A Bit Of Difference by Sefi Atta

 Genre: Fiction, Interlink Books; 224 pages.

 EXCERPT

Deola finds it odd that Nigerians go to funerals as if they are social occasions that anyone can gate-crash - they just show up, look sad and leave. She has been to three funerals, all three in Nigeria. The first was her grandfather's. Her mother had to pin her head tie in place. She was that young. The second was for a governor of her secondary school, Queen's College. Her headmistress asked for class representatives and she put her hand up. The funeral was at Ikoyi Cemetery and she attended it in her Sunday uniform and beret. It was terribly hot and people arrived by the busload. The third was her father's funeral at Victoria Court Cemetery and his was just as crowded. Her relatives forced her to dance at the reception following his funeral, but she didn't think that at sixty-seven, he was old enough for her to celebrate his life.

The story is narrated by a Nigerian expatriate lady (Deola) living in London whose job sends her on a trip to Nigeria and gives her a chance to be home for her father's 5-year memorial. She is all too aware of the impending nosiness and questions from  relatives about her unmarried status,being that she is in her late thirties and getting past the 'due' age for marriage. Upon her arrival, she is instantly faced with the vivid difference between the rowdy and complex life in Nigeria and civil, orderly life in London.

Amidst preparations for the memorial, in catching up with her married siblings she senses their despair and unhappiness with their marriages.

There is a sort of happy ending with Deola when her one night stand with rich, charismatic, hotel owner, Wale, leads to a pregnancy and an unexpected romance with the preparations for a marriage.

The book is centered on life amongst the middle class of Nigeria and reveals a few of its hidden, family dynamics. The author's sharp, witty writing and the various rich and sometimes neurotic psychologies and personalities in the novel leaves one turning the pages.

I thoroughly enjoyed and recommend this book.