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The Slave Girl
"Her graphically detailed pictures of tribal life make the novel memorable."― Chicago Tribune The Slave Girl follows the fortunes of Ogbanje Ojebeta, a Nigerian woman who is sold into slavery in her own land after disease and tragedy leave her orphaned as a child. In her fellow slaves, she finds a surrogate family that clings together under the unbending will of their master. As Ogbanje Ojebeta becomes a woman and discovers her need for home and family, and for freedom and identity, she realizes that she must ultimately choose her own destiny.
180 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1977
49 people are currently reading
1782 people want to read
About the author
Buchi Emecheta
26 books606 followersBuchi Emecheta OBE was a Nigerian novelist who has published over 20 books, including Second-Class Citizen (1974), The Bride Price (1976), The Slave Girl (1977) and The Joys of Motherhood (1979). Her themes of child slavery, motherhood, female independence and freedom through education have won her considerable critical acclaim and honours, including an Order of the British Empire in 2005. Emecheta once described her stories as "stories of the world…[where]… women face the universal problems of poverty and oppression, and the longer they stay, no matter where they have come from originally, the more the problems become identical."
From 1965 to 1969, Emecheta worked as a library officer for the British Museum in London. From 1969 to 1976 she was a youth worker and sociologist for the Inner London Education Authority, and from 1976 to 1978 she was a community worker.
Following her success as an author, Emecheta travelled widely as a visiting professor and lecturer. From 1972 to 1979 she visited several American universities, including Pennsylvania State University, Rutgers University, the University of California, Los Angeles, and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
From 1980 to 1981, she was senior resident fellow and visiting professor of English, University of Calabar, Nigeria. In 1982 she lectured at Yale University, and the University of London, as well as holding a fellowship at the University of London in 1986.
From 1982 to 1983 Buchi Emecheta, together with her journalist son Sylvester, ran the Ogwugwu Afor Publishing Company.
(from Wikipedia)
From 1965 to 1969, Emecheta worked as a library officer for the British Museum in London. From 1969 to 1976 she was a youth worker and sociologist for the Inner London Education Authority, and from 1976 to 1978 she was a community worker.
Following her success as an author, Emecheta travelled widely as a visiting professor and lecturer. From 1972 to 1979 she visited several American universities, including Pennsylvania State University, Rutgers University, the University of California, Los Angeles, and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
From 1980 to 1981, she was senior resident fellow and visiting professor of English, University of Calabar, Nigeria. In 1982 she lectured at Yale University, and the University of London, as well as holding a fellowship at the University of London in 1986.
From 1982 to 1983 Buchi Emecheta, together with her journalist son Sylvester, ran the Ogwugwu Afor Publishing Company.
(from Wikipedia)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews
October 25, 2021
4.5 stars
I am surprised that this book and Emecheta are not better known. She was born in Nigeria, but lost her parents young. She moved to Britain when she was sixteen to marry and had five children very quickly. She left her husband as a result of domestic abuse and brought up her children on her own whilst working and doing a degree. She also began to write, about her experiences and about racism.
This novel is set in Nigeria and tells the story of Ogbanje Ojebeta, a young girl with two older brothers. When their parents die in an epidemic one of her brothers sells her into slavery into the household of Ma Palanga, a cloth merchant and family relative. The plot is linear and tells the story well. On the death of Ma Palanga, Ogbanje Ojebeta is a young woman. She decides to run away from her situation back to her homeland area. There she lives with her relatives until a man called Jacob meets her and decides he wants to marry her, she agrees and she marries. It transpires that the price her brother received for selling her into slavery. Her husband pays this and the book ends:
“Ojebeta now a woman of thirty-five was changing masters.”
A wry comment on the nature of marriage for women. The story is set in the early years of the twentieth century and during the novel the reader sees the increasing influence of the colonial power and the encroachment of Christianity, which is seen as something to be tried; some of its rituals to be absorbed into daily life. Ojebeta is caught up in a cycle of oppression and is at the mercy of male master:
“All her life a woman always belonged to some male. At birth you were owned by your people, and when you were sold you belonged to a new master, when you grew up your new master who had paid something for you would control you. It was a known fact that although Ma Palagada was the one who had bought them, they ultimately belonged to Pa Palagada, and whatever he said or ordered would hold.”
