The Girl with the Louding Voice : Book Review

Book Review
 
Title: The Girl with the Louding Voice
Author: Abi Dare
Genre: Fiction
 
The Girl with the Louding Voice is an uplifting story of an adolescent girl from rural Nigeria who dreams of getting an education so that she can find her voice. 
 
After the death of her mother, Adunni’s father forces her into an abusive marriage to a much older man with two wives and four children. The second wife befriends Adunni and makes an effort to ease her suffering. However, when an unexpected tragedy occurs, Adunni is forced to flee from her village and manages to escape to Lagos with the help of a friend. In the city, she ends up as a housemaid for a wealthy household where she is subjected to cruelty. Will Adunni remain a slave or will she manage to find a window to fulfil her dreams?
 
Readers experience the entire story from the point of view of Adunni, who takes us along her tumultuous journey. Her character evokes a range of emotions. There are tragic moments when your heart bleeds for her. There are times when you smile at her outrageously honest descriptions of the world around her. You admire her when she strives to see a ray of hope despite her terrible situation. The dialect may seem a little challenging at first but it lends to the authenticity of the character and eventually falls into a rhythm. 
 
Through Adunni’s eyes, we get a glimpse of the horrors inflicted upon women in that society-a world lurking with social evils like child marriage, slavery, molestation, abuse, deceit and where the girl child is looked upon as a burden. The author also gives some trivia about Nigeria at the beginning of each chapter. 

The Girl with the Louding voice is heartbreaking, moving and imparts a sound message to all the women struggling around the world-to find your voice and choose the life that you eventually want.

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