4.5 stars

Told in the thoughts of two young people living very different lives, this novel showed me aspects of life in Lagos that I've encountered in other novels in a new light, and engaged feelings and ideas about romance and growing up. Crucially, it's about misreading and misunderstanding, but more subtly about what slips from view through the lens of socialised expectations. Sometimes, Onuzo rigorously controls the truth, but sometimes she allows conflicting versions to hover unconfirmed, drawing the reader into a mode of self-questioning: what are my own preconceptions about this?

As well as deep, pervasive, intriguingly shifting misunderstandings, fatal timing drives the plot. A very simple story turns out to have an unsavoury tangle of complex histories beneath it. Most of the characters' backstories engaged some degree of compassion, but I wanted to hear more from Joke and the hawker's mother, whom the narrative relegates to functional parts of his circumstances. His (fairly benign) patriarchal mindset is revealed in his treatment of both, and it's impossible not to sympathise with his frustration, but I longed for more pointed remarks from them, although this longing itself reflects Onuzo's admirable restraint.

Though I think this would be enjoyable in either case, whether or not you the characters of Abike and the hawker will surely influence feelings about this read. Personally, I d both of them, and felt that in bringing them together Onuzo brilliantly demonstrates how difficult histories of trauma make it difficult for people to relate to and love each other. That Abike was able to move towards healing and embrace vulnerability and openness did not seem to me to reflect her privilege, but rather her innate strength. For me, her commitment relates to the story of the hawker's benefactress and her beau, Emeka, who both maintain their dignity, generosity and sense of justice in the face of circumstances. The hawker makes a different choice; perhaps he had suffered too much to escape from his inflexible view. In my reading, the relational dynamics of this book are deeply feminist, forming a strong, subtle and nuanced critique of patriarchal family structures and attitudes under the smartly styled and original contemporary surface.

I can't wait to read more from Chibundu Onuzo - I can just feel her next is going to be even betterbechdel-pass feminism g-african-reads24 s Brittle Paper 3 10


It’s near impossible to read a novel in one sitting these days. Between twitter, Facebook, and real life, who has the time and focus it takes to do such a thing? But a few days ago, I read Chibundu Onuzo’s The Spider King’s Daughter in one blow. Not an extraordinary feat, though, since Spider King’s Daughter is an irresistible page-turner. How often do you get to read a Shakespearean love story set in Lagos? Yes, miracles do happen. A street hawker and an aristocrat can find romance in a city designed to keep the rich and the poor as far apart as possible.


Spider King’s Daughter is about parallel worlds colliding. Abike is headed for Yale University in the Fall. Runner G is happy if he sells two thousand Naira worth of ice cream in one day. Abike lives royalty in a Lagos palace: well-manicured gardens adorned with bronze statues, pools, and fountains. Runner G wades through garbage to get to his crumbling Mile 12 flat that he shares with a sister and a depressive mother. Abike’s house is an impenetrable fortress. Runner G sleeps to the sound of gunshots coming from neighboring flats being raided by armed robbers. But in a city with a population density of about 20, 000 people per square kilometer, it’s very easy for incomparably different lives to crash into one another. That’s exactly what happens one hot summer day. Bored to death during a chauffeured ride from school, Abike breaks her rules and rolls down the window of a her air-conditioned car to buy ice cream from a boy she’ll thereafter fondly refer to as “my hawker.” There’ll be more ice creams bought and then a date, followed by a few more dates. But just when things seem so rosy, a dark and troubling past will come calling and put everything they’ve ever held dear to the test.


I love that the story starts out as your usual boy meets girl romance. And because Onuzo is such a good writer, you’re taken in by the chemistry between the two love birds. I can’t count how many times I cried out “Awww…this is soooooo cute.” But just when you’re getting used to the warmth and fuzziness of a traditional love story, things begin to get dark and never stop until the shocker of an ending that sends you reeling with the heady pleasure that only a good story teller can make you feel. As far as story goes, Spider King’s Daughter is easily an unputdownable. What I really love is the quirky details Onuzo uses to draw a compelling picture of life on the streets of Lagos. I’ve seen hawkers from the safe distance of a comfy car or through the broken window of a Danfo bus, but I’d never have guessed what it was to be one. Thanks to Onuzo, I have a sense of the financial logic behind hawking, what the profit margins are, how the pecking order works, and what it feels running after cars and putting up with abusive and impatient customers.


It’s refreshing when novelists play with form, no matter how subtle. The story is set up in such a way that the reader gets a first-person account of events from both Abike and Runner G. It’s fascinating to see how both characters narrate the same events differently, the kinds of details they choose to see or not see, include or keep out, perhaps, because while one is looking from above the other sees things from down below.


The arrival of Spider King’s Daughter did not catch me by surprise. I’ve been looking out for it ever since 19 year old Onuzo became the youngest female writer ever signed on by the prestigious British publishing house, Faber and Faber. I love my Chimamanda Adichie, but it’s also nice to see another young Nigerian female writer being given a chance to do her thing. It’s both a relief and a joy to see Onuzo write such a delectable debut novel and to know that there’ll definitely be more where this came from.

ORIGINALLY POSTED ON 37THSTATE

The Spider King's DaughterChibundu Onuzo19 s Tamanda KanjayeAuthor 1 book6

It had me in the first half not going to lie
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