#56: Hell is Empty and All the Devils Are Here

A Review of Adesuwa O’Man Nwokedi’s Adanna

Set in Southeast Nigeria, Adanna tells the gut-wrenching story of a teenage girl married off to a wealthy, much older man to assuage her family’s deepening financial woes. She finds herself in a deeply harrowing experience that belies the wealth she sacrificed her dreams for and enters a world far removed from anything she could ever have imagined.

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Welcome to another edition of this spectacular newsletter.
Today’s newsletter is a guest feature by Doyin, a lover of all things art - literature, music, paintings, and movies. You can mostly find him reading, writing, or daydreaming about the Corleone family. He's addicted to cakes, books, and suits. He writes from Lagos and tweets @AjayiAdedoyin14

Adanna is a bright young woman with lofty dreams, but her dreams soon become nightmares in a series of sad events. When her father dies from the shock of a business deal gone awry, the treatment costs of her sister’s debilitating illness, thieving shop assistants, and pressure from a loan shark leave the family battling with poverty’s looming shadow. Out of options and brought to their knees by life’s persistent curve balls, Adanna and her mother turn to Chief Nsofor for help.

"It wasn’t only my father that died that day. My childhood did as well."

The abuse Adanna suffers at the hands of Chief Nsofor and his first son, Akanna, reminds me of a quote by Joseph Conrad quote: the belief in a supernatural source of evil is not necessary; men alone are quite capable of every wickedness.

Chief Nsofor marries Adanna not out of love, but for a belief her presence will bring him goodwill. As Adanna quickly discovers, she is only one in a long line of women in her husband’s life. His good gestures towards her dwindle and she discovers the brutal, inhuman nature that lurks beneath his outer magnanimity. Truly, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Akanna, Chief Nsofor’s son matches his father’s wickedness. Throughout the novel, it is difficult to recount any action of his that isn’t tinged with malevolence, ruthlessness,s or downright cruelty.

“The place where my innocence had died and lay buried. The place where my body, soul, and spirit had been crushed but, thankfully, not destroyed.”

The many comforts Adanna finds in Ojiji are a cruel mockery and a false sense of security from the torture she endures, but she is toughened by her struggles, like steel going through the fire. She goes through hell, quite literally, but she doesn’t become mean-spirited. Adanna’s life mirrors a stormy, tempestuous day sprinkled with all-too-brief moments of sunshine rays.

Nonetheless, Adanna remains a sucker for love, a true softie at heart. She even dares to believe something beautiful can come out of her pain. Chief’s death leaves her facing an uncertain future, unsurprisingly, as she finds herself being considered a suspect before the murderer is unmasked. She eventually finds happiness in the arms of Naeto, ensuring a happy ending after two decades of being at the receiving end of cruelty. 

Adanna is a well-written novel that makes your heart bleed a little more with each passing chapter, and when you feel like you have no more pain left to feel for the protagonist, you find yourself feeling more. It’s a lingering, brooding tale that is haunting in its magnificence.

This story is both character-driven and plot-driven. Through the eyes of Adanna, we see themes of sacrificial love, strength, and resilience shine through. The book also touches on themes like sexual, physical, and emotional abuse, and family dynamics. The events also drive the progression and highlight themes of betrayal, violence, and gender suppression.

The author addresses a common occurrence in Nigeria where family woes force young women to marry for the convenience and comfort of their families. Given the choice, Adanna would certainly never have married a man old enough to be her father. Through the characters, Adesuwa discusses the deep-seated feelings that are a feature of human nature, and the many twisted surprises and evil thoughts the human mind can conjure.

Given that the author is a self-described “hopeless romantic,” some romance masterfully weaves its way into the story – trysts with stolen kisses and tender words under the moonlight, and a picnic-like date beautified with Stevie Wonder’s vocals crooning in the background. The latter is my favourite moment in the novel, as it stands out as a truly blissful, dreamy scene, infusing some colour into the dark canvas that is Adanna’s life.

The bold writing in Adanna is evocative and threads its way into the deep recesses of your mind, making it an unforgettable read. It is bound to keep readers teary-eyed and slack-jawed at some points and leave them with suspense-filled hearts.

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Have you read this book? What did you think about it? Leave a comment, maybe?😊

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