When a vow in the past that is almost forgotten, seemingly harmless, borne out of naiveness and beclouded by juvenile love and understanding surprisingly resurfaced at a critical point in one’s life and fixates itself solidly, then a lot needs to be retraced. That is exactly the story Juliana Ezeugwu told in her maiden book ‘The Broken Promise’.
In this era of diverse story telling with attendant different societal reactions, true life appeal, indifference or even outright acceptance or rejection, a writer has to just strive to become an instant attractor with a maiden book, so that he/she can launch out on a sound footing. Ezeugwu attempted it in her book, and many readers can have solid connection with it.
A societal happening which she creatively captured in her book is the issue of taking ‘love vow’ by innocent teenagers, or youths alike, without a full understanding of its implication. From the African cultural perspectives, many implications have been recorded from time immemorial, especially should any party break the vow.
This vow can equally be referred to in contex as a covenant or oath taking. Some lovers do it in a shrine and administered by a herbalist. Others do it by a river, in a forest, on a mountain or in the valley, under a tree, among several other places. Some others solidify theirs with piercing themselves on any part of their bodies and licking their blood while making the vow or covenant. There are some others who swear using kola nuts, alligator pepper, oil, and other materials or imageries.
States now to feed, accommodate inmates – FG
FG evacuates 2,246 Nigerians from Sudan
The elements of such vows are often either promises to get married, lovers vowing not to ever get separated, a promise of faithfulness without any side cheating on the other, safeguarding themselves against third party, or a vow that one of the parties (or both) will be the one to deflower the other (or themselves), among others. And the caveat often added to such vows is that any of the defaulter should either die, run mad, become impoverished or childless, and so on.
And owing to the natural or supernatural forces behind such vows, oath or covenant, there have always been manifestations. Except some form of rites/rituals, prayers and other forms of cleansing or atonement are done to reverse the manifestations, they will continue and linger.
These aforementioned vows have been there from time immemorial and are still happening till date, though not as popular as it used to be due to continuous frowning against such because of religious beliefs and the advent of modernization which appears to water down some of these unwholesome cultural practices.
The foregoing scenarios and societal happening is the plot of this book. The author of this book tried to dramatize her own narration to make it stimulating, full of suspense and written in a simple language that’s easy to understand. Though the story is fictionalized, but it is well penned down and also have palpable real-life appeal.
Hence, the book isn’t just borne out of the figment of the writer’s imagination or just someone trying to authoritatively display her writing prowess. This book which is comprised of nine chapters has undoubtedly re-enacted a sensitive cord and ill-happenings that have been deeply rooted in the fabrics of the African society.
Besides, the writing style through which the author chose to tell her story added another gravitational pull. The style is such that the main character is the one telling her story, and it is referred to as the first-person pronoun pattern. The narrator is the central character around whom the story revolves, and almost present in all sequences or a lurking observer to all happenings.
The plot of “The Broken Promise” tells the story of Uzomma who battles a childhood vow. Uzomma is challenged by several difficulties and moved from the village to Lagos, where she got a job and prospered. So much transpired between her and Victor; her first official relationship, but it ended in a tragic heart break.
However, in that same office, she found what she felt was true love – Mr Yinka, who introduced himself to her as Mr Informal. Their love thrived and they later got married. But 12 years later, Uzomma was unable to get pregnant. This caused a stir in the marriage.
Uzomma was then able to reconnect her childlessness to a vow she swore to under a tree near the stream in her village with her childhood love, Obim. In the vow, she swore that Obim would be the one to deflower her and get her pregnant.
As the story unfolded, Uzomma’s mother did not make her childlessness any bearable for her, as it always became a topic for discussion whenever they were together. And because her mother didn’t bear any male children to continue the family name since Uzomma’s father had died, the whole issue then strained her mother’s nerves and contributed to her illness until she eventually died.
In her quest to get a solution to her problem, Uzomma reached out to Obim, but found out he has become a devoted Catholic priest. At that point, temptation, intrigues, stunning happenings, jaw-dropping sequences and other interplay ensued. She returned to Lagos and was greeted by a rude shock; her husband and his sister had perfected a plan to bring in a wife said to be pregnant for him.
A heart-rending letter from Uzomma to Obim, her childhood lover who has become a priest, spotlighted another tone upon which her ordeal was cast. The letter read:
Dear Obim,
I am writing this letter to tell you how life has cheated me, and you are among those who contributed to it. I know you will be asking how? But just have it at the back of your mind that you contributed to it…
Bye for now, and until we meet again.
Yours,
Uzomma
After reading such an abridged touching letter from Uzomma to Obim, one would then begin to wonder how her earlier visit went. Did she get her expected result from her visit to the priest? Did she cohabit with the woman said to be impregnated by her husband? For how long has her husband been working on this plan and how was he able to execute it? What eventually become of Uzomma’s fate? All these are the penetrating questions the reader would find out by reading through the 155 pages of the book.
Expectantly, besides the entertainment, information and education the narrative of this book presents on teenage love vows and its implication, the author has successfully lent her voice to that occurrence which should rejuvenate discourse again. And this time, it should be with clear cut intervention from necessary quarters in order to check its harmful outcome.
In order to drive her narrative, the author uniquely took an angle which has both seam and seamless parts, but was still able to bridge it all through the climax and anti-climax. Hence, the story was literarily conceptualized and narrated. In effect, there is an anticipated correlation between her message and the readers’ comprehension.
On the aesthetics and finishing of the book, the cover which is more of a metaphorical design shows two fingers in an apparent symbolism of a man and a woman about to engage in a bet. That is a fair attempt of the designer to depict the action the lovers applied while making their vow. The in-text design is equally appealing, well laid and legible. However, there is room for improvement as some extra spacing and page numbering can be modified.
In all, for a maiden book and the first version, the author has done a fantastic job and has shown readiness to come into the literary space with a penetrating force and make noticeable impact. So, more is expected from the author, as she has not only apparently shown a writing prowess but has proven that she has a lot of stories to tell.
Considering the fact that this story ended in a unique suspense, it is advisable that the author comes up with a Part 2 of the book (under a related title). The author could then make a compelling statement that it is a sequel to the initial book. Such compelling statement can come in a way of a prologue by the author or indicated in a foreword page by anyone writing a foreword for the book.