num_pages: 224
description: ...a graceful, touching, ironically titled tale. - John UpdikeA new edition of her classic novel to coincide with the publication of her other works in the African Writers Series. Nnu Ego is a woman devoted to her children, giving them all her energy, all her worldly possessions, indeed, all her life to them -- with the result that she finds herself friendless and alone in middle age. This story of a young mother's struggles in 1950s Lagos is a powerful commentary on polygamy, patriarchy, and women's changing roles in urban Nigeria. 
language: English
title: The Joys of Motherhood
titlecomplete: The Joys of Motherhood
characters: Nnu Ego
genres: Fiction, African Literature, Womens, Literature, Feminism, Nigeria, Classics, Novels, Historical Fiction, Africa
ratings_count: 6989
places: Lagos, Nigeria
publisher: George Braziller