For Nigerian women, the implication is that freedom is fleeting and becoming independent form one master leads to enslavement to another. The slavery here is of the domestic variety, but physical and sexual abuse are common:
“I was bending down sweeping the floor when he came up behind me and jumped on me. He pulled at the small breasts I had then. I was not all developed. It hurts so, I screamed. Do you know what he did? He slapped me hard on both sides of my face. ”
The women here are the ones enslaved and the whole provides a powerful argument for emancipation, not only of women, but also of children. All that aside Ojebeta is a strong and likeable protagonist, the novel well written and easy to read.
I am surprised that this book and Emecheta are not better known. She was born in Nigeria, but lost her parents young. She moved to Britain when she was sixteen to marry and had five children very quickly. She left her husband as a result of domestic abuse and brought up her children on her own whilst working and doing a degree. She also began to write, about her experiences and about racism.
This novel is set in Nigeria and tells the story of Ogbanje Ojebeta, a young girl with two older brothers. When their parents die in an epidemic one of her brothers sells her into slavery into the household of Ma Palanga, a cloth merchant and family relative. The plot is linear and tells the story well. On the death of Ma Palanga, Ogbanje Ojebeta is a young woman. She decides to run away from her situation back to her homeland area. There she lives with her relatives until a man called Jacob meets her and decides he wants to marry her, she agrees and she marries. It transpires that the price her brother received for selling her into slavery. Her husband pays this and the book ends:
“Ojebeta now a woman of thirty-five was changing masters.”
A wry comment on the nature of marriage for women. The story is set in the early years of the twentieth century and during the novel the reader sees the increasing influence of the colonial power and the encroachment of Christianity, which is seen as something to be tried; some of its rituals to be absorbed into daily life. Ojebeta is caught up in a cycle of oppression and is at the mercy of male master:
“All her life a woman always belonged to some male. At birth you were owned by your people, and when you were sold you belonged to a new master, when you grew up your new master who had paid something for you would control you. It was a known fact that although Ma Palagada was the one who had bought them, they ultimately belonged to Pa Palagada, and whatever he said or ordered would hold.”
For Nigerian women, the implication is that freedom is fleeting and becoming independent form one master leads to enslavement to another. The slavery here is of the domestic variety, but physical and sexual abuse are common:
“I was bending down sweeping the floor when he came up behind me and jumped on me. He pulled at the small breasts I had then. I was not all developed. It hurts so, I screamed. Do you know what he did? He slapped me hard on both sides of my face. ”
The women here are the ones enslaved and the whole provides a powerful argument for emancipation, not only of women, but also of children. All that aside Ojebeta is a strong and likeable protagonist, the novel well written and easy to read.
April 30, 2016
Buchi Emecheta never fails to transport me to another world, a familiar West African world, through her pointed dialogue and scintillating storytelling. Like Chinua Achebe, she has the gift of moving story forward through intentional dialogue, something not too many novels do well. Along I went for the ride, transported by dialect and regional syntax, and I think this is the beauty of most fiction written with an African atmospheric slant - this has unapologetic, cultural nuance. I may have been slightly disappointed by the ending, but one thing that resonated, and kept jabbing my memory, was the true story of a slave girl, in the memoir, Slave: My True Story. This realism in fiction is somewhat of an awakening to the vileness of humanity, but it also gives another look at slavery in its darkest moments: when greed propels one to sell one's own kin; when a post-colonial, warped way of thinking forces one to think that because one was once a slave, others can be too. This book is much different from the exposition in Emecheta's The Joys of Motherhood, which I loved also, but I'm glad the storytelling was much more enthralling than what I found in Second Class Citizen.
