Birdsong by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is the short story I chose to review. Adichie is known for being an author of African literature. Adichie was born in Nigeria. I found the short story in the New Yorker magazine and appeared on September 20, 2010. Some of her previous works include,"You in America" that was revised and published in 2004 as "The Thing around Your Neck.” and My Mother, the Crazy African", as well as "New Husband" (2003) along with "The Grief of Strangers" (2004). Her topics examine issues faced by first-generation immigrants in the West, ranging from abuse and financial difficulties to problems relating to language and identity. Adichie is also named among The New Yorker's '20 under 40', 2010 list.
The Birdsong is a short story about a young woman in Lagos, Nigeria, who has an affair with a wealthy married man. The characterization of our heroine in this story is extremely effective. The details really give the reader as sense of how human she actually is. The reader could initially dislike the heroine because she is committing adultery. I found myself caring for the heroine, feeling for her and wanting to comfort her.
The dialogue between the married man and our heroine is not written in a cliché type format. The dialogue sounds real. There are several points in the short story where the reader is taken into the mind of our heroine who is vulnerable and just wants to be loved. Yet at the same time, she is feisty, opinionated and demands more than how the other characters are treating her.
The reader really feels the mixed emotions our heroine experiences in this relationship. The heroine is animated, real, opinionated, strong and fragile all at the same time. She has so much depth. The reader also can identify that the heroine is not a bad person. The reader can see how easy it would be to get drawn into the seductive lifestyle our heroine experiences with her lover. The mystery of it all is the attraction yet the same thing that causes her the most loneliness.
No comments:
Post a Comment