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Women Are Different
'[T]he moving story of a group of Nigerian women, from their schooldays together through the trials and tribulations of their adult lives.' -- from back cover.
140 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 1992
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506 people want to read
About the author
Flora Nwapa
21 books103 followersFlorence 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)
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)
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
August 31, 2018
This is the second novel I have read by Flora Nwapa; she has a particular writing style, making her point by telling a story. This novel is about a group of Nigerian women who go to secondary school together from 1945; Dora, Agnes, Rose and to a lesser extent Comfort. They are pretty much contemporary with Nwapa and in telling their stories she also tells the story of Nigerian women through the end of the colonial period, to independence in 1960, civil war in 1967-1970 and into the 1970s.
This is the story of struggle, falling in love, betrayal, loss, corruption, disillusion, hope and the sheer ordinariness of having to make a living. It is an insight into the lives of Nigerian women; this time Nwapa’s setting is not rural but urban and concerns women who have worked hard to gain an education. There is a dilemma because the education was in reality a western one and their main teacher was a white western woman there as a missionary. This creates an inner division and a tension with older traditions. Two of the women reflect towards the end of the book that perhaps their education did not prepare them for the lives they had lead.
The role of the men in this novel is necessarily limited given the subject matter, but most of them are notable for betrayal, disappearing for months and years on end and being generally useless. The role of women in society and community is what Nwapa is really concerned with and how culture and tradition passes from one generation to another. The three women who have children discover these tensions for themselves as their mothers before them did.
What Nwapa emphasizes most of all is the need for women to be economically independent, so that if their marriages or relationships go wrong they are not dependent. Contrast Rose and Comfort in the novel. Rose has followed the mores of the western education, she has not married despite several courtships, but has got her degree and has a very good job. Comfort on the other hand has determined not to get emotionally involved and has gone into relationships for money and not love, leaving when she needs to and living life to the full. Dora is forced into an arranged marriage to a husband who does not love her and Agnes marries her school sweetheart. When it comes to post-colonial nation building and recovery from the civil war Nwapa is pointing towards a society based on feminine/feminist approaches to community rather than the oppressive alternative. The women dissent from society’s norms at one level, but all are in one way or another focussed on the institution of marriage as a means to an end and as the appropriate way (ultimately) to relate to men. That is the starting place, but by the end of the novel you can see a change and one of the characters is able to say that marriage is not the only way. You can also see this attitude shifting in their children; Nwapa sees change occurring over generations and gradually.
Nwapa creates strong female characters who are courageous, competent, hard-working and independent; they reject oppression and mistreatment by men. They seek men who will collaborate with them and not oppress them and all too often they do not find. Nwapa is a great novelist and so little read in the west.
This is the story of struggle, falling in love, betrayal, loss, corruption, disillusion, hope and the sheer ordinariness of having to make a living. It is an insight into the lives of Nigerian women; this time Nwapa’s setting is not rural but urban and concerns women who have worked hard to gain an education. There is a dilemma because the education was in reality a western one and their main teacher was a white western woman there as a missionary. This creates an inner division and a tension with older traditions. Two of the women reflect towards the end of the book that perhaps their education did not prepare them for the lives they had lead.
The role of the men in this novel is necessarily limited given the subject matter, but most of them are notable for betrayal, disappearing for months and years on end and being generally useless. The role of women in society and community is what Nwapa is really concerned with and how culture and tradition passes from one generation to another. The three women who have children discover these tensions for themselves as their mothers before them did.
What Nwapa emphasizes most of all is the need for women to be economically independent, so that if their marriages or relationships go wrong they are not dependent. Contrast Rose and Comfort in the novel. Rose has followed the mores of the western education, she has not married despite several courtships, but has got her degree and has a very good job. Comfort on the other hand has determined not to get emotionally involved and has gone into relationships for money and not love, leaving when she needs to and living life to the full. Dora is forced into an arranged marriage to a husband who does not love her and Agnes marries her school sweetheart. When it comes to post-colonial nation building and recovery from the civil war Nwapa is pointing towards a society based on feminine/feminist approaches to community rather than the oppressive alternative. The women dissent from society’s norms at one level, but all are in one way or another focussed on the institution of marriage as a means to an end and as the appropriate way (ultimately) to relate to men. That is the starting place, but by the end of the novel you can see a change and one of the characters is able to say that marriage is not the only way. You can also see this attitude shifting in their children; Nwapa sees change occurring over generations and gradually.
