Tomorrow I Become A Woman
‘Useless or not, a husband is a husband. Having a man around is good, even if it is just to look responsible.’
Tomorrow I become a woman is a captivating and compelling read that follows the story of Uju as she navigates life as an impressionable, ambitious single woman who is dedicated to educate and better equip herself for life ahead, determined to have the privilege of education which is freely given to men. Uju experiences feelings of discontentment amongst her very stricken and culturally driven Nigerian mother that consistently voices her disapproval of her daughter’s education, and tells her that as a young woman it is time to start looking for a future prospect for marriage. The novel explores the bittersweet relationship between mother and daughter, the perplexed harshness and tough love at times that grips your heart as a reader, causing you to sympathise with Uju who wants to make her mother happy, but at the expense of her own happiness.
Aiwanose explored the complex relationship many young women had with their families, especially their mother. She presented this so profoundly through the depicting of her characters as they navigated the pressures and expectations of a patriarchal society and culture. In some ways, this book can be identified as a coming of age book as we follow Uju, Ada and Chinelo into their journey of becoming a woman; through feminine duties such as marriage and childbirth.
The book is divided into three parts (Yesterday. Today and Tomorrow) Each part was a journey with Uju as we are introduced to a bright ambitious woman with hopes for her future, to a newly young married woman struggling to come to terms with the reality of the abuse in the depths of her marriage so early on, and finally, to a woman on her way to freedom and finding herself again. I thought the book was beautifully narrated, the story left me in shock, in tears, as I read along my heart broke for Uju. The themes explored in the book are so vividly interesting and impactful, the imagery of grief, loss, hurt and domestic abuse.
The cognitive dissonance of rationally knowing what is right but not being emotionally strong to leave was portrayed beautifully through Uju’s character. At times I found myself being frustrated with her for going back to an abusive marriage, but Aiwanose narrated this story so flawlessly through so many characters, you cannot help but feel empathy for these women. Stripped of their rights and made to depend on their husbands for everything, used as a concubine to breed children and shamed if it’s not a male, many times Uju went back to Gozie for the sake of her children not herself, what I took away from Uju’s attempts to fix her marriage was determination to ensure her children were comfortable, and obedience to her mother who was always letting her know that marriage was forever, almost like it was a noose around her neck, a prison sentence and not built around love, trust and respect. Whilst Gozie may have depicted Uju as weak, we the readers were at the core of her inner strength, we watched as it was ignited and eventually she burned bright.
Another heart-breaking moment for me in this book was when mama shared her story with Uju of the early days in her marriage to papa. I thought that was a beautiful but heart-breaking moment because it showed the repetitiveness of women going through the same cycle, that Uju eventually broke. It also caused me to have empathy for mama, to understand why she is the way she is and why she was so adamant that her daughter stayed to fix her marriage.
ALSO I LOVED THE ENDING!! TEAM AKIN, LET’S GET IT ONNNNNN
I would highly recommend this book, and I am so thankful to Dopereadersclub for this opportunity to have read this book. Good luck Aiwanose on the publication.
Reviewer: Dannia Brown
Rating: 5/5