June 16, 2017
So sorry this has taken me so long to read this brilliant writer. I'm going to be definitely reading more of her work. Worse, is my sadness of not connecting with her before her death earlier this year. She writes from an African perspective of a child being sold into slavery by her brother and returning years later to her village. Emecheta has an smooth and flowing writing style that is so easy to become involved in, and easy to stay with. She accomplishes so much more than a story about slavery, but instead the slavery of women as a whole in every "institution", be they black, or white.
May 28, 2015
Why had I never heard of this author? I'm really quite surprised about that. But thankful my Africa group selected her as the feature author this month during our year-long exploration of Nigerian literature.
Emecheta writes beautifully and explains cultural and historical things without explaining. This particular book takes place in the early twentieth century when Britain is consolidating its hold on its Nigerian colony. We see some of the effects of this on various groups of people but the story is told so frankly that you don't feel walloped over the head with the evils of colonialism. It's kind of refreshing to read a story like this from the perspective of the colonized as they adjust to a changing world, yet it's a provocative story, especially concerning women's position in society.
I'm looking forward to reading more from Buchi Emecheta and delighted that she has written a lot of books.
Emecheta writes beautifully and explains cultural and historical things without explaining. This particular book takes place in the early twentieth century when Britain is consolidating its hold on its Nigerian colony. We see some of the effects of this on various groups of people but the story is told so frankly that you don't feel walloped over the head with the evils of colonialism. It's kind of refreshing to read a story like this from the perspective of the colonized as they adjust to a changing world, yet it's a provocative story, especially concerning women's position in society.
I'm looking forward to reading more from Buchi Emecheta and delighted that she has written a lot of books.
January 8, 2013
This novel offers a more accurate narrative of African Identity. It charts the journey of a young girl from slavery to freedom, but more importantly it refutes a Western Fairytale ending. Instead the novel inserts its reader into the Igbo way of thinking and living, and their terms of a happy ending I enjoyed this novel tremendously It is a good read
October 14, 2011
I did NOT like the way this book ended. Buchi Emecheta tends to end stories too quickly for me, but this one was a little more developed towards the end. However, I did not like the ending to this story. It was if no morsel of wisdom was gained.
November 26, 2015
2015 Reading Challenge - A book that came out the year you were born.
This book was really good. It was one of those books that had me staying up way past my bedtime, because I wanted to know what was going to happen next. How as Ojebeta's life going to unfold. Would she get her freedom, would she return to her home, would her brother have remorse, etc. etc. etc.
The writing was engaging and smooth. I could see the pictures unfold in front of me and imagine myself in her village, at the Otu Onitsha market, in Ma Palagada's house...
The ending was a little rushed and anti-climactic, that is my only criticism of it.
I definitely would recommend this book.
This book was really good. It was one of those books that had me staying up way past my bedtime, because I wanted to know what was going to happen next. How as Ojebeta's life going to unfold. Would she get her freedom, would she return to her home, would her brother have remorse, etc. etc. etc.
The writing was engaging and smooth. I could see the pictures unfold in front of me and imagine myself in her village, at the Otu Onitsha market, in Ma Palagada's house...
The ending was a little rushed and anti-climactic, that is my only criticism of it.
I definitely would recommend this book.
March 9, 2007
This is a vivid and beautifully rendered account of both colonial Africa and the female experience. We learn that poor treatment transcends the boundaries of black and white, and that everyone can come together in the exploitation and commoditization of women. Filled with startling parallels. Don't take the advice of the guy who gave it one star. It's about the mistreatment of WOMEN, which is necessarily something he could (personally) know nothing about. This is a BRILLIANT book.
November 16, 2023
4.25 out of 5 stars! I really liked this book more than I thought I would when I was assigned it in my African history class. Buchi is a great storyteller. I did not rate this higher than 4.25 stars since I felt like some of the characters lacked personality, or they did not get the karma that I hoped they would have.
SPOILERS DOWN BELOW!