Nwapa creates strong female characters who are courageous, competent, hard-working and independent; they reject oppression and mistreatment by men. They seek men who will collaborate with them and not oppress them and all too often they do not find. Nwapa is a great novelist and so little read in the west.
November 15, 2022
2.5 stars?
Oh my goodness! I've been meaning to read something by Flora Nwapa for ages, so my expectations were super high. I know that she is an important figure in international literature - to quote wikipedia : "....the first African woman novelist to be published in the English language in Britain...."
Women Are Different is a dialogue-driven novel that follows three school friends into their adult lives before, during, and after the Biafran War (Nigerian Civil War 1967 - 1970). Particularly it deals with some of the challenges faced by educated Nigerian females of the time.
For me, this book was a page-turner in a way that I can only liken to watching a B-movie and promising myself that I’m going to stop watching it any minute and yet I keep being curious about what’s going to happen next and before I know it I’ve watched the whole doggone thing! The writing is not elegant, and there were a number of story inconsistencies that could have/should have been addressed before this book went to publication - who dropped THAT ball?
Anyway, I’d still like to like to read Nwapo’s Efuru, the 1966 novel that put her on the map.
Oh my goodness! I've been meaning to read something by Flora Nwapa for ages, so my expectations were super high. I know that she is an important figure in international literature - to quote wikipedia : "....the first African woman novelist to be published in the English language in Britain...."
Women Are Different is a dialogue-driven novel that follows three school friends into their adult lives before, during, and after the Biafran War (Nigerian Civil War 1967 - 1970). Particularly it deals with some of the challenges faced by educated Nigerian females of the time.
For me, this book was a page-turner in a way that I can only liken to watching a B-movie and promising myself that I’m going to stop watching it any minute and yet I keep being curious about what’s going to happen next and before I know it I’ve watched the whole doggone thing! The writing is not elegant, and there were a number of story inconsistencies that could have/should have been addressed before this book went to publication - who dropped THAT ball?
Anyway, I’d still like to like to read Nwapo’s Efuru, the 1966 novel that put her on the map.
February 14, 2015
I know this isn't supposed to be a serious, complex novel & I didn't take it as such. I appreciate the simple style and I like the fact that these women are full people in themselves, not just archetypes or hollow characters representing a symbol & pushing an agenda. But I dislike the fact that their lives are defined by men and throughout the book, it's hard to find a conversation between any 2 women that doesn't have to do with a guy or a problem that isn't solved by getting a man (albeit temporarily). I also don't know what to make of the story in itself especially the ending that leaves nothing resolved and feel wishy-washy, or the political views it espouses (like Nigerians aren't ready for independence and are inherently corrupt, colonialism was sweeter than bread and butter & the straight fix for all our problems is hyper-capitalism & limited/non-existent government control). The book has real women with messy lives & I admire the fact that they're always willing to move on & look to the future no matter how many times they get hurt or disillusioned. I wish I could do that myself.
August 20, 2014
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Why did it take me roughly two weeks to finish this book that was only 138 pages? This book was quite painful to read: the details in the storyline were superfluous, Nwapa’s writing style wasn’t great and there were too many characters to keep track of in the book. Furthermore, there were spelling and grammatical errors in my copy of the book (I have the African Women Writer Series- First Africa World Press, edition 1992).
I love that Flora Nwapa sought out to enlighten readers on the lives of Nigerian women from the 1940’s to the 1970’s- after the Biafran war, but I did not enjoy the style of writing. It was written in third-person, but quite shabbily. The sentence structures were very simple and I felt like I was reading a child’s novel.
