The Girl with the Louding Voice
{{Short description|2020 novel by Abi Daré}}
{{Infobox book
| name = The Girl With The Louding Voice
| title_orig =
| translator =
| image = File:The Girl with the Louding Voice.jpg
| caption = First edition (UK)
| author = Abi Daré
| illustrator =
| cover_artist =
| country = Nigeria
| language = English
| series =
| genre = Fiction
| publisher = Sceptre (UK)
E. P. Dutton (US)
| release_date = 2020
| media_type =
| pages =
| isbn =
| preceded_by =
| followed_by =
| audio_read_by = Adjoa Andoh
}}
The Girl with the Louding Voice is a 2020 coming of age novel and the debut novel of Nigerian writer Abi Daré.{{Cite web|title=The Girl with the Louding Voice|url=https://www.goodreads.com/work/best_book/71647150-the-girl-with-the-louding-voice|access-date=2021-07-07|website=www.goodreads.com}} It tells the story of a teenage Nigerian girl called Adunni who becomes a maid and struggles with many things growing up, including her limited education, poverty and her inability to speak up for herself.{{Cite news|last=León|first=Concepción de|date=2020-02-01|title=For Her Debut, Abi Daré Confronts 'Dreams and Intelligence That We Kill'|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/01/books/abi-dare-girl-with-the-louding-voice-interview.html|access-date=2020-07-22|issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite web|title=Curtis Brown|url=https://www.curtisbrown.co.uk/client/abi-dare/work/the-girl-with-the-louding-voice#!|access-date=2021-07-07|website=www.curtisbrown.co.uk}} The book was published by Sceptre, an imprint of Hodder.
Writing process
Abi Dare stated that she first had the idea for the novel when she read a news article about a 13 year house help who had hot water poured on her by her Madam. Daré also stated that the book was partly inspired by her daughters and her years living in rural Nigeria. It was written over a period of 3 years with her using non-standard English, and some borrowed words from Pidgin English, in the novel. Dare's reason for using non-standard English was that she believes that standard English is not a measure of intelligence.{{Cite web|title=Abi Dare on Nigeria and daughterhood|url=https://lithub.com/abi-dare-on-nigeria-and-daughterhood/|access-date=2020-07-07|website=Lithub.com}}
Plot
Adunni is a 14-year-old girl from a poor home who lives in a small town near the city of Lagos. She wishes to get an education but she cannot due to lack of funds. When things start getting sour, her father, Papa marries her off, against her wishes, to Morufu as his third wife in order to use her bride price for the family's upkeep. Her husband rapes her repeatedly. Later, she runs to Lagos where she is employed by Big Madam who exploits and enslaves her and abuses her many times, but Adunni is determined to face all these problems when she makes up her mind that education is the only way to be free from her oppressions.
Themes
The Girl with the Louding Voice deals with women's voice, the ability to speak up and the drive toward pushing to get to one's dream as showcased by the main character Adunni.{{Cite web|title=Book Club Series - The Girl with the Louding Voice |url=https://www.womenforwomen.org/blogs/book-club-series-girl-louding-voice|access-date=2021-07-07|website=Women for Women International|language=en}} The novel has also been noted for its realistic depiction of sexism, poverty in Nigeria, child labor and child marriage in Nigeria, issues that the main character battles with in order to get education.{{Cite web|date=2021-03-17|title=Review: The Girl with the Louding Voice|url=https://newafricanmagazine.com/25490/|access-date=2021-07-07|website=New African Magazine}}
Reception
The book received several positive reviews.{{Cite web|last=Hart|first=Madailein|date=2020-04-10|title=Mad about books: 'The Girl with the Louding Voice' by Abi Daré|url=https://tnhdigital.com/2020/04/10/mad-about-books-the-girl-with-the-louding-voice-by-abi-dare/|access-date=2021-07-07|website=The New Hampshire|language=en-US}} It was a New York Times Bestseller, a February 2020 'Read with Jenna' choice{{Cite web|title=Read with Jenna: 'The Girl with the Louding Voice' author chats on TODAY|url=https://www.today.com/video/read-with-jenna-the-girl-with-the-louding-voice-author-chats-on-today-79536197514|access-date=2020-07-22|website=TODAY.com|language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Larratt |first=Stephanie |date=February 3, 2020 |title=Jenna Bush Hager announces February book club pick |url=https://www.today.com/shop/jenna-bush-hager-announces-february-book-club-pick-t172619 |access-date=August 13, 2024 |website=TODAY.com |language=en}} and a BBC Radio 4 Book at Bedtime pick.{{Cite web|title=BBC Radio 4 - The Girl With The Louding Voice by Abi Daré - Available now|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000ktpj/episodes/player|access-date=2020-07-22|website=BBC|language=en-GB}}
The book was shortlisted for the Desmond Elliott Prize for first time novelists.{{Cite web|title=The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Daré: 9781524746025|url=https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/621991/the-girl-with-the-louding-voice-by-abi-dare/|access-date=2020-07-22|publisher=PenguinRandomHouse|language=en-US}} It was recommended by several Media outlets including The New York Times, Vogue and Essence.{{Cite web|title=25 New Books by Black Authors to Buy Now|url=https://www.vogue.com/article/25-new-books-black-authors|access-date=2021-07-07|website=Vogue|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|title=18 Books To Read At Home Over Your Holiday Break|url=https://www.essence.com/entertainment/18-books-to-read-at-home-over-your-holiday-break/|access-date=2021-07-07|website=Essence|language=en-US}} A starred review by Kirkus Reviews called it "Heartbreaking and inspiring."{{Cite book|url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/abi-dare/the-girl-with-the-louding-voice/|title=THE GIRL WITH THE LOUDING VOICE {{!}} Kirkus Reviews|language=en}}
References
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Category:Novels set in Nigeria