I felt like Pa Palagada deserved more justice than he got. He married Chiago and they ended up having two or three sons, which I feel is way too good for the enabling he did when Ma Palagada would buy domestic slaves. I am glad that "Alice" found love and had a Christian wedding with a white dress like she wanted, but I feel like the ending was rushed and the last paragraph confused me a bit. Maybe I just don't know enough historical context to understand the ending as well as I should but I did not like how rushed it felt.
SPOILERS DOWN BELOW!
I felt like Pa Palagada deserved more justice than he got. He married Chiago and they ended up having two or three sons, which I feel is way too good for the enabling he did when Ma Palagada would buy domestic slaves. I am glad that "Alice" found love and had a Christian wedding with a white dress like she wanted, but I feel like the ending was rushed and the last paragraph confused me a bit. Maybe I just don't know enough historical context to understand the ending as well as I should but I did not like how rushed it felt.
July 27, 2011
I really enjoyed The Slave Girl. In fact, I like Buchi Emecheta's down-to-earth, funny and natural style. Her stories are vivid and she provides her reader with in-depth understanding of Nigeria culture.
March 10, 2009
Two thumbs up, I nearly always enjoy this author!
February 19, 2023
Buchi Emecheta has been getting more recognition in the last year or so. She is a Nigerian author who writes about the plight of woman. This book is no different. It is a look at the life of Objange Ojebeta, the last child of parents living in early 19th century in rural Nigeria. At this time, slavery has been officially abolished but it is certainly not ended. After a epidemic due to contact with the Potokis( any Caucasian foreigner) Ojebeta moves from being the much beloved daughter of a prominent family to being a slave girl.
As the first foray into this author's repertoire, I am impressed at the complexity of details and nuances within these few pages. The latter half could have further developed as it felt quite rushed. But Ms. Emecheta captured the rural life and the complexity of slavery. Here is a perfect example of how a slave narrative can showcase a new element. After all, slavery is not just shaped by the atrocities that occurred in the Americans and Europe. Africa was also involved and the trade seemed to have benefited certain communities. But Emecheta cleverly states that the cost was high, once you read between the lines. And because women matter greatly, this book looks at how women are always subject to the whims of others, firstly father and then husband. This is a book that will linger long after you close that last page - both bemused and deeply saddened by the final plight of Ojebeta.
Well worth diving into the work of this underhyped author who paints vividly with her pen both characters and the world around them.
As the first foray into this author's repertoire, I am impressed at the complexity of details and nuances within these few pages. The latter half could have further developed as it felt quite rushed. But Ms. Emecheta captured the rural life and the complexity of slavery. Here is a perfect example of how a slave narrative can showcase a new element. After all, slavery is not just shaped by the atrocities that occurred in the Americans and Europe. Africa was also involved and the trade seemed to have benefited certain communities. But Emecheta cleverly states that the cost was high, once you read between the lines. And because women matter greatly, this book looks at how women are always subject to the whims of others, firstly father and then husband. This is a book that will linger long after you close that last page - both bemused and deeply saddened by the final plight of Ojebeta.
Well worth diving into the work of this underhyped author who paints vividly with her pen both characters and the world around them.
June 22, 2025
I love that I can learn about the Igbo culture just by reading a book written by Buchi Emecheta.
March 3, 2017
the slave girl by buchi emecheta
african literature that deals with one of the most disputable topics: slave labour however when related to familar bonds... it exceeds beyond all cruelties.
i found myself shedding tears here, and smiling out of joy there... literally living with ojebeta. A reader finds himself struggling with some expressions: "sold to be given a chance to live " is the most brutally ironic one which happens to be memorised. Ojebeta's last words about the new owner seem to illustrate Ma Palagada's words : " we get something as sweet as honey from bees that sting."
african literature that deals with one of the most disputable topics: slave labour however when related to familar bonds... it exceeds beyond all cruelties.
i found myself shedding tears here, and smiling out of joy there... literally living with ojebeta. A reader finds himself struggling with some expressions: "sold to be given a chance to live " is the most brutally ironic one which happens to be memorised. Ojebeta's last words about the new owner seem to illustrate Ma Palagada's words : " we get something as sweet as honey from bees that sting."
