REVIEW ON THE BOOK MRS UNMARRIED

 Title of Book – Mrs Unmarried
 Author-             Chinelo Mgbeadichie
 Genre -              Legal Fiction

Social and Historical context
The book Mrs. Unmarried has its story set in present day Nigerian Society. It is based on the travails of a lonely battered married woman who seeks to find freedom from a marriage that has only brought unhappiness more than it has given her good times. The journey to becoming liberated leaves her at the mercy of a justice system where she is left to prove her innocence.

Synopsis
Friedrich Nietzsche says, “It is not a lack of love, but a lack of friendship that makes unhappy marriages.”
This is evident in the story of Mrs. Unmarried; through the author’s eyes we see the absence of friendship between Ezinne and her husband Chukwuma. Both live as a couple yet are very distant from each other’s lives. They cohabit as is expected of a couple but lack communication that is needed to cement the bond of love between them.
This inadequacy causes both partners to suffer in each other’s hands, from a husband, who already has a distorted opinion of his wife for he sees her as the reason behind the loss of his mother and a wife who bears the brunt of blame and the psychological trauma her husband is too weak to come out to the open to discuss. The ripple effect of this imbalance in the marriage streams into the home as their little daughter is exposed to the battery and instability in the home.
Chukwuma cheats on his wife; Ezinne batters her and works intentionally to relegate her to the position of a doormat wife, who stays home doing absolutely nothing for self empowerment and is too afraid to groom herself into what would have been a very bubbly and alluring young woman.
Ezinne finds comfort knowing she has her daughter to live for and in this hopes for freedom from her abusive marriage. Her prayers come to pass through her kind hearted neighbors the Akinwande’s. They encourage her and are supportive when she is left with no choice than to defend herself in a scuffle between herself and her husband which leaves him badly injured.
At a point in her life when she thinks she has found freedom and is about to begin a new life with friends like Akunna and Chuka. Her past comes calling with Chukwuma her husband, when he takes the only thing of value she would never part with. In the bid to retrieve this one precious gift, she is accused of the murder of her abuser and husband.
In a spiral twist of investigations and supposed accusations, where no one knows the killer, but most believe Ezinne killed her husband. She hopes that justice delayed is not justice denied as only the few who believe her innocence fight to prove it.
Titi Akinwande is one messiah many women suffering in violent marriages need as a benefactor and friend.
Grab a copy of Mrs Unmarried to read a thrilling story of rare Legal Fiction written by a daring writer.

Writing Style
This book is written in a second person narrative style.
This Work of fiction is dedicated to women who have survived domestic violence and are in abusive marriages.

Evaluation
The characters in this book resonate with a familiarity that they live close and are everyday people you and I interact with in our daily living.
The flow of the story is patient and explanatory.
It is the first book of the Author and I think she has made a wise decision of bringing all characters to life and making them a reality to be able to pull off a compelling story.
 The beauty of this story is that it starts off with calm storytelling and heightens in the middle where we begin to see the Author’s depth of legal affairs. She exposes the courtroom to the layman, who has no idea of what courtroom proceedings look like.
Chinelo Mgbeadichie is a daring legal fiction writer, one of the few in the Nigerian literary space who know how to compel a reader to finish her book.
Definitely a book to read!

Review by Francisca Okwulehie.