I will commend Nwapa for raising various issues women faced in Nigeria, like: arranged marriages, child marriages, poverty, the importance of girl-child education, prostitution, spinsterhood, betrayed love etc. Nwapa portrayed all of these issues through the lives of Dora, Rose, Agnes and Comfort from their high school days to their late motherhood days. Their different personalities and opinions on life were basically a microcosm of the opinions and lives of other women in Nigeria. I enjoyed Comfort’s character the best, as she was vivacious and fearless- typical of Nigerian women!
But several parts of the novel were dragged out. For example: the food strike in the girls’ secondary school went on for about ten pages; Dora complaining to Rose about her wayward daughter’s failed marriage dragged on for another ten pages; Agnes’ prostitute daughter’s plight went on forever as well.
The girls’ lives did not end up how they wished it would romantically, but they were quite successful, strong women at the end of the novel.
I initially wanted to purchase Nwapa’s popular novel, “Efuru”, but after reading this simple book that took me 18 days to complete, I think I will pass.
I love African literature and I admire Flora Nwapa for being one of the pioneering African women writers, but unfortunately, I do not recommend this book. Maybe I’ll search for some of her short stories and give that a try - sometime in the future.
Why did it take me roughly two weeks to finish this book that was only 138 pages? This book was quite painful to read: the details in the storyline were superfluous, Nwapa’s writing style wasn’t great and there were too many characters to keep track of in the book. Furthermore, there were spelling and grammatical errors in my copy of the book (I have the African Women Writer Series- First Africa World Press, edition 1992).
I love that Flora Nwapa sought out to enlighten readers on the lives of Nigerian women from the 1940’s to the 1970’s- after the Biafran war, but I did not enjoy the style of writing. It was written in third-person, but quite shabbily. The sentence structures were very simple and I felt like I was reading a child’s novel.
I will commend Nwapa for raising various issues women faced in Nigeria, like: arranged marriages, child marriages, poverty, the importance of girl-child education, prostitution, spinsterhood, betrayed love etc. Nwapa portrayed all of these issues through the lives of Dora, Rose, Agnes and Comfort from their high school days to their late motherhood days. Their different personalities and opinions on life were basically a microcosm of the opinions and lives of other women in Nigeria. I enjoyed Comfort’s character the best, as she was vivacious and fearless- typical of Nigerian women!
But several parts of the novel were dragged out. For example: the food strike in the girls’ secondary school went on for about ten pages; Dora complaining to Rose about her wayward daughter’s failed marriage dragged on for another ten pages; Agnes’ prostitute daughter’s plight went on forever as well.
The girls’ lives did not end up how they wished it would romantically, but they were quite successful, strong women at the end of the novel.
I initially wanted to purchase Nwapa’s popular novel, “Efuru”, but after reading this simple book that took me 18 days to complete, I think I will pass.
I love African literature and I admire Flora Nwapa for being one of the pioneering African women writers, but unfortunately, I do not recommend this book. Maybe I’ll search for some of her short stories and give that a try - sometime in the future.
December 28, 2021
This book follows the lives of three girls - Rose, Agnes, and Dora. It is a bittersweet story filled with sadness, happiness, warmth and betrayals. From the beginning, I loved the three MCs. They were so normal, free and wild with a lot of plans for the future. One by one, their lives are showed in third person POV. From Dora's marriage to a man much older than her, to Agnes and her deceptive husband Chris, to Rose's loneliness. Another character that spiced the book and made it the more hilarious was Comfort. Oh Comfort! That lady is a no nonsense girl, always speaking her mind no matter what and not minding what anyone will say.
I liked the 60's setting the book was written in and how the girls moved with their lives even though they were struggling. All of them were really brave, taking the reins of the family and doing their best. The Biafran war was a very sad time and it was portrayed really well here. Reading it left me feeling disgusted and devastated. It was an awful time and I can't imagine how those that lived in it felt. The anguish, the fear, feeling helpless…
A lot of conflicts were portrayed and I felt for both Agnes and Dora when their daughters practically turned against them. It was horrifying to see the tough mothers suddenly helpless.
Something that annoyed me was the mindset of the characters. It's something that I see even today and it saddens me that more than five decades later, our people still think like that. That mindset is "A husband completes a woman".
