‘vengeance doesn’t solve anything rather willing forgiveness is required for the journey to healing.’
One of society’s persistent issues that keep the news headline rife is stories of sexual violence.
In her new book, “Twice a Bride the Journey”, Tope Omamegbe takes a close look at the emotionally tangled issue of rape and how it affects both victim and perpetrator.
Setting.
Set in the South Western part of Nigeria, Tope tells the story of Wale and how she was raped in The University by Alex who would later turn out to be her husband. Iyawale Adelakin, the main character in the novel, was born into a wealthy family.
Like most wealthy families in Nigeria; she was expected to marry the son of her Father’s friend and business partner in order to strengthen the business relationship between both families. As Mr Adelakin said “I want you to get acquainted. He’s single, you are single and honestly there would be nothing better than a merger of families to better solidify the business bond.”
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Revenge.
On introduction to Alex, Wale is shocked to find out Alex is her rapist and Alex has no idea who she is. Wale agrees to marry Alex in order to get her pound of flesh on him unbeknownst to everyone except her younger sister Tolu, who is well aware of the rape incidence and Wale’s plan to get revenge on Alex.
After their wedding, Wale plans alongside her sister to reveal who she is to Alex at the “Alumni Reunion” that they hosted. Alex soon discovers that Wale is the girl he raped years back in The University. He is stupefied and clouded with guilt.
After this revelation, Tope also describes the psychological state of Wale as” Full of life, fearless, in absolute power and total control.” Wale is clearly fuelled by hatred and anger; we are kept on the edge of our seats as Wale seems to be getting on with her scheming.
Which by the way, we are not told from the beginning what Wale’s plan for vengeance is, rather one event leads to another and Wale soon seems to be out of control of situations and is eventually caught in the line of duty to her husband. Alex, on the other hand is a changed man, and wants an opportunity to fix the damage and earn her forgiveness.
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Challenges and Consequences.
In all, Tope narrates events involving Alex mystery son, the bad blood between the families, the stigma that comes with rape, the consequences of youthful exuberance, and many more challenges that Wale and Alex face on their journey to healing, forgiveness and ultimately finding Love.
Tope doesn’t just tell the story of a rape victim; she sets the story firmly in the context of social issues and sends a strong message of forgiveness and healing for victims of rape.
For a first novel, she has done brilliantly and shows that she is a writer with a wealth of firmly held convictions and a take- no-prisoners confidence in her own abilities.
The diction of the book is simple, and the message of the story is strongly perceived to be that ‘vengeance doesn’t solve anything rather willing forgiveness is required for the journey to healing.’
Written by Ella Chikezie.
Ella Chikezie is a biochemist by day, and a writer by night. Her writing theme explores poetry, fiction, non fiction and drama. She blogs at https://ift.tt/2h0udMF , enjoys watching movies, reading and travelling. Connect with her on Twitter and Instagram @ellawritesng or itzyogurl_ella