'A scorching portrayal of a woman's life . . . the female, feminist counterpart to Things Fall Apart' Bernardine Evaristo

'God, when will you create a woman who will be fulfilled in herself, a full human being, not anybody's appendage? ... when will I be free?'

There is no greater honour for a woman in an Ibo village than to have children - especially sons. Unable to conceive in her first marriage, Nnu Ego is sent away to a new husband in the city of Lagos, where she finally succeeds in becoming a mother. But things are changing, and a war that unfolds thousands of miles away threatens her family's fortunes and her entire way of life. In a world where motherhood is everything, what will be left for her at the end of it all?

'Sparkling intelligence and a certain kind of honest, lived, intimate insight into working-class colonial Nigeria' Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

About the Author
Buchi Emecheta (1944-2017) was born in Lagos, Nigeria and moved to London in 1961. A writer and academic, she wrote sixteen novels, three children's stories and numerous articles and television plays.

Reviews
I read and admired all her books ... The book I adored most was The Joys of Motherhood, for its sparkling intelligence and a certain kind of honest, lived, intimate insight into working-class colonial Nigeria -- Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
A scorching portrayal of a woman's life in pre-independence Nigeria . . . should be up there as the female, feminist counterpart to Chinua Achebe's celebrated and widely taught novel Things Fall Apart -- Bernardine Evaristo
A rich, multilayered work of fiction, full of drama and written with deceptive simplicity * Essence *
Writes with subtlety, power, and abundant compassion * New York Times *
Fresh and relevant . . . expertly and sensitively shines a light on the distortion of traditional values -- Lola Jaye * Lit Hub *



Book Information
ISBN 9780241578131
Author Buchi Emecheta
Format Paperback
Page Count 272
Imprint Penguin Classics
Publisher Penguin Books Ltd
Weight(grams) 202g
Dimensions(mm) 198mm * 129mm * 15mm