Broken Lives and Other Stories (review)

As indicated in the foreword, by noted critic Emmanuel Obiechina, the Nigerian Civil War, 1967–1970, has been a subject for numerous Nigerian literary works. The Eastern Region, which named itself Biafra, broke away from the federal republic but could not sustain its independence, and as a result of famine and overpowering military force, was subdued. On the Biafran side was the argument that "the Biafran secession was a popular and spontaneous desire. It was not just an alternative; it was a last resort" (Nwankwo and Ifejika 1970:269). The war literature was produced by "the major writers of the day," including Achebe, Okigbo, Nwapa, and Ekwensi, who were "involved on the Biafran side." Among the many fiction titles are Isidore Okpewho's The Last Duty (1976), Buchi Emecheta's Destination Biafra (1982), and Ken Saro-Wiwa's Sozaboy: A Novel in Rotten English (1994). Although he does not emphasize the women's issues of Broken Lives and Others Stories, Obiechina calls the pieces "unforgettable tales with extraordinary clarity of vision and insights" (Obiechina xii, xiv).

With a useful glossary, the collection suggests in the author's preface the importance of lived experience and memory. When Kalu mentions "deferred dreams" in remembering "irretrievable childhoods," she evokes the African American poet Langston Hughes (xxi). The ten stories are titled "Independence," "Angelus," "The Last Push," "Camwood," "Broken Lives," "Children's Day," "Ogbanje Father," "Relief Duty," "Osondu," and "The Gift." The opening stories are told from the perspective of a young girl, whose school experiences are rendered through straightforward storytelling. "Independence" presents the transition to nationhood, and recollections of songs and a marching competition are mingled with details of family relationships. Independence is likened to a masquerade that "would come and carry us all into the unknown" (19). The sequencing of stories is effective, for "Angelus" also deals with school years. Although muted by war anxieties, the mood is optimistic because of "the promise that had been made to our great, great-grandparents at colonization" of becoming "Africa's future" (32). The meaning of war is brought home by the bombing of the Roman Catholic mission school, the death of staff members, and the departure of the narrator, who becomes alienated from her schoolmates after she leaves in a military Jeep sent by her father. In the "Last Push," the narrator indicates how young children know "the deadly screeches of the latest explosives from the shrills [sic] of older, more familiar ones" (45). The characters are aware of the political "recognition" of Biafra by Gabon and France, but this news causes the ill-founded hope that "recognition" augured the end of the conflict, which brought "months of fear, uncertainty, hunger, and, always, death" (49). The statement "after the war" is compared to the "certainty that Christians speak of Heaven," and the complex reactions include conceptions of "nation" and "madness" (54–55). In the next story, "Camwood," there is a shift to a young girl's preparation for marriage. Ulomma, who grinds camwood, used to make body lotion, has left a win-the-war school. Her gender and age group are symbolized by grinding camwood, which "Like a girl's life, it was difficult at best" (75).

The title story, "Broken Lives," advances time to cease-fires when areas such as Akasi have fallen to federal troops. The predicament of those returning is evident in unornamented, stark statements: "The only sure thing was the brutality of the enemy troops, who had brought soldiers from other countries to help restore peace and unity" (92). Here Kalu focuses on a postwar reality, involving fear of abduction and rape, the latter painfully portrayed as a tragedy that traditionally demanded "propitiation rituals" (96). The tenuous position of women such as Nneoma is reflected in her abduction and what it means for the "new peace" (105).

The story "Children's Day" returns to childhood characters, dislocation, and situations where "people mostly lived fragmented lives" (115), the dominant theme of the collection. Despite "broken lives," the continuity of familial expectations...