The Middle Daughter

by Chika Unigwe

Overview

A lush, powerful tale of family and sisterhood from award-winning author Chika Unigwe, perfect for fans of Bernardine Evaristo and Tayari Jones

Udodi’s death was the beginning of the raging storm but at that moment, we thought that the worst had already happened, and that life would treat us with more kindness.

When seventeen-year-old Nani loses her older sister and then her father in quick succession, her world spins off its axis. Isolated and misunderstood by her grieving mother and sister, she’s drawn to an itinerant preacher, a handsome self-proclaimed man of God who offers her a new place to belong. All too soon, Nani finds herself estranged from her family, tethered to her abusive husband by children she loves but cannot fully comprehend. She must find the courage to break free and wrestle her life back—without losing what she loves most.

A modern reimagining of the myth of Hades and Persephone within a Nigerian family, The Middle Daughter charts Nani’s journey to freedom and homecoming.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781950539468
Publisher:	Dzanc Books
Publication date:	04/04/2023
Sales rank:	1,103,043
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.60(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Chika Unigwe was born in Enugu, Nigeria. She was educated at UNN and KUL (Belgium) and  earned her PhD from Leiden University, Holland. Widely translated, she has won awards for her writing. Her books include On Black Sisters Street and Better Never than Late. She teaches at Georgia College, Milledgeville, GA.

Editorial Reviews

02/27/2023

A grieving woman is entrapped by an abusive man in the powerful latest from Unigwe (On Black Sisters Street), a PW contributor. Nani, 17, is rocked by two tragedies in quick succession: first, her older sister Udodi dies in a car accident while away at college in the U.S. Soon after, their father, Doda, also dies, leaving Nani to descend into a debilitating depression. Living with her widowed mother in their home city of Enugu, Nigeria, Nani is preyed upon by Ephraim, an impoverished “itinerant preacher” from nearby Obiagu, who rapes her before asking her to marry him. She discovers she’s pregnant, and fearing her mother would blame her for the rape, she accepts Ephraim’s proposal. Ephraim further manipulates Nani by isolating her in Obiagu, where she abandons her mother’s plans for her to study in the U.S. Unigwe stages the drama on a grand scale, alluding to ancient Greek tragedies with the chorus-like voice of Udodi’s ghost, who comments on Nani’s tribulations (“I can do nothing but watch as the unravelling begins, as the flowers that once flourished wither”). The rippling effect of grief on the family makes the story all the more wrenching. Unigwe’s textured imagery and rich, lyrical prose make this a welcome addition to Nigerian feminist literature. Agent: Kate Johnson, Wolf Literary Services. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

Chika Unigwe’s modern retelling of the myth of Hades and Persephone is pitch perfect—it is a meditation on the need we all share for belonging, and family, and love; a commentary on the journey we must all take in search of freedom.” 

Helon Habila, author of Travellers

From the Publisher