It's so annoying and infuriating but I've seen it in the book a lot. First in Dora's life. She discovered her husband whom she was forcefully married to was sleeping with her stepmother and she packed up and left. Years later, after she had become a businesswoman all by herself, she actually brought this man to live with her in her furnished house simply because, "people will talk. Her husband must stay with her."
Then in Agnes' case. She put in all her money for her husband Chris to continue his legal studies abroad. All of a sudden, he disappeared. The war was coming. There was nothing she could do with three children. Upon going to their house in his village that they recently built, she discovered that he had sold it. The shock was too much for her. She still had hope in him. However that tarnished years later when she heard he was in Germany. She went and saw him with a German woman. He shouted at her and practically insulted her. She came back home and continued with her life while grieving. The worst thing in all this is that Agnes actually still wanted him to come back into her life. Can you imagine?! More than a decade later, he appeared out of nowhere and she was joyous to the extent of organizing a party for him. In her words, "my husband is back. That is all that matters."
What impudence! I was shocked at the girl's behavior. What is more saddening is that till today, a lot of people still think like that. I've seen and heard stories exactly like that. Why will a lady think a man completes her? She is complete with or without a man. Yourself is all that matter! Why stoop so low as to welcome back someone that humiliated you, insulted you, discarded you like filth? Grief and move on. But welcoming them back is a total No-no!
I liked the 60's setting the book was written in and how the girls moved with their lives even though they were struggling. All of them were really brave, taking the reins of the family and doing their best. The Biafran war was a very sad time and it was portrayed really well here. Reading it left me feeling disgusted and devastated. It was an awful time and I can't imagine how those that lived in it felt. The anguish, the fear, feeling helpless…
A lot of conflicts were portrayed and I felt for both Agnes and Dora when their daughters practically turned against them. It was horrifying to see the tough mothers suddenly helpless.
Something that annoyed me was the mindset of the characters. It's something that I see even today and it saddens me that more than five decades later, our people still think like that. That mindset is "A husband completes a woman".
It's so annoying and infuriating but I've seen it in the book a lot. First in Dora's life. She discovered her husband whom she was forcefully married to was sleeping with her stepmother and she packed up and left. Years later, after she had become a businesswoman all by herself, she actually brought this man to live with her in her furnished house simply because, "people will talk. Her husband must stay with her."
Then in Agnes' case. She put in all her money for her husband Chris to continue his legal studies abroad. All of a sudden, he disappeared. The war was coming. There was nothing she could do with three children. Upon going to their house in his village that they recently built, she discovered that he had sold it. The shock was too much for her. She still had hope in him. However that tarnished years later when she heard he was in Germany. She went and saw him with a German woman. He shouted at her and practically insulted her. She came back home and continued with her life while grieving. The worst thing in all this is that Agnes actually still wanted him to come back into her life. Can you imagine?! More than a decade later, he appeared out of nowhere and she was joyous to the extent of organizing a party for him. In her words, "my husband is back. That is all that matters."
What impudence! I was shocked at the girl's behavior. What is more saddening is that till today, a lot of people still think like that. I've seen and heard stories exactly like that. Why will a lady think a man completes her? She is complete with or without a man. Yourself is all that matter! Why stoop so low as to welcome back someone that humiliated you, insulted you, discarded you like filth? Grief and move on. But welcoming them back is a total No-no!
January 3, 2014
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March 10, 2014i want to read it before giving my point of view
April 2, 2024
This book had me laughing from the very beginning!
This is a historical fiction novel set in pre-independent Nigeria and the story begins around 1944/1945 with four young girls basically starting out their lives in a missionary school.
For my full review, see https://veesreviews.wordpress.com/202...
The storyline follows their progress as they grow into adult women who have to make seemingly difficult choices between pursuing a career and holding down a man.
I like the book for it's strong female characters and the wonderful doze of humour and honesty with which the author tells their stories.
By delving into the themes of marriage, a woman's choices after marriage, the effects of deeply-seated patriarchy, male infidelity, gender bias, spousal manipulation among a host of many other themes, Flora Nwapa skillfully makes the point of the title of the book - that women are indeed different.
