COPE

A Nigerian father living in Italy struggles to stay afloat after his wife suddenly dies in Aghanya’s novel.

Ejike and Neki Akabogu move to Castel Gandolfo, Italy, to escape the political tumult and economic degradation of their native Nigeria. The relocation is daunting—in order to fund it, they are compelled to sell all of their possessions and borrow from family and friends; they struggle to accommodate themselves to a new language and the frosty reception of their new neighbors. Then, unexpected tragedy strikes: Just as she’s angling for a promotion at work, Neki collapses from an attack of angina and dies at the hospital. Ejike plummets into despair, a sadness clumsily portrayed by the author; the prose is uneven and often ungrammatical. Here, Ejike speaks plaintively to his wife’s corpse, wondering how he will manage a now uncertain future: “What do I tell your parents as my intention was for us to walk out of this hospital together and you will decide whether to inform them of the episode you had or not? Now, I am left to be the bearer of sad news.” A humble teacher, Ejike wrestles with his newfound financial obligations; the funeral for Neki will be prohibitively costly, and his father-in-law shamelessly shakes him down for money. Aghanya vividly chronicles Ejike’s Job-like descent into trouble as he borrows money from a dangerous loan shark and then loses his job and his home; it’s a terrifying portrait of the fragility of a life, affectingly rendered. However, the plot rockets too quickly from happiness to despondency, and the ending has the plastic feel of something neatly manufactured. The precariousness of the immigrant, always one setback away from life-changing catastrophe, is powerfully captured in the narrative. The novel as a whole, though, lacks literary quality and style, and it plummets into melodrama that ultimately swallows the story whole.

A novel that fails to fulfill its early promise.