A Season of Light
Julie Iromuanya
- For
- fans
- of
- Behold
- the
- Dreamers,
- comes
- a
- compelling
- novel—applauded
- by
- the
- New
- York
- Times
- Book
- Review
- as
- "luminous.
- .
- .
- Iromuanya
- is
- a
- spectacular
- storyteller"—about
- a
- tightly
- bound
- Nigerian
- family
- living
- in
- Florida
- and
- the
- wounds
- that
- get
- passed
- down
- from
- generation
- to
- generation,
- from
- the
- author
- of
- the
- acclaimed
- Mr.
- and
- Mrs.
- Doctor.When
- 276
- schoolgirls
- are
- abducted
- from
- their
- school
- in
- Nigeria,
- Fidelis
- Ewerike,
- a
- Florida-based
- barrister,
- poet,
- and
- former
- POW
- of
- the
- Nigerian
- Civil
- War,
- begins
- to
- go
- mad,
- consumed
- by
- memories
- of
- his
- younger
- sister
- Ugochi,
- who
- went
- missing
- during
- that
- conflict.
- Consumed
- by
- survivor’s
- guilt
- and
- fearful
- that
- the
- same
- fate
- awaits
- Amara,
- his
- sixteen-year-old
- daughter
- who
- bears
- an
- uncanny
- resemblance
- to
- Ugochi,
- Fidelis
- locks
- her
- in
- her
- bedroom,
- offering
- no
- words
- of
- explanation,
- only
- lovingly—if
- poorly—made
- meals
- and
- sweets.Amid
- that
- singular
- action,
- the
- Ewerike
- family
- spirals
- into
- chaos:
- After
- unsuccessful
- attempts
- to
- free
- her
- daughter
- from
- her
- room,
- his
- wife
- Adaobi
- seeks
- the
- counsel
- of
- a
- preacher,
- praying
- for
- spiritual
- liberation
- from
- the
- curse
- she
- is
- certain
- has
- plagued
- her
- family
- since
- leaving
- Nigeria.
- Fourteen-year-old
- Chuk,
- beset
- by
- his
- own
- war
- with
- the
- neighborhood
- boys,
- receives
- a
- painful
- education
- on
- force,
- masculinity,
- and
- his
- tenuous
- position
- within
- his
- family.
- And
- rebellious,
- resentful
- Amara
- is
- hungry
- for
- her
- life
- to
- be
- hers,
- so
- the
- moment
- she
- is
- able
- to
- escape
- her
- imprisonment,
- she
- falls
- in
- love—not
- with
- the
- Aba-born
- engineer-in-training
- her
- mother
- envisages,
- but
- with
- Maksym
- Kostyk,
- the
- son
- of
- the
- town
- drunk.
- Before
- long,
- the
- two
- have
- concocted
- a
- plan
- to
- run
- away
- from
- the
- trappings
- of
- their
- familial
- traumas.Perfect
- for
- readers
- of
- Sing,
- Unburied,
- Sing,Julie
- Iromuanya's
- A
- Season
- of
- Light
- is
- an
- all-consuming
- masterpiece.To
- peer
- into
- the
- window
- of
- the
- Ewerike
- family’s
- lives
- is
- a gift.
pro-mbooks3 : libris
