—part of which is training as a nurse.
When Zina attempts to refuse to study nursing, Eziafa threatens not to send money to her family. She eventually gives in to pleas from her sister and mother and signs the application forms. From the hassles of an arranged marriage to the massive age gap between them, Eziafa’s authoritarian approach is one more thing Zina has to deal with in this faraway place, where she can’t have friends.
Zina wades through the storm of her turbulent marriage and eventually completes her program. She starts working but all the money goes into a joint account and Eziafa spends the money as he likes. Top of the list of expenses is the house he’s building for Nne, his mother, for which he regularly sends money to his uncle.
Tired and frustrated, Zina opens up to her friend and co-worker, Nomzamo and Elinma, who advise her to ask HR to split her paycheck into 2 and pay into separate bank accounts. She can finally have some money for herself and send some to her mum. She could no longer be a pawn in the game her husband was playing; she had to be his opponent.
Everything seems to be going well for Zina until she makes a mistake that costs her life—she falls in love. Eziafa begins to suspect his wife when she begins to defy him and talk back at him. When Elinma dies at he husband’s hands, Zina is torn. She also doesn’t imagine that she can suffer the same fate, but I guess we all know how the story goes.
Have you read this book? What did you think about it? Leave a comment, maybe? 😉
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