Ola Ekechukwu
Published: 2013-03-14
Total Pages: 104
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Each story focuses on the main characters internal struggle to balance out personal principles with societal expectations consistent with the realities of living in present day Nigeria. In The Echoes of Twilight Bukola, the daughter of Nigerian immigrants flees the UK to Nigeria after losing her beloved father in suspicious circumstances and suffering untold abuse in the hands of her stepfather. Her fatherland however, offers no lasting comfort. Some Things Never Change tells the story of Jude Bellema a young medical doctor whose manipulative girlfriend coerces him to go against the ethics of his profession. He ultimately loses everything. Petals in the Rain centers around the emotional abuse, which a young girl forced into marriage, suffers in the hands of her ruthless husband. The fourth story The Lagos Onlooker delves into the culture shock experienced by a boy on his first visit to Lagos. It explores the seeming dearth of a societys conscience as it pertains to good and evil. The criteria for judging a womans success in present day Nigeria is the focus of the fourth story Before the Cock Crows. In this story, the main characters enviable success in her career fails to provide the much-needed fulfillment in the face of her mothers displeasure at her unmarried status. The last story in this collection The Lizard has Grown Hairs tells the story of a parents struggle to save their daughter from a seemingly unknown illness. It explores the relationship between African superstitious beliefs as compared to Western ideologies.