Protagonists

Side Character

Plot

Writing

Short summary:

This speculative fiction is on role reversal of genders in an alternative world. Women are the ones in power. Men take up the traditional work of women - child rearing, housework, trophy husbands, etc. They suffer the same stigmas as women in our world do - promiscuity is bad, getting married is top priority, etc. Instead of setting this in the US, we are transported to Nigeria where our lead Obinna - husband to a busy, clocked out woman - is meeting his high school friend Eze for the first time in years. Eze brings Obinna not only ideas of what he could have been, but also ideas of what he should be and want in their world today. The concept is an interesting one. There is good world building. We do have good, expressive writing. The problem is that this is so on the nose in regards to the politics and cultural “wars” going on in between the sexes today that it doesn’t feel as impactful as it should be. Would it have been better if it were more subtle somehow? Unsure. But, just switching the traditional gender roles doesn’t feel like enough here. This is my first time reading a work by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and look forward to reading her body of work just from this alone. The imagination and writing is there.