LAST week, I shared the first part of my review of the new fiction book titled Links which has been recently published by new author Dee Kuziwa, a business partner at a local financial institution.
In last week’s piece, I shared a brief of the text, how it is centred around the Milalai family, which is struck by an unforeseen tragedy following the death of its family head in a case of suicide.
Milalai takes his own life after “selling or transacting” his daughter Keilah at the age of 10 in an agreement with a wealthy village man and polygamist who is older than her own father and this is to happen once she turns 16.
Keilah grows and matures into a young woman, learns of her fate and resists Okouri’s insistence and agreement with her father. She vows to make the best out of her life and later becomes a nurse at a local clinic where she meets Bakari, a wounded patient whom she later falls in love with.
In the midst of all this, Keilah falls pregnant during one of the romantic moments with her new foreigner boyfriend and lover, Bakari.
In an unfortunate twist of events, Bakari overhears a conversation regarding Keilah's betrothal to Okouri and immediately makes a U-turn on his marriage plans.
As the text unfolds there are a lot of twists and turns, including betrayal and hidden secrets which unfold within the family, sexual entanglements, a case of abortion, another of a child born out of wedlock, and tons of secrets that are directly or indirectly interlinked to each other.
These series of interlinked events could probably be what motivated the author to name the text title Links as they could easily leave the reader’s mind in a state of confusion and wondering how one family could possess so many secrets and get so much entangled in the situations or predicaments it finds itself in.
Throughout the text, Kuziwa accomplishes and underscores several issues and themes in one go.
Firstly, Keilah is a symbol of resistance against male patriarchy as despite mounting pressure from her family, she resists Okouri’s pressure to marry her off up until Okouri submits and grants her her wish on his deathbed.
“I’m releasing you. My advisor drew up the divorce. Perhaps you won after all”
In response to Okouri’s final concession, Keilah is relieved to be let off go by a man she had despised and resisted from her childhood into her adulthood.
Keilah’s jaw dropped. No! She wanted to scream. If he divorced her, it nullified the poisoning…. Her triumph was only that she had caused him to realise that his stubbornness to claim her without Milalais promissory note and after Keilah too had been violated had also been futile(pp.446)
Although Kuziwa’s assassination of Milalai through suicide is understandable, how she eliminates Okouri through Keilah’s poisoning of the latter could have been taking things too far, well in my view the old man was nearing his death anyway.
The beauty in all of this is that the old Okouri finally realizes and comes to terms with the fact that he was not loved, wanted, or entitled to Keilah.
Secondly, she defies the oppressive tendencies and possibly becomes the first empowered woman in her family as we learn that she becomes a nurse by profession.
Thirdly, she challenges society to embrace inter-cultural relationships and marriages as Bakari seems to blend into the African culture and she also embraces aspects of European culture.
I loved how despite the prevailing turmoil with the Milalai family, the Milalai siblings try by all means to unite for a common cause and this is even shown by how they all contribute to extend and making their homestead bigger and better.
It is my strong view and belief that Kuziwa tackles contemporary societal issues which are relevant to the 21st century.
Furthermore, almost each and every character within the text including the young Konte is haunted by their past or background which places them in tough spots in their different predicaments and demands clarity and some form of closure to their pasts.
It could be the reason why Milalai is temporarily brought to life as a ghost so as to have a final conversation with his disgruntled son and to bring some form of closure.
Despite weaving an incredible text largely riddled with suspense, I felt Kuziwa leaves the reader on a cliffhanger as some aspects of the plot end up unresolved. It would have been interesting to know the ending between her and Bukari, including whether she would eventually gain acceptance into his family and what the future would hold for some of the key characters.
The author’s main target or messenger Keilah, who in essence appears to be the protagonist in the text, could be the symbolical victor at the resolution of the climax as she successfully defeats cultural norms and patriarchal tendencies.
Kuziwa’s book is indeed a unique cocktail of typical African cultural dilemmas, touching on marriage, race stereotypes, betrayals, secrets, deception, and the continuous push and pull of civilization.
- Fungayi Antony Sox is a communications and publishing consultant who has advised and consulted for CEOs,executives, entrepreneurs, start-up businesses, several institutions, and organizations on all matters relating to brand storytelling, writing, books, company and organizational reports, publications, and events planning. For feedback contact him on 0776 030 949, connect with him on LinkedIn on Fungayi Antony Sox, or follow him on Twitter @AntonySox.