Do not let the pretty cover deceive you. This book will traumatize you in ways you didn't know was possible. These questions roil the core of the novel and when Nani finally resurfaces like Persephone or Eurydice, if you will, called forth from Hades by Aunty Enuka’s flute, one is not quite sure whether the story will end happily or not. I'm very grateful that Nani's story ended well. These stories sometimes don't. I'm grateful to the author for giving us that.

The Middle Daughter - Kindle edition by Unigwe, Chika The Middle Daughter - Kindle edition by Unigwe, Chika

I hope that The Middle Daughter contributes to illuminating the existence of this industry and to conversations around stamping it out, among all the other conversations I hope this contemporary retelling of Hades and Persephoneprovokes.

This is a heart-breaking, tender novel, full of beautiful prose. It is a novel which has lingered in the mind long after I finished reading it, and one I will read again. The Middle Daughter is an unflinching portrait of a family’s grief and one daughter’s climb out of despair. An absorbing, memorable read” PDF / EPUB File Name: The_Middle_Daughter_-_Chika_Unigwe.pdf, The_Middle_Daughter_-_Chika_Unigwe.epub

The Middle Daughter by Chika Unigwe | Goodreads The Middle Daughter by Chika Unigwe | Goodreads

I could not stop reading Chika Unigwe's enchanting novel, The Middle Daughter. Her tender exploration of family blessings and woes is magical!’ UWEM AKPAN Growing up, I primarily read Western literature. However, several outstanding Nigerian classics have remained etched in my mind over the years. While I’m familiar with the works of Chinua Achebe and Buchi Emecheta, I’ve not kept up with the works of newer writers. That’s why I decided to read The Middle Daughter by Chika Unigwe. Chika Unigwe’s modern retelling of the myth of Hades and Persephone is pitch perfect - it is a meditation on the need we all share for belonging, and family, and love; a commentary on the journey we must all take in search of freedom’ HELON HABILA Irrespective of however anyone feels about this book, I think that one thing we can all agree on is the fact that her talent at putting together beautifully crafted prose, speaks for itself. While reading this book, I encountered a good number of such passages and sentences and I just had to reread before moving on, for the sheer pleasure of it. The Udodi, Chorus interludes, had a lot of these. Doda’s death and Mother’s insistence on not letting her in-laws and many others “betting on her to fail” get their wish is the trigger for the cataclysm that eclipses their joy. Mother sets up a business that would bring her enormous wealth, but ultimately puts her at odds with Nani. Ugo is torn between familial and maternal love while Nani, blindsided by grief, falls prey to the machinations of an itinerant preacher.Absorbing and tender, Chika Unigwe's The Middle Daughter is a finely-drawn portrait of a young woman's resilience in the face of violence and grief’ PAULA HAWKINS Nani, the protagonist and middle child, is othered in so many subtle ways. The names of the first and last daughters start with a U: Udodi and Ugo. Both names signify peace and abundance, respectively. However, the middle child’s name starts with an N: Nani. Aside from being othered by the lettering of her name, Nani means “scarcity,” a direct contrast to the abundance and goodwill of her sisters’ names. The otherness that was prophesied in her name manifests consistently and drives her into exile for several years. Parting shots: May we extend softness in our parenting. May our children know that we are always a soft landing for them. I didn't like Nani. I think the intention was to show her as an individual who doesn't know how to deal with the grief of losing her sister and father in death, is misunderstood by her mother and remaining sister, and as a result, falls into the hands of a beguiling and controlling man. But there's nothing in the story that makes this believable to me. I did not respond. Nobody hurts you like the people who know you the best. But nobody knows you the least like people who think they know you best.”