وفرة من العقارب

by Hadiza Isma El-Rufai, باسل الخواجة (Translator)

تتعرّض تامبايا لحادثة سيْر تضطر معها للبحث عن مسكن جديد وعمل تُعيل به نفسها، فتأخذها الدروب المختلفة إلى أخيها وزوجته في غانا لتعيش فصلًا متوتّرًا آخر من حياتها، ثم تعود إلى نيجيريا للعمل في دار أيتام مع أمل أن تحقق الاستقرار وتجد السعادة مجددًا. تتعرّف من خلال أطفال الميتم، والحالات الإنسانية التي مرّوا بها، والأُسر التي تتقدّم بطلبات التبنّي لأحدهم دون الآخر، على المجتمع النيجيري بمختلف أطيافه الدينية والثقافية، وكيف للسياسة في نيجيريا أن تؤثر على مفاصل الحياة حتى داخل الميتم. رواية "وفرة من العقارب" مستوحاة من تجربة الكاتبة الشخصية بعد عملها التطوعي في دارِ أيتام في أبوجا، ورغبتها في الكتابة عنهم.

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حديزة أسما الرفاعي، روائية من نيجيريا. أنشأت "مؤسسة ياسمين الرفاعي" لتمكين الأطفال ورعاية إبداعهم، وتطوير المهارات الأدبية عند النساء اللاتي يعانين اجتماعيًّا ونفسيًّا. "وفْرة من العقارب" هي روايتها الأولى.

Genres: Fiction

307 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2023

Reviews

[Oyinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book 52 of 2021

3.5✨

This historical fiction novel follows Tambaya, a Hausa woman living in late 90’s Katsina, on a journey of pain, loss, hope, and new beginnings. This book is heavy with heartache and pain, so you might want to have your tissues handy. What started out as a portrait of a happy family soon comes crashing down and as things go from worse to worst, Tambaya is left scrambling for funds.

She soon finds herself moving from place to place. She relocates to Ghana, where she’s given the harshest treatment by her brother’s wife. She makes her way to Abuja, where she hopes to build something new and solid.

This book is great in so many ways. The beautiful writing with straightforward and concise words was commendable, and I was hooked from the start, unable to put this book down. I was done in about 3-4 hours. So many issues were discussed in this book, including but not limited to fertility and IVF, police brutality in Nigeria, politics and corruption in the Nigerian civil service, adoption, dealing with extended family, and the death of loved ones. The author handled these issues well, and we also got an insight into how Nigerian orphanages were run in that time period.

I love how Islamic religion and Hausa culture were celebrated in this book. food, names, dressing, and other elements were mentioned casually. The importance of healthy and supportive female friendships is also highlighted in this book, as Tambaya’s friends Esther and Mulikat really showed up for her. This book was very emotional, and I found myself in tears more than once.

The characters in this book were really something, and the author wrote them in a way that really injects life into the story. From one place to another, the people Tambaya met over the course of the book really shaped her life and outlook on life.

I enjoyed and absolutely loved this book, and I highly recommend it.

[Jite · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars!!! I think it is a testament of how compellingly readable this book is that I finished it in one plane ride. This deeply emotional novel of grief, resilience, and finding a new normal tells the story of Tambaya, a happily-married woman living her best life when suddenly in the blink of an eye she loses everything. This story explores culture, religion, violence, friendship, desperation and the lengths we go through to protect our families.

I really enjoyed this book, but I could also tell it was this author’s debut because it was a little unevenly written. There could have been more detail especially in the last third of of the book featuring Tambaya’s life at the orphanage- e.g. a little less focus on specific scenes but more on building her relationships with those around her and the children. Also, the conclusion could have been a little more organized to make this a richer novel. Finally, I wasn’t a huge fan of the timeline/ time setting of this novel. On the one hand, the beginning part of the novel pretends to be set in the mid-90s in Nigeria, but it felt more like the 80s in reading it. I kept getting distracted by the anachronism as I said to myself “this couldn’t have been the 90s, I was there in the 90s and we had moved past this.” I also wasn’t satisfied with the timeline and that was also a distraction to me. I recognize that the author was trying to stay away from naming names and making her book political (as she’s married to a prominent politician), but because the book was written in a way that felt very realistic, it was a little distracting that the setting (in terms of time and situation) wasn’t.

All of the above said, this is a good book. And it is also becomes somewhat of a love story out of nowhere (although not in a way that makes it a romance- if that is not your genre, do not fear this book). The author deals with grief, loss and resilience in a way that is incredibly sensitive but still compelling and emotional. If you like books that will make you emotional and you also want to read about contemporary multicultural Nigeria, read this book.

