Book Review: Payback

Book description:

Like other young Muslim girls of 18, Halima has moved with her family to London and her horizons are beginning to expand. Then, just as she is about to start university, she discovers her father’s plan: to marry her to the son of a distant relation in Pakistan who once did him a favour. Halima is to be the repayment of the debt. And it's payback time...

***

I got this book at a fundraising bazaar organized by an erstwhile chairman of ANA Lagos, and I’m glad I picked this one amongst so many choices. I was intrigued by the title and the tagline, initially thinking it was a crime/thriller novel, but the description said otherwise.

A young Pakistani girl, Halima is promised to a man in her village many years back for helping her father out of a difficult situation, an arrangement she knows nothing about, until years later after she’s moved to England with her sister and mother to join her father and brothers and finds a Pakistani guy she likes.

Virtual Book Club: Coming 2021

Dear all,

#ComingSoon #January2021 #VirtualBookClub

This is to formally introduce the Literarily Yours Virtual Book Club... because there are a lot of books out there to discover!

To the readers and authors... this one is for you.

Contact liteyours at gmail dot com for more information.

PS: Know someone who might be interested? Please #share with them.

#KeepSafe

Literarily Yours,
CMO.

You can still write a book in 2020!

Dear all,

#MondayMotivation #GoodByeNovember2020 #1MonthToGo

There's still enough time to start and finish your fantastic book before the end of 2020 without compromising on quality.

The process is in my writing guide. Get the ebook at half the price from the 1st to the 14th of December 2020.

Email author.cmokonkwo@gmail.com for more information.

PS: Know someone who might need this guide? Make their dreams come true too.

Literarily Yours,
CMO.

New Book: My Celeb Husband (Desperate Women Series, #3)

 Dear all,

#Friday #TGIF

The Desperate Women are back!

After several failed attempts to find husbands living abroad or one who would take them to America, the women change their strategy and decide to go for celebrity husbands.

This Christmas, join Miracle, Stella, Caro, Tessy, Amara, Oluchi, Glory, Dumebi, Kemi, and Halleluiah as they try to fulfil their overseas destiny.


Literarily Yours,
CMO.

Book Review: Dear Alaere

Book description:

Alaere Benson is your typical modern, professional woman in search of that elusive work-life balance and societal acceptance in Lagos. When she gets a job at Criole, she is excited to be working for a multinational company, but it does not take long for her to see that Criole is dysfunctional and bears an eerie similarity to Nigeria. As she struggles to find her footing in her new role, she witnesses a never-ending theatre of murder, sexual harassment and mysticism.

At home, she is happily married to ‘Laja, but they begin to have problems when they experience difficulties having children and their situation is compounded by extended family interference.

With things spiralling out of control, she is forced to reassess how she feels about the chaos around her and takes charge of her life with her often humorous, frank diary entries. As she confronts and grapples with her experiences, she finds peace and healing through the catharsis of writing.

***

Interesting writing and description, but unfortunately, almost at the end of the book, I don’t know what the book is about. There are a few themes, events, and scenes with little or no development. We are following the main character, Alaere as she literally breezes through life. Before we enter the office with her and attempt to fully grasp how her day unfolds, she’s already back home and 9 months pregnant.

There’s no sense of time, so it’s difficult for someone like me who pays a lot of attention to timelines.

News: C. M. Okonkwo, elected as Secretary, ANA Lagos

Dear all,

#Monday #Motivation

Over the weekend, ANA Lagos held its State Convention and elections into the various Executive Council offices.

I joined ANA Lagos on 8/8/2015, and on 8/8/2020, exactly five years later, I was elected Secretary to serve for two years.

It was nice seeing fellow authors again after five long months.

If you’re an author in Lagos, you should join us, let’s continue to make Lagos Literarily Great! 

#KeepSafe

***

Literarily Yours,
CMO.

ANA Lagos - State Convention and Executive Council Elections

 A COMMUNIQUE ISSUED AT THE END OF THE LAGOS STATE CHAPTER CONVENTION AND ELECTIONS

Date: August 9 2020

Preamble

The General Assembly of the Lagos State chapter, during its State Convention on August 8, 2020, dissolved its five-man Caretaker Committee that had been set up on January 11, 2020 and voted in a new Executive Council to run the affairs of the chapter for the next two years until August 7, 2022.

The Executive Council

The following members were voted into the offices of the Exco, with the exception of the Treasurer, who was co-opted by the Exco and accepted by the General Assembly.

Ifeanyichukwu Avajah, Chairman

Brenda Nwafor, Vice Chairman

C. M. Okonkwo, Secretary

Solape Adeyemi, Treasurer

Olusanya Anjorin, Financial Secretary

Funke Awodiya, Publicity Secretary

Yemi Adebiyi, Ex-Officio 1

Linda Edem-Davies, Ex-Officio 2

The new Executive Council members met shortly after the ANA Lagos State Convention to draw up a strategic plan to manage the affairs of the chapter for the next two years and to also set up various committees for the chapter.

***

Literarily Yours,
CMO.