The Teller of Secrets

Ghanaian author Adjapon’s fierce feminist coming-of-age debut melds the personal and political amid the violent upheaval of 1970s Ghana. At nine, Esi Agyekum knows plenty of secrets, including her Ghanaian father’s affair, which resulted in a younger half-sibling. She also has four older half-sisters, whom their father berates for their sexual activity, while assuring smart, perceptive Esi that her future will take a different path. These early sections—as Esi reflects on her old life in Lagos, where her Nigerian mother went missing when she was four, and later explores her sexuality during puberty—convincingly express a childlike sensibility, which is especially poignant over a backdrop of a series of military coups (“CIA. KGB. The alphabet people are like spirits. No one sees them or knows who they are, but they know how to find people who don’t like presidents”). As Esi matures, so does her narration, and she outlines not only the secrets she keeps, such as her college boyfriend, but also those that were kept from her, such as her sister Mansa’s history of abuse by her husband, which is eventually revealed in a letter to Esi. Her father’s hypocrisy becomes increasingly striking to Esi as he abruptly shifts from praising Esi’s exceptionalism to encouraging her to marry and settle down: “A woman’s glory is her husband” becomes his mantra, which contrasts with Mansa’s pleas to Esi for help. Sharp, observant, and often bitingly funny, Adjapon’s novel captures a country divided by class, ethnicity, and political loyalty and a character who might have a chance to soar on the winds of social change. This is a winner. (Nov.)