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. 
title: joys of motherhood
titlecomplete: joys of motherhood
characters: Nnu Ego
genres: Classics, Feminism, African Literature, Novels, Nigeria, Africa, Historical Fiction, Literature, Fiction, Womens
ratings_count: 6989
places: Nigeria, Lagos
publisher: Heinemann