John Munonye

Munonye wrote seven novels of which this is the first, published in 1966. He is one of the great Nigerian novelists and is particularly celebrated for his ability to convey the energy of Nigerian life in the 1950s and 1960s. In the course of reading about Munonye online, I found an article discussing his entire body of work and observing that “While for Achebe the Igbo encounter with Europe led to the death of several protagonists, and to the death of the Igbo way of life, for Munonye the coming of Europeans with their new administrations, religion, and schools offer his protagonists new challenges, opens new vistas, and provides better alternatives that lead to progress….” This book tells the story of a single mother raising a son; a mother who has poured her entire life and energies into that son, denying herself most things (including remarriage) only to have him turn away from traditional Igbo life and embrace Christianity. (It is worthwhile to note that Munonye was born into a family that had already converted to Christianity.) The book is the first volume in a trilogy and although the second and third volumes deal with the son’s marriage and eventual return to his home village as a success, the novel should stand on its own and I was disappointed in that regard. It ends with the mother happily (apparently) remarried and pregnant with another child; the son has left the village, rejecting his mother, his village, and tradition, wholeheartedly adopting Western religion and a “modern” way of life. The ending to The Only Son is so unresolved for both characters that it is difficult to glean any message or meaning from everything that has happened. Munonye’s approval of Christianity and at least some of Western culture is implicit, as is Munonye’s optimism, but he communicates this approval only minimally and indirectly and gives no hint of what is to come.… (mais)

There is a phrase that has entered my private vocabulary in the last couple of years: 'Random Heinemann'. A book is a 'Random Heinemann' to me if I read it based on nothing more than the author's nationality and a liking for the cover. It started because a lot of my African authors were published by Heinemann, though it now refers (in my head) to any book fitting the description. I had vowed to cut down on 'Random Heinemanns', because I have read a lot of not very good stuff because of them. However, I feel my determination slipping, because Oil Man of Obange is one of the best RHs I have read in a long while.
The story is very simple, following Jeri, a seller of kola nut oil, as he struggles to keep his kids in school and to make a living from an arduous daily cycle ride from Obange to Otta, the town where he sells his goods. Deep in poverty, and perched on the edge of destitution, every single penny he gains or loses can spell the difference between survival and death. Although Jeri's story is punctuated by major events (births, deaths, etc.) it is the everyday obstacles that threaten to haul him down. Even a burst tyre could mean the difference between sending his children to school or not. The book shows the extreme difficulty of overcoming crippling poverty with even the best heart and strongest will.
Munonye's prose and narrative are both simple, but no less powerful because of this. The pain of hope against hopelessness is brilliantly portrayed, and I was completely invested in the futures of Jeri's children by the end of the book. Oil Man of Obange is simply a very nice example of uncomplicated storytelling that delighted, touched and moved me far in excess of expectations.… (mais)