Nigerian author Abi Daré’s debut novel, “The Girl with the Louding Voice,” paints a vivid image of strength and resilience that captures and captivates from the first page and doesn’t let go till the last.
“The Girl with the Louding Voice” is a brilliant coming-of-age story that follows the character of Adunni as she navigates many challenges in her life. The main themes shown in this book are education, empowerment, and finding self-worth.
The book aims to educate the reader about the world they are about to be transported to, with a prologue that states, “As the 6th largest crude oil exporter in the world, and with a GDP of $568.5 billion, Nigeria is the richest country in Africa. Sadly, over 100 million Nigerians live in poverty, surviving on less than $1 a day.”
To start this novel, this fact begins to weave together threads that will ultimately become a very intricate real tale. The main genre of this book is a Bildungsroman, which is a term used in the literary world to describe a genre that follows the psychological and moral growth of the protagonist. Reading this book, I began to form a parasocial relationship with the main character Adunni.
The book follows 14-year-old Adunni, who lives in the town of Ikati, hours from Lagos, Nigeria. Regardless of her being a minor, she is being married off by her father to raise money for him and her siblings. Her bride price was to be used for the rent, as they were on the verge of being evicted. She is without her mother, who passed away, which forces her to drop out of school and become the emotional and traditional caretaker of her family. Her mother had encouraged her education and instilled its power in her, but in her death, those values vanished. A troubling disaster causes her to flee to Lagos and become a house-girl, but a slave in reality, as her wages are being withheld from her. Her story is at every turn filled with misery.
“The Girl with the Louding Voice” is written entirely in a language that is inspired by “Pidgin English,” a dialect of the English language that is widely spoken in Nigeria. Daré stated, “I wanted it to be nonstandard English. I could make it Adunni’s. It could be her own English.” Daré turns the Adunni dialect into an object of fun in her interactions with other characters, as well as the reader.
The narrative, written in the first person, gives the reader a unique inside look at Adunni’s thoughts and feelings. The byproduct is a very unique language element in the writing and expression of Adunni’s character. In a conversation about braces, Adunni says, “Why are you
locking your teeths inside iron gate?”
The book sheds light on cultural and societal norms, both in Nigeria and globally. Familiar themes in the book explore the plight of Nigerian women regarding gender inequality, education, and female resilience. Nigerian female characters on display in this book are Adunni, Adunni’s mother, Mrs. Tia, Khadija, and Big Madam. These women individually go through many struggles relating to societal pressures on women, gender inequality, oppression, assault, etc.
Daré represented each woman’s specific journey and their plight and how the pain endured, and disdain eventually dominoes onto other women, who are also victims. The book is a social commentary on education for girls in particular, and it emphasizes this through the persistence and passion that Adunni shows in educating herself in various ways and through her curious nature.
“Louding Voice,” which is a term coined by Adunni, is an expression of her yearning, to impact the world around her with her unique voice and big dreams. Of this she says, “A day will come when my voice will sound so loud all over Nigeria and the world of it when I will be able to make a way for other girls to have their voice because I know that when I finish my education, I will find a way to help them to go to school.”
“The Girl with the Louding Voice” This book allowed me to connect with my culture in a brand new way, reading in Nigerian slang. While it was heartbreaking to experience the trials that fictional and real-life experiences of Nigerian women. Reading this book presented a challenge as it delved into the painful experiences of Adunni and other female characters. It tackled mature topics such as assault, rape, maternal death, and child marriage, all of which are very real and difficult to confront.
The author beautifully transports me into the daily lives of these impactful characters and connects with their emotions.
Watching this beautiful coming-of-age story allows you to feel like you are a part of Adunni’s life despite all the misery and struggle she went through. This is Adunni’s success story.