Glass House

by Chinenye Emezie

Let me tell you a story. It’s about a war. This war is not the type fought with guns and machetes. It is a family type. A silent war. The type fought in the heart. It began long before I was formed.

Udonwa’s family is at war – a war of relationships, played out under the tyranny of a monster dad. Age twelve, Udonwa has a peculiar love of her father, Reverend Leonard Ilechukwu, who favours her but beats his wife and his other children. She sees his good side: after all, he pays the school fees in advance, and tells her that she, named ‘the peaceful child’, is the one most likely to become a doctor in the family. But luck doesn’t last forever. When her newly married eldest sister suddenly takes her from their family compound in Iruama, Nigeria, to live with her in Awka, Udonwa experiences violence first-hand.

Years later, while home on holiday from the University of Lagos, she overhears a secret that shakes her life to the core and shatters the dynamics of her family. No longer the person she thought she was, Udonwa launches into a period of extreme change, and parts of her life spiral into chaos. Later, more pieces of the sinister picture emerge, and the young woman finds herself torn between her love for her father and an underlying need to free herself.

This vivid family saga is engrossing, deeply unsettling and finally uplifting.

312 pages, Paperback

Published October 1, 2021

Reviews

[Mbali (flowahh_) · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5ish* hopefully a review will come later

[Tiah]

Book Bite for the Sunday Times: https://bit.ly/2ZN0XEk

~Let me tell you a story. It's about a war. This was is not the type fought with guns and machetes. It is a family type. A silent war.~

~Increasingly, she was walking with puffy eyes that appeared as though they hadn't been closed or rested for a year. They were huge and full of stories I knew I would be the last to hear, if I ever did.~

~To children like Kosisonna, who had grown up in Lagos, the Civil War had not happened because none of the books in his school syllabus had any record of it.~

~It's as if the country's electricity provider hired children to play with the power controls by switching them on and off at intervals.~

~How on earth can a young woman be sexually abused, and then people like you turn around and blame the abused instead of the abuser?~

[Colette · Rating 4 out of 5]

I struggled a bit at the start of this book. I despise bullies, and Leonard Ilechukwu was a stereotypical bully. I found it hard to fathom Udonwa’s great love for her father, especially when she personally witnessed his savage behaviour towards her mother and her brother Lincoln. But slowly I realised that Udonwa’s love for her father was very complex and had many levels to it, some that even she did not understand.

Then I got pulled into the story by Emezie’s wonderful characterisations, beautiful language and a fascinating story. And I struggled no more. There was indeed war in Udonwa’s family. From this war issued a great deal of tragedy and heartbreak, alienation, pain and anger. Parts of this beautiful book were extremely difficult and agonising to read, but there was also beauty and grace and redemption. The complexity of customs in Nigeria is interwoven into the story and one can safely say that the way of life in Nigeria seriously stacks the odds in favour of men. There is so much to write about this book that I could produce an entire essay: themes of true love contrasted against pure evil. It would take me a week to write about every nuance and facet that this book explores, but suffice it to say that I highly recommend it.

[Lithakazi Soshankana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Glass House, published by @penguinbookssouthafrica has a powerful start. We are immediately introduced to the chaos that is Udonwa's family. The story is set in Nigeria with mentions of South Africa and America.

The book is written in parts, first the introduction of the family, followed by a sequence of events that lead to the protagonist finding out the big family secret, then the secret is finally revealed to the reader in part 3. And the story continues covering quite a number of years, following the ups and downs of Udonwa's life and family.

I love how the book is written, it is not American or Europeanised,but rather sounds African. The story is a good story which develops well and showcases some of the common secrets in African homes.

A recommended read if you want something real and laid-back.

[Khanyisile Dlamini · Rating 3 out of 5]

The novel dealt with important issues, particularly when f how rape and family secrets can affect one and how they shape their decisions unconsciously. However, I found some parts were predictable and rushed. I found Mama’s character a true depiction of what happens when you experience and witness the trauma she did. The other family members also experienced the effect of their fathers immorality and decisions. Apart from that, it was a good book and certainly had a refreshing ending.

[Kayleen Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 🌟 for me.

The ending was a bit of a let down especially after a page turning middle filled with drama on almost every page. A slow start to the book as Emezie introduces the characters and their families as well as background players. The calm before the storm I guess, but if you give the book a chance halfway through you'll be gasping in shock as you uncover the war she speaks about in the prologue.

After such a climax, the end feels tired, a little rushed and therefore premature. But you're in for a treat with the beautiful writing.

[Lethabo Mailula · Rating 3 out of 5]

I do not like reading books that put their Black women protagonists through trauma for the sake of it. The subplots were unnecessary and underdeveloped. It seemed quite sensitive issues were dealt with frivolously. It’s not one of my favourite books but does make for an exciting read, if you can stomach it.

[Seun · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a good book, the storyline was structured properly. It dealt with important issues in the family system and although I would have loved a deeper build up on the main character. I think the story did what it was meant to do.

[Denira Varma · Rating 3 out of 5]

A disappointing read for me. Apart from the beginning, I found the writing clumsy and somehow juvenile

[Joelene Draper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible book. Consumed me to the point of not being able to put it down.
Heart breaking, suspenseful, raw and yet beautiful at the same time
Sheer brilliance.