Obi

A classic novel about love, faith and the clash between tradition and modernity, Obi follows an educated Christian couple whose dream of building a home founders under communal pressure to have a family – forcing painful choices between tribal customs, church doctrine and Western medicine. Obi tells the powerful story of Joe and Anna, an educated Christian couple who leave the city to build their homestead – an obi – with the savings they have worked hard to earn. Though devoted to each other, they soon face mounting pressure from Joe’s family to produce a child, and after three years of marriage Anna is still unable to conceive. Torn between faith, tradition and modern medicine, Joe escorts his wife first to a witch-doctor and then to hospital treatment in search of a cure. In this quietly compelling novel, Munonye explores how tribal expectations, religious beliefs and modern aspirations collide, exposing the deep strains placed upon love, identity and marriage.Discover more from the APOLLO AFRICA series: the new home for 100 timeless works from the legendary Heinemann African Writers Series.