Onaedo: The Blacksmith’s Daughter

Ngozi Achebe
Mandac Goldberg Publishing (2010)
ISBN 9780982647318
Reviewed by Marcy Blesy for Reader Views (03/10)


“Onaedo: The Blacksmith’s Daughter” by Ngozi Achebe is the fictional story of Onaedo, a young woman growing up in 16th-Century West Africa.  Practicing the customs of the Abonani people, she has normal life experiences:  falling in love, losing love, getting married, having children, ending an unhappy marriage, all until the fateful night her life changes drastically.  There had been rumblings that the white man was visiting the African coast more frequently to trade.  But what the African people did not know was that the trade was no longer for goods, but for people:  slaves.  When Onaedo was taken away by force to Sao Tome she endured the hardship of slavery, rising in status under the control of a kind master.

The story actually begins in modern times with a young woman purchasing a box of books that must be translated from Portuguese to English.  It is those written words that forms Onaedo’s story.

The book flows very well.  There is not a lot of unnecessary language.   The reader will find herself engrossed in the story.   Ms. Achebe does an excellent job defining the characters, both good and bad throughout the story.  Onaedo is a strong, independent woman who knows what she wants and endures what she must to achieve the end result.  However, she is never haughty or rude in her life choices.  The reader will root for her every step of the way.

I really like “Onaedo: The Blacksmith’s Daughter.”  From her relationships with her family to her best friend Adanma to her volatile husband Amechi, a clearer picture of Onaedo arises.  The author did an excellent job defining the importance of tradition in her culture while stressing the unfortunate consequences of the beginnings of the slave trade.  I empathized in a way I had never before considered with the plight of the innocent Africans plucked from their homelands to be slaves.  I care about the characters in this book, and the author frustratingly leaves the reader with many unanswered questions.  I assume that was done on purpose, however, as I guess there is another book coming.  I certainly hope so, as the story of Onaedo is not over.  I can’t wait to read more!

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