[Ahmed · Rating 2 out of 5]

Feels incomplete. It ends abruptly as though the author/publisher mistakenly left out the final pages.

[Amal Dawas · Rating 5 out of 5]

ابدعت من كل ناحية
شكرا حديزة اسما الرفاعي

[Mimie Laushi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was interesting from the very beginning and I appreciate that. Following Tambaya’s journey was heart warming for me, and I love that it was set in 1990’s Nigeria. Her determination to ensure her husband’s peace and her journey through so many challenges felt like a bonding experience with her.. The story is both sad and happy.

[Kehinde Deborah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this one. I felt like I was enjoying a plate of my favourite food under very nice conditions. Kudos to the author and her team👏

[Hauwa Samaila · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book reads like a manuscript, or rather, a first draft. There was so much buzz around the time of its publication so naturally I expected so much and sadly it didn’t meet any of my expectations. Tambaya’s story was just not complete. The tragedies surrounding her life were not fully developed and read like she was jumping from one tragedy to the next without the former fully unfolding. I have never read Hadiza so I don’t know if I can say she could have done so much better but there’s definitely room for improvement. This book was just not ready to be published.

[الخنساء]

رواية نيجيرية لطيفة للغاية، العقارب فيها قلائل بفضل الله، لكن خطرهم الوشيك والقاتل مخيف ومربك، الجميل فيها معرفة تفاصيل الحياة هناك وأخذ نبذة عن نيجيريا البلد الجميل والثري، سواء ثراء مادي أو معنوي

[Wazeera Sanni · Rating 3 out of 5]

📚: An Abundance Of Scorpions .
✒: Hadiza Isma El-Rufai .
🏅: 3.5/5
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When Tambaya lost her loving husband and only child, she had to deal with the grief, her brother-in-law and a lot of debt left by her husband. After a while, she left Nigeria for Ghana to live with her own brother and his family in search of a job and a means to pay her husband's debts. With problems from her sister-in -law and her endless search for jobs she returned to Nigeria for a job promised by her friends.
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She got to Nigeria, couldn't get the job, got another job and became a matron at an orphanage where she once again found laughter and purpose.
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While still mourning her husband and daughter and later the missing of her only brother, she dealt with insubordination, enjoyed gardening, experienced loyalty, received and gave out children in adoption, investigaed adoption fraud, and made compromises. In the end, she found companionship again and the story ends with an uncertainty of whether she would actually root for love again and give her whole being to this new man.

The story is not one exactly of love, but started with the intimacy of a loving couple and the tragedy that follows. And with bouts of the Nigerian politics and governance, bits of cultural expectations, religious limitations and differences(religious and cultural,the story us an interesting one.
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It is a very personal story of a muslim woman and how she deals with grief, her strength for survival, her determination to make a world for herself regardless of the pain of loss and struggles of not having a person to call her own and when she did, having to deny them.
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This is the type of story I want to read everyday.

[Readwithmmesoma · Rating 4 out of 5]

“I’d heard it said many times that grief comes in stages. Only someone who’d never lost a loved one would believe that. There was no order to this awful pain, and, though its form changed, it was unrelenting.”
Excerpt from The Abundance of Scorpions by Hadiza Isma El-Rufai.


Just finished An Abundance of Scorpions by Hadiza El-Rufai, and it’s such a touching story. It follows Tambaya, a woman from Northern Nigeria who suddenly becomes a widow and has to find a new path for herself.
Her journey takes her from Nigeria to Ghana and back, and through her we see both the struggles of life and the beauty of friendship—especially her bond with Esther.
Tambaya’s strength and determination really pulled me in, and the writing is smooth with well-placed flashbacks that tie everything together.
The only thing I didn’t quite enjoy was the ending. It felt a bit rushed after such a steady and emotional buildup.
Still, it’s a heartfelt read and I’d definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys stories about survival, friendship, and starting over.

