Son of the house

Author's Name: Chilushi Onimelukwe Onubia

A kidnapping incident unites the destinies of two women, unraveling their lives as each tells the other her story to pass the time and quell the fear raging within them. Painful details emerge about two women living in a patriarchal society that views the birth of a male child as an extension of the tribe, while viewing a female child as nothing more than a means of ensuring comfort and reproduction. Nwabulo experiences hardship to prove she deserves life; her tribe considers her a curse because her mother died during childbirth. She works as a servant to her stepmother, then as a maid in other people's homes, exposed to all kinds of hardships and resisting all of this in order to survive with her childhood dreams. Will she survive? And will she find in Julie the thread of hope that will restore what was stolen from her: her son, Afam? Julie sells her freedom in exchange for the luxury of marrying a wealthy man who fulfills the conditions for a happy life in Nigeria, where there is no happiness for a woman without a man, and no happiness for a man without children, following the tribal customs prevalent in Igbo land. She continues her series of concessions through deception. What is the use of shyness in a world where courage gives you everything? The novel leaves its reader with an exciting, intimate, and open-ended ending, imagining the survival of the two women, their reunion with their families, and the revelation of a secret that has lasted for more than thirty years. This story is surrounded by intertwined questions about the meaning of life, family ties, and the interests and threads that connect men and women, making society more intertwined and complex.