The virtuous woman

by Zaynab Alkali

Genres: Fiction, Nigeria

Unknown Binding

Published January 1, 1987

About the author

Her Islamic family came from a village in Borno State, Nigeria, but moved to a Christian village in Gongola State, where she was brought up. She graduated from Bayero University, Kano, with a BA in 1973, obtaining an MA in African Literature in English in 1979. The first woman novelist from Northern Nigeria, she is Senior Lecturer in English at the University of Maiduguri, Borno State.

(from Daughters of Africa, edited by Margaret Busby)

Reviews

[Masha M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the book that got me into reading and writing. I first read it during my secondary school days, I remember finishing it in about an hour or so. It left me feeling like I couldn't read another book as good as it for a long time. It amazed me and since then I've read it every year.

It follows the life of Nana Ai, a young girl in a little village in Northern Nigeria. She gets accepted into a prestigious girl's college in a big town. Together with two acquaintances who are also similar in age to her and have been accepted into the college as well, they travel to the far away school.

The whole journey is very exciting and full of suspense. The three girls vary in character and they get to see new faces and establish new friendships. I love books that are about journeys because there's always a sense of the unknown, anything can happen. From a drama, it could turn into a horror fest, or something to do with betrayals or whatnot.

I like Nana's character, it's so relatable. She's shy, kind and I believe she battles with anxiety especially around people. And very matured for her age. Very opposite to her friend, Laila and the childish Hajjo. The three girls started off as acquaintances but soon became friends. Being young, they feel free and so full of life. Things can change in an instant and that is so obvious in the accident they had. Some of the friends they made there were gone as if they never lived. This was really heartbreaking.

I love the setting, the narrative used and the very carefully thought out plot. It made for quite a dramatic book layered with suspense and a bit of romance.

[Ekene Onuorah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read it in the high school. It was simple and not annoying but I can't get the lesson it impacts. The heroine is not that attractive, sympathetic and alive.

[Promise Emmanuel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Back in the days, my classmates and I used to pass this book around each other. Then I got my own copy and borrowed a classmate over the holiday who lost it and never returned it.

I will probably never forget this fact. But I will also never forget that this is a beautiful book that shaped my imaginations as a southwestern girl growing up in the middle belt region of Nigeria. I longed to jump on a train going further up north so I could get a glimpse of what the characters in this book felt, and I thought, maybe I'd experience love on a train like Nana Ai.

I also always admired that the title page of the book quoted Provers 31:10-12:

"Who can find a virtuous woman? For her price is far above rubies..."

The loss of my original copy always feel to me like the loss of Abubakar...

It's probably time I got myself a new copy, exactly like the one I used to have, with the picture of the veiled young lady with her hands clasped on the cover page. It's probably time for a reread...

[Nafisa Umar · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book feels like a hug. Maybe it's because I received it through a very thoughtful gesture, or because I've waited so long to read it.

I completed it in a day and I feel exactly how I used to feel when my late grandmother would tell me a story. Her stories would always make me laugh and marvel at a Nigeria that I would never experience.

I started this book smiling, cried a little, and ended it with a huge smile on my face. I love Nana Ai and how she doesn't let self-pity keep her down. I love Bello's self-assuredness and the description of his grief:

"..he felt a different kind of loss. It was as if a part of him had been rudely chopped off. The pain was sudden and raw, like an amputation without anaesthetic."

I especially love Baba Sani and his love and affection for Nana Ai.

[Nina ( picturetalk321 ) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was pleasantly surprised by this slim book. My used copy is a (to me) obscure edition from Longman Nigeria 1986, with crinkly glued pages and cheap typesetting. I had never heard of the author. But now I am a fan! The story is told in a refreshing, no-fuss style, and it is focused very simply, on the lorry and rail journey that three young girls/ women undertake to get to their boarding school from their village. They meet with flirtation and disaster en route. The need of young women to manoeuvre with a chaperone and fend off importunate attentions from men is so well captured and reminded me painfull of my own adolescence. A wonderful voice.

[Chindak Ezekiel]

characters

[Chioma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice

[Charles Clare · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good novel

[Uzoetue Princess · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very nice, shows us what it means for a girl/child to live up to the good standard taught by their parents

[Marthie · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you need a light read with great dialogue, young love, and stories about real people, pick up this book!!! This is my third read. It reminds me of simpler times in my teenage hood.

[Agbai Peace · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book in Primary 5,
Interesting work

[Grace Ekong · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good