Novel
The Concubine
Elechi Amadi · 1966
Synopsis
Ihuoma is a widow. Her husband, a hunter and respected wrestler, died shortly after a quarrel over land with a neighbour. The neighbour in his turn covets her, harasses her on the disputed field, and a cobra spits in his face. Then comes Ekwueme, younger than she is, whom she turns away because he has been promised since childhood to another. He marries that girl without loving her, falls ill, recovers at Ihuoma's side, and then decides to ask for her hand.
Context
The book appeared in Heinemann's African series, two hundred and sixteen pages, the first novel of a physics and mathematics graduate turned officer. Its stance shows in what is missing: no missionary, no administrator, no school, no white man anywhere. The village is not Igbo but Ikwerre, that of the author, and one follows the hunt, the fishing, the bride prices and the healer's consultations with the same attention as the plot. A film that he himself wrote was made from it, presented in Abuja in 2007.
Who it is for
Two hundred pages in English, with no French version. Nothing to know in advance: the book explains its world by showing it. A hurried reader will find the pace slow, set by that of the work and the seasons.
Prizes and reception
Hailed as the finest achievement for a first book, regarded as a novel whose reach extends beyond its village, and become a classic in West African schools.