A review by bellaruffell
Girl by Edna O'Brien
4.0
On 14 April, 2014, 276 young girls were abducted from their school by the extremist terrorist organisation Boko Haram. The news horrified the world and yet the international community did little to help these girls. The author of Girl travelled to Nigeria where she met some of the survivors, those who managed against all odds to escape. This novel is based on their accumulative experiences, combining them into the fictional character Maryam.
There have been some huge questions and discussions around this book. The biggest of which for me whether a 89 yer old white woman is the right person to tell the story of an African school girl. I understand the arguments from both sides. However the key thing for me is that this is an extremely well written book that tells and important story. O’Brien finds a relentless tone that forces the reader to confront the atrocities these young women had to endure, but without making the book sound like conveying misery is the only point: The victims and survivors are strong and dignified characters facing overwhelming fanatism and brutality.
This is a fantastic novel. My quandary is whether it would have been more interesting to read a non fiction version detailing O’Briens research in Nigeria and first hand accounts of the women she met.
There have been some huge questions and discussions around this book. The biggest of which for me whether a 89 yer old white woman is the right person to tell the story of an African school girl. I understand the arguments from both sides. However the key thing for me is that this is an extremely well written book that tells and important story. O’Brien finds a relentless tone that forces the reader to confront the atrocities these young women had to endure, but without making the book sound like conveying misery is the only point: The victims and survivors are strong and dignified characters facing overwhelming fanatism and brutality.
This is a fantastic novel. My quandary is whether it would have been more interesting to read a non fiction version detailing O’Briens research in Nigeria and first hand accounts of the women she met.