Fidelis O. Mkparu

Dr. Nwaku is turning 60. He has had a very successful career as a department head of a prestigious hospital in Boston and has just been asked to be the CEO of a new hospital. It's the dream of his wife, also a successful doctor, who set aside her own career to raise their two children, now successful medical professionals in their own right. But Afamefuna Nwaku is uneasy. For a long time, he is reminded about a promise made to his late father, to return to his African homeland in Obodo, Nigeria and take his place as the family patriarch. Much to his wife's disappointment and anger, he turns down the new job offer after he receives a tearful phone call from his sister in Africa pleading for her brother to return to his African home and save her life from people threatening to kill her. Elisha, his wife, gives him an ultimatum, accept the new position of lose her forever. The pull of his ancestry is stronger.
This is a story of family ties and responsibility, to your own family through marriage and your own broader place in your family history. Both husband and wife are equally responsible for the disintegration of their marriage. Each one can only see their own position without understanding how their partner feels and without realizing they are doing exactly what they accuse each other of doing. Afamefuna is torn between the love he has for his wife and the guilt he feels in letting his father down and leaving his homeland and family traditions.
When he lands in Africa, Afamefuma realizes how American he has become and how much he has forgotten about his homeland. He is regarded as an outsider by everyone he meets from taxi drivers to police. He quickly has to recall his upbringing and his patois in order to remain in control of his situation. Afamefuma's heritage is revealed through dreamlike trances where he follows his village's rituals of passage and hears messages from the family shaman, his grandfather. The reader is reminded of the griot heritage of Western Africa. The horrors endured by Nigerians in their violent history and social life is briefly touched on, as is some of the food enjoyed in Nigeria. The brief descriptions of the meals interested me greatly and I would love to learn more about that part of Nigerian culture.
Although Afamefuma comes across as a very chauvinistic male in his attitude towards his wife, he is a very sympathetic character. You must read the story to learn if Afamefuma is able to come to grips with his dilemma and solve all his family difficulties.… (mere)