March 29, 2016
In the aftermath of the influenza epidemic that wiped out so many people in her community, including both of her parents, seven-year-old Ogbanje Ojebeta was sold to a distant relative for £8, to live and work as a slave. The novel follows her through the nine years she spent in that role, to her time back in Ibuza, and to adulthood and her new position as wife and mother in Lagos.
March 15, 2017
What a wonderful book! I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and want to ready more by Emecheta. . Beautifully crafted characters and spare but descriptive narrative. A woman's life story from birth, through her parent's death, to her brother selling into slavery. Especially enjoyed the narrative of her brother's justification of why he was selling his sister. Five Stars!
August 2, 2008
Emecheta really does a remarkable job of showing us what it is like to be an African woman today, struggling to meld past and present. To follow some age old customs, but to also be allowed to embrace new world ideas.
June 13, 2014
This book should be on school reading lists.
Read
July 5, 2014I shan't rate till I reread it. :3
Read
December 24, 2015A beautiful novel...
September 7, 2016
Tortuous reading for my history class.
May 29, 2018
An interesting read with strong feminist connotations. Buchi Emecheta knew how to narrate a story.
October 24, 2022
4.5 stars
Powerful message.
Powerful message.
January 21, 2022
3.5. The main idea of the book is quite interesting: it argues that women always belong to someone other than themselves. They are owned by their people (to the male components of their family, of course), they are owned by their masters if they are sold into slavery, they are owned by their husbands. The Patriarchy takes the form of traditional Igbo customs and of The Church of England. It is at the core of the slave system and also of the marriage institution.
And so, the book takes us through the life of Ojebeta, a Nigerian woman born around the second decade of the twentieth century; sold by her brother when their parents died of influenza; raised as a house slave; taught on the European ways by the whites; welcomed back by her relatives who see her as an asset for her capacity to work and for the money they can gain when they sell her to a suitable husband, and finally married to a jealous man who manages to pay the price owed to the people who first buy her. And she feels content to change masters.
No matter her context, Ojebeta is the eternal slave. Except maybe for a little while, when she decides to leave the household where she was a house slave and returns to her village to live with whatever family she has left. There she enjoys herself buying and selling palm oil, having friends, dressing up. But this other life is only a small hiatus, her destiny is, of course, to become a wife.
Sadly, the writing is not as strong as its main idea. The need to demonstrate its theses, in my opinion, overpowers the literary aspects of the book. The pace seems too rushed and so are the resolutions of the different events in the life of the character. The turns of the plot feel at times too forced, too staged to prove a point. It has its moments, but as a whole, I find a disconnection between a strong premise and weak writing.
And so, the book takes us through the life of Ojebeta, a Nigerian woman born around the second decade of the twentieth century; sold by her brother when their parents died of influenza; raised as a house slave; taught on the European ways by the whites; welcomed back by her relatives who see her as an asset for her capacity to work and for the money they can gain when they sell her to a suitable husband, and finally married to a jealous man who manages to pay the price owed to the people who first buy her. And she feels content to change masters.
No matter her context, Ojebeta is the eternal slave. Except maybe for a little while, when she decides to leave the household where she was a house slave and returns to her village to live with whatever family she has left. There she enjoys herself buying and selling palm oil, having friends, dressing up. But this other life is only a small hiatus, her destiny is, of course, to become a wife.
Sadly, the writing is not as strong as its main idea. The need to demonstrate its theses, in my opinion, overpowers the literary aspects of the book. The pace seems too rushed and so are the resolutions of the different events in the life of the character. The turns of the plot feel at times too forced, too staged to prove a point. It has its moments, but as a whole, I find a disconnection between a strong premise and weak writing.
November 5, 2019
It tells realistic story of how girls were treated in that society. What I liked and hated at the same time is that the writer gives us a hope to hang on to and then again leaves us in despair. Emecheta took us through the life of only one girl and how she lived. In my opinion, the story is worth reading eventhough it goes in circular motion. She embodied the struggle of being alone, mistreated, silenced and seen as a object rather than a human being.
