Review of Another Poor Cow
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Review of Another Poor Cow
[Following is a volunteer review of "Another Poor Cow" by Martins Agbonlahor.]
Another Poor Cow tells the story of Onaiwu, a girl born to a poor family in rural Nigeria. Her parents, Ihama and Ivie, are told that she will only live for 10 years because she is an Ogbanje. This means she is a child from the spirit world and will soon depart if her tie to the spirit world is not broken. Thankfully, a local priestess breaks this tie, and Onaiwu grows up to be a bright, kind girl. Unfortunately, her parents have promised her hand in marriage to Chief Osaheni, a rich man from another village. Despite the pleas of Onaiwu, who wants to continue her studies, she is married off at the young age of 12. Her parents are poor; they do not have the money to break away from tradition. At first, married life is peaceful, until Chief Osaheni's wives become jealous and cruel. Years later, at the age of 18, she flees the marriage. Onaiwu's new life is to scavenge scrap metal while living with her uncle and aunt. Miraculously, she meets a man called "Doctor" who promises to take her to America to become a nurse. Onaiwu's family is overjoyed, and they agree to let her go abroad. Onaiwu believes her dreams are coming true, until it becomes clear she has been smuggled to Italy to become a sex worker. What will become of Onaiwu and her family?
Martins Agbonlahor is a skilled writer. His writing is poetic and beautiful, but it can be crude and brutal when the situation calls for it. He writes Onaiwu and the people in her life with great emotional depth. Onaiwu's innocence and generosity is lovingly written. In the same way, the misguided love of her family and village feels genuine. Agbonlahor also captures the way evil acts can become normalized if they occur frequently enough. For example, when Onaiwu's father is pickpocketed and framed for stealing, his brother blames him because such crimes are everywhere. He states that anyone would know better than to trust a swindler on the side of the road, but does not take into account that Onaiwu's father was merely being a good and trusting person. There is also the story of MacPherson, who attempts to stop Onaiwu's marriage despite everyone in the village laughing at his ridiculous idea.
There was nothing I disliked about this book. Its characters have clear motivations but do not feel one-dimensional. Agbonlahor succeeds at creating lovable characters, but does not let this detract from his political and social commentary. The writing style is direct, but not dry and boring. I would say Agbonlahor struck the perfect balance of poetry and tragedy.
This book takes on many potentially disturbing subjects, such as spousal abuse, sex trafficking, female genital mutilation, and child marriage. One should be prepared for an emotionally heavy read when starting this book. I would definitely recommend this book to someone interested in sociology or someone simply wanting to expand their cultural knowledge. Additionally, I appreciated Agbonlahor's inclusion of an appendix with cultural knowledge. I found no errors in the entire book, so it was definitely well edited. I have no reason to give this book anything less than 4 out of 4 stars. This was definitely an impactful book, and I'm glad it is written by a Nigerian man writing about his own culture.
******
Another Poor Cow
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Another Poor Cow tells the story of Onaiwu, a girl born to a poor family in rural Nigeria. Her parents, Ihama and Ivie, are told that she will only live for 10 years because she is an Ogbanje. This means she is a child from the spirit world and will soon depart if her tie to the spirit world is not broken. Thankfully, a local priestess breaks this tie, and Onaiwu grows up to be a bright, kind girl. Unfortunately, her parents have promised her hand in marriage to Chief Osaheni, a rich man from another village. Despite the pleas of Onaiwu, who wants to continue her studies, she is married off at the young age of 12. Her parents are poor; they do not have the money to break away from tradition. At first, married life is peaceful, until Chief Osaheni's wives become jealous and cruel. Years later, at the age of 18, she flees the marriage. Onaiwu's new life is to scavenge scrap metal while living with her uncle and aunt. Miraculously, she meets a man called "Doctor" who promises to take her to America to become a nurse. Onaiwu's family is overjoyed, and they agree to let her go abroad. Onaiwu believes her dreams are coming true, until it becomes clear she has been smuggled to Italy to become a sex worker. What will become of Onaiwu and her family?
Martins Agbonlahor is a skilled writer. His writing is poetic and beautiful, but it can be crude and brutal when the situation calls for it. He writes Onaiwu and the people in her life with great emotional depth. Onaiwu's innocence and generosity is lovingly written. In the same way, the misguided love of her family and village feels genuine. Agbonlahor also captures the way evil acts can become normalized if they occur frequently enough. For example, when Onaiwu's father is pickpocketed and framed for stealing, his brother blames him because such crimes are everywhere. He states that anyone would know better than to trust a swindler on the side of the road, but does not take into account that Onaiwu's father was merely being a good and trusting person. There is also the story of MacPherson, who attempts to stop Onaiwu's marriage despite everyone in the village laughing at his ridiculous idea.
There was nothing I disliked about this book. Its characters have clear motivations but do not feel one-dimensional. Agbonlahor succeeds at creating lovable characters, but does not let this detract from his political and social commentary. The writing style is direct, but not dry and boring. I would say Agbonlahor struck the perfect balance of poetry and tragedy.
This book takes on many potentially disturbing subjects, such as spousal abuse, sex trafficking, female genital mutilation, and child marriage. One should be prepared for an emotionally heavy read when starting this book. I would definitely recommend this book to someone interested in sociology or someone simply wanting to expand their cultural knowledge. Additionally, I appreciated Agbonlahor's inclusion of an appendix with cultural knowledge. I found no errors in the entire book, so it was definitely well edited. I have no reason to give this book anything less than 4 out of 4 stars. This was definitely an impactful book, and I'm glad it is written by a Nigerian man writing about his own culture.
******
Another Poor Cow
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Drawn from Life by Sarah P. Blanchard
