A review on the book titled 'Adanna'
The book was published in 2019 under the TBLNG press imprint in Nigeria. The message in the book conveyed through the use of chapters. Divided in thirty-four chapters and 475pages. The hardcopy of the book is available across different bookshops at affordable price of fifteen thousand Naira.
Review of the book
The book titled 'Adanna' is an eponymous novel. The main character of the book is Adanna as portrayed in the titled.
Some books entertain, some educate, and a few do something far more unsettling: they sit with you, disturb you, and refuse to let you go. Adanna by Adesuwa O’man Nwokedi belongs firmly in this last category. It is not an easy book to read, nor is it meant to be. Instead, it is a raw emotionally charged narrative that explores trauma, abuse, power, and survival through the life of one woman whose suffering mirrors the silent pain of many others.
'Adanna' is an emotionally vast and deeply harrowing novel. On the surface, it may appear to be a story about one young woman’s journey from innocence to experience,but beneath that simple surface lies an unflinching exploration of trauma, power, patriarchy, and resilience. The story begins with Adanna as a sixteen-year-old girl; bright, hopeful, and full of potential. When her father dies and her family plunges into financial hardship due to the outrageous debt her father left and a derailing sister.The promise of stability seems within reach when a wealthy man, Chief Arinze Nsofor, offers to marry her. In that decision to Chief's offer, made out of desperation lies the tragic pivot of her life. What initially looks like salvation quickly becomes the opening chapter of an unimaginable nightmare.
From there, the novel becomes an unrelenting account of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse at the hands of her husband’s son, Akanna and neglect from her husband himself. The cruelty Adanna endures is detailed with an almost raw emotional power. Many readers report feeling physically affected by the depictions of violence and degradation. The narrative voice, told in the first person brings every moment to life so vividly that it becomes difficult not to feel Adanna’s pain as your own.
At times, the book feels like walking through fire(fierce and overwhelming) .Nwokedi does not shy away from the brutal realities of her protagonist’s life, and this relentlessness is both the novel’s greatest strength and major challenge. On one hand, it makes the plot impossible to ignore. On the other, it can exhaust and overwhelm the reader because of the sheer volume and intensity of suffering portrayed. Some reviewers have even described it as “trauma personified,” a testament to how deeply the narrative grips the emotional core.Adanna herself portrays a complicated figure who is at once sympathetic and at times frustrating. Her innocence and longing for love leaves her repeatedly vulnerable. Some readers have criticized her for making decisions that seem naïve or passive. Although this apparent passivity is a deliberate reflection of the crushing impact of sustained trauma. She is a character shaped by pain, and her inability to escape it early highlights the ways in which abuse and power can warp a person’s basic sense of choice.
Chief Arinze and Akanna in contrast, represent cruelty and corruption. Their actions are not just villainous they are grotesque distortions of authority and masculinity. Their treatment of Adanna raises difficult but crucial questions about power, entitlement, and the systems that allow such behavior to persist. Some readers found these antagonists almost unbearably evil so much so that their presence alone could drive someone to stop reading. But others argue that this extremity serves a purpose which is to expose and condemn the deep-rooted injustices that can exist within families and societies. Despite all the devastation, the novel does eventually move toward a kind of redemption. Without giving away spoilers, justice finds its way into the narrative, and Adanna ultimately reaches a place where she can reclaim some autonomy over her life. For many readers, this was a necessary relief, a moment that validates perseverance and reaffirms that suffering does not have to be the final word.
What makes Adanna memorable is not just its plot but its emotional resonance. Nwokedi’s prose is capable of making readers feel joy, despair, rage, and hope often in the same chapter. The novel’s pacing mirrors its thematic intensity swift where it needs to pull you through trauma and lingering where it allows you to absorb the weight of what has transpired. Yet, 'Adanna' is not for the faint-hearted. Its unflinching depiction of sexual violence, incest, betrayal, and systemic betrayal challenges even seasoned readers of heavy fiction. Some critics argue that the book can feel excessively long or that the sheer amount of suffering borders on sensationalism. Others, however praise its raw honesty and the author’s refusal to soften the truth of her protagonist’s journey.In the landscape of contemporary Nigerian literature, Adanna stands out as a story that demands emotional investment. It is a powerful testament to one woman’s ability to endure and eventually to rise beyond the forces that sought to break her. It may not provide comfort on every page but it offers something rarer, a narrative that refuses to look away from life’s harshest realities while still affirming the possibility of healing.
To conclude,'Adanna' a challenging, deeply affecting novel that will stay with you. Its beauty lies not in ease or gentleness but in its brutal honesty and its portrayal of a protagonist who survives much more than most stories allow. For readers willing to enter its world, it offers an unforgettable experience ; heartbreaking, enraging, and ultimately, redemptive.
