Publication Date: April 4, 2023
Udodi’s death was the beginning of the raging storm but at that moment, we thought that the worst had already happened, and that life would treat us with more kindness.
When seventeen-year-old Nani loses her older sister and then her father in quick succession, her world spins off its axis. Isolated and misunderstood by her grieving mother and sister, she’s drawn to an itinerant preacher, a handsome self-proclaimed man of God who offers her a new place to belong. All too soon, Nani finds herself estranged from her family, tethered to her abusive husband by children she loves but cannot fully comprehend. She must find the courage to break free and wrestle her life back—without losing what she loves most.
A modern reimagining of the myth of Hades and Persephone within a Nigerian family, The Middle Daughter charts Nani’s journey to freedom and homecoming.
Reeling from the death of her big sister, followed by her father’s death, 17-year-old Nani finds herself adrift.
Author Chika Unigwe delivers a heart-wrenching tale of loss in The Middle Daughter. Brought up in a privileged Nigerian home, Nani ultimately plans to go to school in America. However, grief cripples her and makes her vulnerable.
She falls prey to a religious man who robs her of her innocence and then forces marriage in the aftermath of the ensuing pregnancy. Cut off from her family, Nani is trapped in an abusive marriage with three children.
Nani’s story is painfully realistic through the descriptions provided by the author. There’s a marked contrast between her past and present. Additionally, the story delves into the complexity of the mother-daughter relationship.
The Middle Daughter calls out a woman’s struggle to gain freedom for herself and her children while building a bridge back to her family.
Chika Unigwe was born in Enugu, Nigeria, and now lives in Turnhout, Belgium, with her husband and four children. She writes in English and Dutch.
In April 2014 she was selected for the Hay Festival’s Africa39 list of 39 Sub-Saharan African writers aged under 40 with potential and talent to define future trends in African literature.
Unigwe holds a BA in English Language and Literature from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and an MA from the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium. She also holds a PhD from the University of Leiden, The Netherlands, having completed a thesis entitled “In the shadow of Ala. Igbo women writing as an act of righting” in 2004.
