It took me a little while to get into this slim book, my first novel by Buchi Emecheta, but once I found a solid block of time to devote myself to it and settle into the rhythm of the older prose, it won me round! It’s a rare occasion when I read anything published before 2000 these days, so 1974 is practically a medieval classic for me. 

Second Class Citizen is a largely autobiographical novel following Adah as she moves from Nigeria to the UK in the 60s and encounters racism, classism, and domestic abuse within her own home. For most of the novel I realised I was reading Adah as a 40 year old woman, and I was genuinely surprised when her actual age (21) was brought up. Likely a product of the times, but also the hardships she suffers are likely to age a person prematurely. A lot of the racism Adah faces in the UK she internalises, so she can’t even escape the oppression in the privacy of her own mind. Given the way white Brits treat her, she comes to see herself as truly inferior, less deserving of decent living conditions and things most folk take for granted. Life in Britain grinds her down, worsened by Francis, her good-for-nothing husband.

.

I do have to agree with some other reviews I’ve read that Francis seems a bit one dimensional. He seems to stand for a generalised toxic masculinity, and there was nothing but badness to his character. There’s also some unnecessary stereotyping of minor Asian characters within the book. It’s overall a painful read, highlighting the lasting damage the UK inflicted on its colonies.

.

Will definitely be picking up more of Emecheta’s books in the future!