Cheluchi Onyemelukwe-Onuobia's debut novel The Son of the House is a story about gender, trauma & patriarchy
The Son of the House is on the 2021 Scotiabank Giller Prize shortlist
According to Cheluchi Onyemelukwe-Onuobia, debut novel The Son of the House had a long gestation period. Now that the novel is out in the world, the lawyer, academic and writer who divides her time between Lagos and Halifax, says that it is a story that she just had to tell.
The Son of the House is the story of two Nigerian women, the housemaid Nwabulu and the wealthy Julie. The two live very different lives, but when both are kidnapped and forced to spend days together in a dark, tiny room, they connect and keep hope alive through sharing the stories of their lives and finding common ground.
The Son of the House is on the 2021 Scotiabank Giller Prize shortlist. The winner will be announced on Nov. 8, 2021.
Onyemelukwe-Onuobia spoke with CBC Books about how she wrote her debut novel.
How does it feel to be on the 2021 Scotiabank Giller Prize longlist for The Son of the House?
It feels amazing. I didn't expect it at all. It's one of those things where you're completely blown over. I wrote The Son of the House over a period of time. I kept sending it out and it kept getting rejected — so much so that at one point I wasn't thinking about the work anymore. I was like, "Could I just get this out into the world?"
I would say that this was a book that I was definitely going to write one way or the other.
I think all of the trying to get it published has taken away all of that sense of how much work went into it. But I would say that this was a book that I was definitely going to write one way or the other.
In your own words, what is The Son of the House about?
It's a book about two women who come from different backgrounds in Nigeria. They are trying to make a good life, one way or the other. They come from very different circumstances, families and back stories, but there are similarities as well.
The Son of the House features the connected stories of characters Nwabulu and Julie. They are from opposite social and economic classes of Nigerian society but they share a traumatic experience. What was your approach to writing this narrative?
I wrote both character's stories separately but I wrote the story of Nwabulu first. Her story came fully formed. Julie was more of a struggle. Typically, I see my characters clearly in my head, and it's just a matter of having the discipline to write down what I'm visualizing. I'm not somebody that plots ahead of time.
In the novel, the kidnapping of Julie and Nwabulu takes place and there are themes of trauma and abuse. What is your take on telling these stories to a wider, non-African audience?
This is actually something that writers of African descent continue to struggle with — do you write for the white gaze? Some people have argued that some of the books coming out of African countries these days tend to be written with white audiences in mind.
Typically I see my characters clearly in my head, and it's just a matter of having the discipline to write down what I'm visualizing. I'm not somebody that plots ahead of time.
I was extremely deliberate. I'm gratified by the response to this book in Nigeria, in Igboland, where I come from originally. It has resonated with people, it tells things as they are. There's nothing contrived about it. The idea is the language, the context and the experience is something that people can come and engage with.
I was deliberate about writing it the way I would want it to be read rather than thinking about italicizing words or having a glossary at the end of the book.
I wrote it for human beings just like me, regardless of different cultures, different settings. Underneath all of that, we still have the same hopes and dreams — we all want to find love and to be happy.
You mention the journey it took to get the book published. Why was this a story that you absolutely needed to tell?
The novel was inspired by a story that my mom told me when she came to visit me in Halifax about 10 years ago. It was a sad story about something that had happened to someone in my extended family. Elements of this story inspired one of my characters in the book. She reminded me of a child that grew up with us, and I was struggling to remember. Then she shared the background of this child, which is somewhat similar to one of my current characters.
The novel was inspired by a story that my mom told me when she came to visit me in Halifax about 10 years ago.
What struck me — more than how sad the story was, and how badly treated the mother and the woman in the story were — was how surprised my mother was by my reaction. She told me matter-of-factly that it was in culture: "It is what it is."
It occurred to me that this is the life of many women in Nigeria — we still live in a very patriarchal context. There's still a deep level of injustice.
How conscious were you of the theme when writing this novel? The Son of the House explores class, status, patriarchy and more.
I was conscious about telling an entertaining story — one that takes you places outside of yourself, and takes you into the characters' lives.
That's the kind of story I like to read myself. Theme should come to the story in an organic sense. I've been extremely gratified by the reviews that talk about the storytelling because that was something I was particular about. I work in different spaces as a lawyer and teacher. I find that's what makes people think the most, rather than writing that feels like it is carrying a placard.
I was deeply emotionally moved by that story that my mother told me. But I didn't really dissect it philosophically. I wanted, first and foremost, to tell the story. My hope was that the story would carry those things that I wanted to say forward.
Cheluchi Onyemelukwe-Onuobia's comments have been edited for length and clarity.
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