Emecheta throws light on that society and more specifically women. The traditions they have that are inhumane and how women double marginalised by color and gender. Although these events are in the past, in some countries in Africa these traditions are still there. Even if you are a woman who earns money by yourself -like the mrs. ???- you are mistreated.
*****minor spoiler alert*****
Throughout my reading to The Slave Girl I always had hope that it would turn out to be something else. That the girl would overcome whatever she is going through, but it became clear to me that they see marriage is the only way of salvation eventhough it's a cage of suppression within a cage of slavery.
Emecheta throws light on that society and more specifically women. The traditions they have that are inhumane and how women double marginalised by color and gender. Although these events are in the past, in some countries in Africa these traditions are still there. Even if you are a woman who earns money by yourself -like the mrs. ???- you are mistreated.
*****minor spoiler alert*****
Throughout my reading to The Slave Girl I always had hope that it would turn out to be something else. That the girl would overcome whatever she is going through, but it became clear to me that they see marriage is the only way of salvation eventhough it's a cage of suppression within a cage of slavery.
March 11, 2019
Wow, what a book! I will freely admit that I am about as badly educated in world history as most Americans, so I could've been badly misled, but this book felt like an absolutely authentic and urgent portrayal of a very, very complicated time. The subject is dark, dealing with issues of colonialism, racism, sexism, and slavery-- but if ever there was a writer whose sense of humor deserved to be called "deft", Emecheta is it, and it's her sly interjections everywhere that keep you going when things get rough. I feel like she is the most open-eyed author I've ever read, seeing everything, all the beauty and ugliness and ridiculousness of humanity in such a warm, unflinching way. I feel like she was holding my hand throughout the book, showing me each moment and chiding me when I tried to pull away. I feel like she is an author who says yes to the world so as to portray it honestly. I don't know how else to say it. I learned so much from this book, and I think anyone who thinks they wouldn't be interested in reading it-- absolutely should read it.
July 8, 2019
Buchi Emecheta is a Nigerian-born British author I just discovered. I picked this book (which I purchased awhile back) off my shelf just to see whether it would pull me in.....and yes, it did!
I was soon engrossed in the fate of little 7-year-old Ojebeta and even put aside my quilt/sewing for a couple days! It takes place during the early 19th century and provides an interesting view into the native Nigerian culture as it co-exists alongside the colonial British presence. What a different way of life from ours.....the attitudes in that culture towards women, children, and slaves are thought-provoking to western sensibilities.
I plan to read more of this author who is British educated and writes from her own experiences. She has written a lot....much to choose from! Highly recommended!
(And to add, the book cover has even given me an idea of a quilt I would like to make!)
I was soon engrossed in the fate of little 7-year-old Ojebeta and even put aside my quilt/sewing for a couple days! It takes place during the early 19th century and provides an interesting view into the native Nigerian culture as it co-exists alongside the colonial British presence. What a different way of life from ours.....the attitudes in that culture towards women, children, and slaves are thought-provoking to western sensibilities.
I plan to read more of this author who is British educated and writes from her own experiences. She has written a lot....much to choose from! Highly recommended!
(And to add, the book cover has even given me an idea of a quilt I would like to make!)
October 7, 2018
A fascinating story, a huge gulp of life in Africa as lived, very closely, through this little girl's point of view. The first half or so -- her family village life and how that changed -- was my favorite part of the novel. I won't divulge any spoilers, but Emecheta characterizes her in a lovely sometimes heart-breaking way. In fact, all the characters are wonderfully drawn and alive.
October 31, 2019
A brilliant account of a young orphan girl's coming of age far from her home village, sent to live among distant relatives, while struggling to maintain a sense of identity and dignity in the face of forced labour, abuse and neglect. Set in early 20th century eastern Nigeria, Emecheta's prose is vivid, detailed and rich in expression.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews