Never Again

by Flora Nwapa

Written by Flora Nwapa after the Nigerian Civil War, 'Never Again' looks at her society at a time of war and she concentrates on the importance of Biafran women in sustaining their fighting men and the society in general.

Genres: Nigeria, African Literature, Africa

85 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1975

About the author

Florence Nwanzuruahu Nkiru Nwapa (13 January 1931 – 16 October 1993) was a Nigerian author best known as Flora Nwapa. Her novel Efuru (1966) is among the first English-language novels by a woman from Africa.

Nwapa, born in Oguta, was the forerunner to a generation of African women writers. While never considering herself a feminist, she is best known for recreating life and traditions from a woman's viewpoint. In 1966 her book Efuru became Africa's first internationally published female novel in the English language (Heinemann Educational Books). She has been called the mother of modern African literature. Later she went on to become the first African woman publisher of novels when she founded Tata Press.

She also is known for her governmental work in reconstruction after the Biafran War. In particular she worked with orphans and refugees that where displaced during the war. Further she worked as a publisher of African literature and promoted women in African society. Flora Nwapa died on 16 October 1993 in Enugu, Nigeria.

(from Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

To read my review on this book, please visit my blog at http://www.maryokekereviews.blogspot....

[Marina · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Never Again, Flora Nwapa tells the story of war from her own hometown Oguta. The story is a first person novella set during the turmoil of Nigeria's biafran war in 1967. The narrator and main protagonist, Kate, is a middle class igbo woman married with 5 children. She recounts us a day to day conversations with different characters which allows the readers to grab the climate and tension going on in the different villages and the country as a whole. It is fast paced and a quick read but Don't expect too much details...i said it was a novella right?

[I.J · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is unique amongst the fictional depictions of civilian life during the Biafran war because of the way it approaches propaganda and discourse among ordinary Biafrans. The narrative around self-policing, group think, effects of class differences on individual experiences, and the general chaos involved in war (physical and ideological) is expertly spun in this novella.

[ivana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am amazed by how well Nwapa captures the sentiment of survival in this brief text.

[Merricat Blackwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short, spare, and unsentimental. Nwapa depicts a few days in the life of a family on the Biafran side of the Nigerian civil war. They flee one city under attack; those in the city tell them that fleeing makes them saboteurs, while the people in the town they flee to insist that there never was any attack, that the city is still standing. They stay in the town briefly, then leave for the country, knowing an attack on that town is imminent. In the country, they hear that their troops prevailed and the town is safe, but they don’t know if they can believe the news. They live in fear of being branded disloyal for saying what they know: that major cities have fallen, that the Biafran forces are fighting off automatic weapons with sticks and stones. Everyone around them makes speeches about the need to stay and fight to the last man, then races to be the first out of town. It’s funny, in a surreal way, cut with moments of bitter pathos like a woman going into premature labor during the stampede out of a town under attack.

[Doug Wells · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was listed as source material for Adichie's Half a Yellow Sun. As I am still woefully undereducated about the Nigerian civil way (Biafran war), I wanted to learn more. This is a poignant, fictional, first-hand account of the war. Captivating and well-written.

[[ashes] · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sometimes it felt words were picked from a dictionary. However, it doesn't diminish the fact that there's a great deal of suffering in war and this is a good (though) short account of that.

[Kevin]

Not bad, could've been cut by like 20 pages and still gotten its message across. Nonetheless, a good read depicting the instability and uncertainty of war.

[Arsh · Rating 5 out of 5]

A short but very powerful depiction of the Biafran war!

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short memoir of the writer's wartime experiences. Useful to read alongside fiction set during the same events.

[Oluchukwu Emmanuel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great