Double Yoke

by Buchi Emecheta

Set on the campus of a Nigerian university, Double Yoke tells the story of two undergraduates who must confront the conflicting demands of tradition and modernity. While Nko pursues an education despite the resistance of those who feel a woman's identity is assumed in traditional marriage, Ete Kamba's love for her is severely tested as he is himself locked into the rigid attitudes from which Nko is attempting to break free. Nko must further contend with unscrupulous professors who would take advantage of her tenuous role as a woman in a male-dominated environment. As the author candidly portrays the status of women in emerging African nations, the choices facing Ete Kamba and Nko are neither clearcut nor perfect. In Double Yoke, Buchi Emecheta faces them head on.

Genres: Fiction, Nigeria, African Literature, Literary Fiction, Coming Of Age, Africa

163 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1982

About the author

Buchi 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)

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

can’t a girl have an african feeling??

[Kijani Mlima · Rating 3 out of 5]

The "Double Yoke" of the title refers to two young Nigerians, one male, one female, from a small town. They each earn scholarships to a top Nigerian University, in a large city. Both struggle to balance the traditional aspects of their culture, with the more modern aspects that are rapidly subsuming the traditional. Nko, the female character carries the heavier burden, as Nigerian culture is/was extremely sexist. Ete , the male, is also locked into the traditionalist society that both he and Nko is desperate to escape. He frequently resorts to violence against Nko, which marred my ability to relate to or appreciate the nuances of his character.

[Fatou · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5

[Litsplaining · Rating 4 out of 5]

I gave this book 3.5 stars.

Buchi Emecheta is now one of my favorite authors. She can write about gender issues in a relationship and the breakdown of communications between lovers so well that you can't help but to sit and wonder if her characters are real people.

My one critique of Double Yoke is that the framing of the story comes from a creative writing assignment that Ete Kamba, the male lead, has to write. Ate Kamba's creative writing professor is so obviously a stand-in for Emecheta that this plot device comes off heavy handed. Emecheta usually writes so seamlessly that this threw me off. Having this book start and end with this stand-in character that does not appear anywhere else in the novel was a random choice, especially because there was another female professor who was the direct foil to Emecheta's stand-in. If Emecheta's doppelgänger was used to help fight for Nko after her male professor attempted to carrel her into giving him sexual favors for a job, her appearance in the story would've made more sense. But, the useless manner that Emecheta used the creative writing professor did not add anything to the story. The drama of the story is still good, but this stylistic device led me to knock off a half mark for the book.

Not my favorite book from Emecheta, but I'd still recommend it for readers who love the author. I'd suggest reading the graphic novel series, Aya by Marguerite Abouet, for a similar plot that's better executed.

[Lukerik · Rating 1 out of 5]

Is this novel actually by Buchi Emecheta? The Joys of Motherhood can swan about with the best of them, beak in the air, and I find it hard to reconcile the author of that with the author of this... this THING. How does this novel offend me? Let us count the ways.

There are countless instances of errors of punctuation and hyphenation. Some sentences are so twisted that they do not make sense. She also sometimes uses one word when she means another. At one point she describes a character as “mystified” when she obviously means “mystical”. Problems of these sorts are so common that over the course of the book they easily match in number those on page one of The Da Vinci Code. It’s that bad. I realise that English was her second language, but reading The Joys of Motherhood you’d never know, and that book predates this one.

The characterisation is thin and inconsistent. The dialogue is shocking. I realise that for the most part it’s in Nigerian English, but I’ve read enough Nigerian novels to know that it is not the dialect that’s causing the problem here.

There’s a general sense of the book being cobbled together without any artistry. What is that intrusion on page 66 about the way the Hausa and Indians speak? It’s right in the middle of a scene. Why is it there? Why is it anywhere in the book? Why the personal attacks on her colleagues at the University of Calabar in the first two chapters? Why the sudden intrusion of the frame story into the flashback on page 22?

The tone throughout is childish. It reads like a draft. Almost like she Dictaphoned it in the car and had someone else type it up. I want to know the story of how it all went so wrong. I want a Police crash investigation team on site and taking measurements.

And it’s just wishful thinking that she wasn’t the author. The feminist themes are in situ, as are the challenging opinions and attitudes. They’ve just been disfigured in the crash.

[Claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

Set at the University of Calabar, Nigeria, the novel gives us a glimpse of student life in 1980s Nigeria.

Double Yoke refers to the double yoke of oppressions that our students suffer from - that of tradition and modernity and trying to marry the two.

I love Emecheta. She is one of my favourite authors but the style of this disappointed me. The narrative is interrupted by her viewpoints or lessons which aren't subtle. The best parts of the novel are those from Nko's viewpoint; I feel that she struggles to write a complex and authentic male voice in Ete Kamba.

Sadly the content is still relevant - the idea of corrupt predatory university professors taking advantage of female students is still a big issue in Nigeria. This year there was the so called "sex for marks" scandal where student Monica Osagie recorded her lecturers demands and reported it to her university. The recording was leaked to the press. I imagine Emecheta would have hoped that 35 years after this novel the university experience might have better for students than it is. Girls are still blamed by their peers in these scenarios.

[Johari · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy read...and I loved it.

I think it does a great job of balancing African/Nigerian traditional roles with education, feminism, family obligations, and just plain growing up.

Thanx Andaye!

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Compelling tale of two college students struggling to reconcile the gender roles of their traditional culture with modern ideas from Western culture.

[Erica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Need something to chew thoughtfully on? Read this book. I will definitely be checking out the author's other works.

[Abena · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book after my mum recommended Second Class Citizen to me. Double Yoke gave me a powerful insight into a side of Nigerian cultures that was spoken from an insider's perspective. And that was powerful.
When I learnt that her son was going to digitise her books after she had passed, that made me really excited because I've read all by two of her books!
https://msbwrites.co.uk/2017/07/08/vl...

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel so many ways about this book. Emecheta's a great writer, and it's a quick, dryly funny read, but it's also deeply unsettling.

[April2008 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fast read that is absolutely amazing in its ability to present the plight that the characters face.

[Peace Onuobi]

Gifted

[Castro]

this book has an important element

[Charles Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent examination of African culture & gender norms in contrast to a progressing modern society. I only wish it were longer.

[Juna Jamet]

Devastating depiction of masculinity across culture and colonialism as an omnipresent oppression. Incredibly heavy-handed with some lackluster weak prose. Great theme just not a great presentation.

[Lulu Reign · Rating 1 out of 5]

I...hmmm. 1.5