Friday 9 October 2015

JAGUA NANA'S DAUGHTER. By Cyprian Ekwensi





'Many people in our modern world scoff at seemingly outrageous ideas, schemes and plots of tv "soap operas" - I am reminded of this as I consider the antecedents, mysteries, schemes, surrounding the birth and upbringing of Liza here. (Elizabeth is the daughter of Jagua Nana; Elizabeth is the protagonist of this work) In the earlier, more famous work, the eponymous Jagua Nana is a notorious prostitute, and her daughter, Elizabeth, is not much better, it seems. She has two children by two different men, and is already the mistress of a "rich and powerful man" - a man ensconced with a number of other wives. Jagua Nana's Daughter is a well written novel, even if it appears to ramble intermittently; the author Ekwensi, has never been averse to write about sex and physical pleasures allied to women, and this work is no exception - it is perhaps amusing eg when a "lowly" young woman is surprised at how much an older man enjoys ravishing her, spluttering widely in the process on top of her... Elizabeth finally meets her mother, Jagua, after a series of events and research and drama. Cheers! Vagaries of family life also in the mix in this absorbing work. Kudos to the late Cyprian Ekwensi for composing so many endearing works of literature...' - Eric

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