A Review Of The Book Titled “Better Never Than Late” Authored By Chika Unigwe
Title of the Book: Better Never Than Late
No.of Pages: 108.
Year of Publication: 2020. Author: Chika Unigwe
Reviewer: Bassey Bassey
Get married to a Belgian woman and become a Belgian citizen for life.
That was the survival kit of Gwachi, Godwin and some other males in Chika Uniqwe’s ‘Better Never than Late’.
The book is an anthropology of short stories weaving through the lives of Nigerian migrants in Belgium.
From the lives of Agu and Prosperous to Godwin, each character is interwoven and interrelated by virtue of being a Nigerian on a Belgian soil.
The book narrates ten significant stories captioned thus; Transfiguration of Rapu, Finding Faith, Becoming Prosperous, Everyone Deserves Grace, Better Never than Late, Cunny Man Die Curry Man Bury Am, Cleared for Take off, Love of a Fat Woman, How to Survive a Heat Wave andHeart is where the Home Is.
Each story carries its own twist just like Rapu who was married to Gwachi who was again, married to Hilde, a Belgian woman.
His plan was to secure Belgian citizenship, divorce Hilde and settle in with Rapu, his Nigerian wife. But the end told a different tale.
Oge too, had difficulties in coping with her son’s death in Finding Faith. She was on the verge of losing it all, until she made a decision to go back home to Nigeria, where it all started.
Hers is a heart wrenching story, which ended well on a weird note. Godwin’s fate is not left out either. They were in for a different turn of event.
The author clearly illustrates the fact that all that glitters is not gold. If someone had told Prosperous that she’ll leave her home bred degree in Nigeria and work as a cleaner in faraway Belgium, maybe she would have spat on the person’s face or laughed it off.
Her marriage to Agu was not left out of the woods as well.
In the book, the writer makes brilliant use of imagery and makes the reader feel at home in the imaginary land of Belgium, seeing through the eyes of the Nigerian migrants.
It’s definitely a read for the season. It’s indeed a soothing balm for the mind.
