Girl by  Edna O'Brien

Girl

Edna O'Brien

A harrowing tale, based on true accounts of the kidnapping of 276 schoolgirls by jihadist group Boko Haram in 2014. This book shows one young girl’s courage and determination to survive against all the odds whilst battling with her new identity as a mother. This is a violent, forced coming of age story, told with a shocking detachment and a terrible growing understanding of people and power.

Extract

But I wanted to speak, to say, Sir you are only a few feet away from me, but you are aeons away from them in their cruel captivity. You have not been there. You cannot know what was done to us. You live by power and we by powerlessness. I thought of my friends at that very moment, under the tamarind tree, some maimed from the bombardment, some newly pregnant, insects feeding feverishly on them, mouthing the same prescribed prayers. My aide guessed my agitation and was telling me to sit still and show good behaviour.

Parallels
  • The Chibok Girls: The Boko Haram Kidnappings and Islamist Militancy in Nigeria by Helon Habila
  • How We Disappeared by Jing-Jing Lee
  • Down by the River by Edna O’Brien
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Violence
Explicit sexual Content