And society's expectations of them bear witness to this.
I loved the storytelling technique of the author and how not only did I get to follow the growth of each main character, there is also decent character development for some of the minor characters which I thought was really good.
Simple but thought-provoking at the same time.
This is a historical fiction novel set in pre-independent Nigeria and the story begins around 1944/1945 with four young girls basically starting out their lives in a missionary school.
For my full review, see https://veesreviews.wordpress.com/202...
The storyline follows their progress as they grow into adult women who have to make seemingly difficult choices between pursuing a career and holding down a man.
I like the book for it's strong female characters and the wonderful doze of humour and honesty with which the author tells their stories.
By delving into the themes of marriage, a woman's choices after marriage, the effects of deeply-seated patriarchy, male infidelity, gender bias, spousal manipulation among a host of many other themes, Flora Nwapa skillfully makes the point of the title of the book - that women are indeed different.
And society's expectations of them bear witness to this.
I loved the storytelling technique of the author and how not only did I get to follow the growth of each main character, there is also decent character development for some of the minor characters which I thought was really good.
Simple but thought-provoking at the same time.
September 30, 2024
The book had a promising beginning but quickly devolved into dry storytelling. I loved the way the characters were multidimensional during the early part of the book but they quickly became cardboard cutouts after they graduated from secondary school.
Rose's character lacked depth along with every other character in the book.
At a point it seemed the story had no direction.
The writer could have delved more intimately into the lives of the characters but for some reason, she treated them flippantly like she was giving a book report and the end was so unsatisfactory. It seemed rushed and inadequate. Like a conclusion was affixed when the story was still developing.
Rose's character lacked depth along with every other character in the book.
At a point it seemed the story had no direction.
The writer could have delved more intimately into the lives of the characters but for some reason, she treated them flippantly like she was giving a book report and the end was so unsatisfactory. It seemed rushed and inadequate. Like a conclusion was affixed when the story was still developing.
July 16, 2025
What a wonderful book by Flora Nwapa! I sincerely enjoyed the varied experiences of the women and the way Flora allowed us to follow their experiences from their secondary school down to their married lives. I loved how she took time to develop the characters and the aura of the women; their personalities really shone through, and that made it more enjoyable to read! Can't wait to read her entire discography!
May 2, 2024
Women are different is a coming of age story of 3 girls-women during the pre-colonial era to the independence era.it talks about their friendship while in secondary school and each others lives after secondary school. The ending could have been better.
September 20, 2024
First published in Nigeria in 1986.
Lives of Nigerian women from the 1940’s to the 1970’s- after the Biafran war. Flora Nwapa narrates how the Nigerian women begin to gain consciousness about their rights such as having access to education.
After reading EFURU, this wasn’t her best work, IMO.
Lives of Nigerian women from the 1940’s to the 1970’s- after the Biafran war. Flora Nwapa narrates how the Nigerian women begin to gain consciousness about their rights such as having access to education.
After reading EFURU, this wasn’t her best work, IMO.
July 11, 2021
The first half of this book was bliss, a bunch of women facing challenges but overcoming it with style. I loved it. But the second... I have never been more depressed.
December 27, 2023
I wouldn't say I particularly enjoyed it but it had its moments
I loved the complexity of the relationships
It was futuristic and African at the same time
I loved the complexity of the relationships
It was futuristic and African at the same time
September 29, 2025
Annoying.
Read
March 29, 2021Women are Different
It is very nice depiction. I liked this novel very much. I really thank the first mother of African literature.e. Flora Nwapa as she has presented everything in the novel very smoothly. I liked all the characters and their struggling lives.
It is very nice depiction. I liked this novel very much. I really thank the first mother of African literature.e. Flora Nwapa as she has presented everything in the novel very smoothly. I liked all the characters and their struggling lives.
November 15, 2023
The story revolves around three school friends from their childhood till adult lives based on the origin and end of the Nigerian civil war -- Biafran War and also especially the challenges faced by the educated Nigerian females.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews