Book Title: Far from the End
Author: Chidiogo Lilian Ezejelue
Publisher: Harmony Publishers Lagos
Year: 2020
Genre: Prose Fiction
Reviewer: Ngwaba Ijeoma Ann
This novel advances an argument and critically examines the societal expectations of the girl-child in Africa and Nigeria in particular. The title of the novel vividly captures the trends that are evident in our immediate Nigerian society where the girl-child is expected to behave in a certain manner without any objection or excuse. Her life is structured in a way that she cannot deviate from. It further criticizes the norm of abandoning the pregnant teen who is seen as an object of ridicule due to her mistakes. In this instance, Ada is the protagonist of the novel, despite her mistakes, learns from it and becomes successful. This is made possible as a result of her mother’s resilience in helping her overcome her challenges as well as allowing her to experience the consequences of her actions which is highly commendable.
Women have often rejected the stereotyped position and project their voice in a way that portrays them as subjects in most literary discourse which reflect greatly in Chidiogo’s novel. The 21st century has witnessed the upsurge of female writers who tend to interrogate, reformulate and analyse the inherited code of the often stereotyped position of women in our society. This manifests greatly in this novel as Chidiogo interrogates this preconceived notion about women and queries why young males in Nigeria and Africa generally are trained to be fearless and aggressive while the young females are rather trained to be submissive in order to achieve marital harmony in their future home.
The novel performs an analysis, at times a diagnosis, of the ways in which the novel chronicles the life of Ada, her mistakes and its consequences. It serves as an eye-opener for teenagers at all levels on the need to ignore youthful exuberances but focus on their education which is essential for a successful life. Chidiogo carefully structured her novel in a way that it does not just condemn the behaviour of Ada but also commends the efforts of her mother and the understanding of both families who helped her to forge ahead and becomes successful in life. The novel deviates from the usual norm in our society where a teen pregnancy signifies the end of the girl involved while the boy responsible moves on with his life.
Worthy of mention is her mother who is educated and plays a vital role in Ada’s life which goes to show that education liberates women. Her exposure as a teacher helps to put an end to the idea of expelling a pregnant teen from the school. Though, Ada’s behaviour is not commendable but it should not be the end of her life as we see in our society today. Most teenagers who got pregnant at a very tender age have been pushed to get married while abandoning their dreams and aspirations of becoming educated in life. The society is mostly harsh to the pregnant teen while refusing to accept that there is a boy responsible for it. Ada’s mother is a pacesetter for our African/Nigerian women through her efforts in her daughter’s life.
Chidiogo herself gestures; however inadvertently, to the expectations of most Igbo parents whose aim of giving birth is to make sure that their children behave in a certain manner by going to school, getting married at a certain age to someone from her kindred. If the girl derails from her structured life, she is abandoned which leads to their downfall and abandonment of their aspiration in life. Chidiogo is nonetheless clearly drawing from the experiences of the teens in her immediate environment as it is a common trend in Nigeria and Africa in general. She advances an argument which is familiar in our society but from a different dimension. She structures her plot in a way that reflects the consequences of Ada’s action while proposing a way out of her predicament through the help of her mother. Ada’s life could have ended without achieving her dreams and aspirations but by deviating from the social norm, Chidiogo gave Ada a new meaning in life despite her mistakes. This serves as a perfect example to parents who quickly marries off their daughters at a very tender age once they get pregnant in school.
Far From The End advances an argument and explores intra-tribalism where people are expected to marry from their kindred/State. Marrying an outsider is regarded as a taboo and the girl is regarded as marrying ‘Onye Mba’ (an outsider) which should be discouraged at all cost. The novel portrays that love can be found anywhere despite the person’s colour, race or ethnicity. Ada married an outsider which does not stop her from achieving her aim in life and becoming successful which is one of the thematic preoccupations that one derives from the novel. The novel further exposes the on-going intra-tribal war that exists in our society which many participates in and further blames the white man for racism and tribalism within the African context.
At the end of the novel, Ada embraces her life the way it turned out and never wishes for a second chance. Her mother insists, “This is not the end of the road for you… “If you play your cards right, this will be far from the end” (17). Obviously, her mistake was far from the end of her life as she successfully graduates as the best student in her class. Throughout the novel, Chidiogo is more explicit in her engagement with the real problems and challenges of the teen-girl in a Nigerian/African context. The novel is realistic in nature as it delves to the main challenges in our society and proffers a better alternative. She writes from a humanistic point of view which clearly portrays the cliché that “Humanities humanize us”. The literary artist and its work of art cannot be separated from his society and clearly, Far From The End reiterates that.
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Ngwaba Ijeoma Ann (nee Ibeku) is a lecturer 1 at the Federal University Oye-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria. She read English and Literary Studies at Abia State University and has an MA in English and now a Doctoral student at the University of Ibadan. Her research interests include African and African-American literature and comparative literary studies.