[Coded Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

𝐀𝐧 𝐀𝐛𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐩𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 || 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰⁣
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An Abundance of Scorpions tells the story of Tambaya who is faced with grief after the death of her husband and child which took her a long time to conceive.It details on the grief she faces after the death of her loved ones; looking out for employment to pay off the debt her late spouse left behind. In a bid to this she scouted for jobs everywhere until she finally got the offer to be the Matron of an Orphanage. This novel is heavily focused on the adoption of the children in the orphanage but it does not stop at that;they have a system of registering kids in the orphanages by assigning religions to them as well as changing the birth name of the child to suit the religion the child is assigned to. Would highly recommend this cause this is a rare system orphanages adapt,would also recommend to readers who want to delve in literature surrounding the Northern Part of Nigeria.⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5⁣
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[Onome · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is a smooth read and beautifully narrates the story of survival of Tamabaya who is a woman from Northern Nigeria. Through Tambaya we are exposed to the moral decadence in Nigeria and at the same time drawn to the beauty of friendship and love Tambaya shares with her friend, Esther. The determination of Tambaya to rise above her challenges will keep you glued to the book and sometimes melt your heart.

Being a widow suddenly, Tambaya seeks greener pastures to help pay her husband's debt. The story moves from Nigeria to Ghana and back to Nigeria. Overall, the author's use of language is great and the story moves steadily with flashbacks here and there but skillfully woven into the story.

[Noha · Rating 2 out of 5]

نجمتان ونصف..
قراءة كتاب من الأدب النيجيري تجربة جديدة وكانت فرصة للتعرف اكتر علي ثقافتهم وأسلوب حياتهم. بغض النظر عن الشرطة ��الجيش، الشخصيات كلها تتسم بالطيبة.
أظن ان الكتاب أطول مما يحتاج، كان ممكن اقتطاع او اقتصار شرح بعض المواقف. لست متأكدة اذا تم شرح عنوان الكتاب في القصة، تُهت في وسط التوصيف الكثير.
الكتاب رومانسي حالم فيه بعض من الغير واقعية المقبولة.
أرجو دار النشر أن تعيد مراجعة وتحرير الكتاب، لأنه مليء بالنقط في غير موقعها الصحيح.

[Morolake · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novel gives you a peep into the culture and lifestyle of people from Northern Nigeria.
The story revolves around loss and the journey to the recovery of loss. It also points out that there are colors between black and white - the subjectivity of ethics.
The author leaves you with privilege to complete the story, the way you want. Afterall, does any story ever end?

[Jedidiah-Jordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very captivating story, I thought the abrupt ending was rather rude. The author was blissful.

[Victoria Raphaels]

El-Rufai did more than blow my mind out of the water...she kept it in every single page of this book.

[Nwatam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Life happens, but hope and joy remains for the living.

[Elohor Egbordi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't explain how happy I am that I got to finally read this book. Listening to it one One Read app really brought Tambaya's story closer home.

[Precious Sagbodje · Rating 3 out of 5]

Compelling read. I personally enjoyed the insight into Islamic culture woven into the story.
However, the ending was just too abrupt for my liking.

[Fats · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay but why did it end like that though?

[Jennifer Spleit Landry · Rating 5 out of 5]

A compelling and heart-felt story, beautifully written language, and a glimpse of some of the terrible trials women overcome through will, love and inner strength.

[Aisha (thatothernigeriangirl) · Rating 3 out of 5]

So, the book basically tells the story of grief and how a middle aged Hausa woman, Tambaya, sought solace from the death of her husband and daughter (notice the empty shoes on the front page of the book, get it?😃). The book started out bleh for me. The author tried too hard to discuss certain cultural and social norms (especially the problematic ones) that it felt like trying to be “pseudo-woke” 🌚 but then the story picked up. I actually looked forward to reading it during work.
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Another interesting theme discussed extensively in the book is religion in relation to adoption. So Nigeria is a multi-religious country, with Christianity and Islam being the two commonly practiced ones. We Nigerians are VERY religious and a lot of conflicts have stemmed from religious (and ethnic) differences. Yes, the first thing a normal human being thinks about while discussing adoption isn’t “religious difference between prospective parents and a child” but along the way, it becomes a big deal (especially in a country like Nigeria).
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So what happens if a child born to a Muslim parent is given a Christian identity by the government and Vice versa? What happens when no Christian parents turn up to adopt a Christian child and Muslim parents want to adopt the child?
How does adoption in Islam affect the adoption of muslim children?
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An enjoyable and thought provoking read 👏🏾 but I’m giving it 3.5 stars and only because of the number of eye rolls I did in the first 50 pages or so

[Mobola · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really enjoyed reading this. I love the writing, definitely a page turner. Would give it a solid 3.5 if I could do half ratings, 4 star rating if the ending was better.

[Jumoke Otubusen-Fajemisin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed reading the book. The story is quite touching and aptly told, but i wish it didnt end abruptly. I certainly hope there would be a sequel soon.