ISBN- 9781975891213
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Author’s Contact:
Tel: 08034367982
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Ephesians 2:20
DEDICATION
This novel is dedicated to Mr. Chidi David Eberechi. Thank you. Without your support and patience, I would have never achieved my dream.
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Mr. Jake Magnum, who proofread this novel, professor Douglas Winslow Cooper who wrote the foreword, and my lovely and caring mother Nwaiwu Juliana who has been of help to all the widows around her, – without their help this book would never have been completed. I also extend my acknowledgements to Nze Leslie Agugua, Mr. Chidinma Echiebe, and Nkwocha ThankGod for their financial and emotional supports for the success of this novel.
AUTHOR’S BIO
_Fortune Emerence Chinemerem Nwaiwu is a prolific African writer and a clergyman born to the family of Rev. Sampson Nwaiwu in Umuezu Egbeke Etche Rivers State of Nigeria. He has contributed a lot in the fields of literature and religion. Most of his works are satirical and have become a lamentation over injustice, corruption and degradation of human rights in the world. His literary debut is centred on injustice which has acclaimed him the writer for the downtrodden because he uses his literary prowess to speak for the welfare of the masses. In this work, the author gives an in-depth exploration of heart-rending grief and appalling dangers to which widows are generally exposed. He then affirms the rights and existence of widows in a society. He tends to establish peace and equity which a tradition has denied some sect of people especially widows in all over the globe. He then becomes an oracle for the dehumanised widows. After writing “Echoes of the Widows,” the author was emotionally touched on the sufferings of widows generally, he then narrowed the pains and griefs of widows using a fictional setting to underscore their excruciating plight to which the patriarchal society has exposed them. His notable works include: The Weeping Voice: A Basket of Injustice; The Whispering Hope: A Liturgic Compendium of Sermons on Pulpit, The Devil in the Cathedral: A Shadow of Death; Echoes of the Widows; and Tragic Errors of the Christians. He bagged his MA in Applied English Linguistics and is currently working with Rivers State Ministry of Education.
Commentaries
The author has set out to show the terrible injustices heaped upon women who become widows in certain backward areas of the country. Fortune Emerence Chinemerem Nwaiwu deserves much credit for bringing the plight of such widows to the attention of his audience in a novel that is enlightened, enlightening, and engaging. He has written a deeply affecting novel about a miracle that has saved three widows from being burned alive on their husband’s funeral pyre. These women should not, shall not, be forsaken. So, one would pick this up for other than monetary rewards.
Douglas Winslow Cooper, Ph.D.
Writer, Author Coach, Former Harvard University Professor
Walden, NY, USA
This is an interesting story. It teaches us about some early customs among tribal peoples and the reactions of widows who experienced their sad treatment as unjust.
Dr. Marian of First Editing, USA.
This story addresses complex subjects, such as religion over tradition, death, and women's rights—brave, but important subjects indeed! F.E.C. Nwaiwu has an authoritative narrative voice and the sombre situation of Dede Okoro's passing is strongly conveyed. I really like the tone he has used, the sombre telling of a tale with important moral messages.
Frances Reid Rowland of Standout Books, United Kingdom.
This novel details widows’ suffering under their husband and the gender inequality they experience within their marriage and society. Feminism is extremely topical these days, as literature pertaining to the success of the women who have suffered and come through it. One of the themes that is present throughout this novel is desperation. Iheoma feels it at the beginning, Òbia acts out of desperation. The reader is then introduced to Aluonye who is feeling regret over her decision to turn from God in the fear that she will no longer be admitted into heaven. This is a clever use of imagery and it reminds the reader that Òbia has also chosen to turn from God and, as is later revealed, has chosen to break one of, if not the most important of the ten commandments when he plots to have her killed. The implication of this is that Aluonye’s sins are dwarfed by Òbia’s and this gets the reader wondering what is it store for him as a consequence of his actions – in other words, from a purely reader-perspective, it works as an effective curiosity-hook.
However, the book details the events of a village in Africa after they are introduced to Christianity, (for example, Iheoma is the only one in her church that has not married yet and her bond with her husband was formed in the traditional way).
Also, the characterisation of this piece is generally quite effective. The author creates sympathy for both Iheoma and Aluonye in their situations. Criswell comes across as quite a static character, one that doesn’t necessarily have any purpose other than to perform a thematic function.
Lauren Bartz,
Jefferson Franklin Editing, UK.
Widows in the Web of Grief may even inspire many readers who are not devoutly religious. The theme of having faith in extremely negative circumstances is one that any reader can appreciate and be inspired by.
The best stories are those in which the author has written from the heart. It is these kinds of stories that add true value to the world and can truly enrich the lives of those who read them. Widows in the Web of Grief is indeed one of these stories, as there is no question that the author has written in with the intent of improving the lives of its readers.
JAKE MAGNUM
CANADA.
I'm quite intrigued by how Dede Okoro died and, more importantly, why no one was nearby to take care of him at the end of his life. I could feel the pain and grief that he was experiencing as he died. It’s clear that this person is an important member of society. The way his death is described is very florid and elaborate. I find it very interesting that he was both a revered and disliked man in the community, and that his family was apparently oblivious of his death.
Christiana L.
Write my Wrong Editing Services, UK.
As someone who grew up in Africa, I am somewhat aware of the context surrounding the content of this book—but I feel my background actually amplifies the experience of reading this writing. For those readers who have not been initiated in the various traditions, I imagine the book must be quite revelatory. The author is clearly passionate, and his expression is quite evocative—the mood he has established surrounding these circumstances is terrific. He boosts this through the use of sensory description, specifically when it comes to “showing” over “telling.” For example, the author at times describes what and how his characters feel, and in another point, he allows his characters to express themselves through dialogue – this is one area where action boosts the reader’s interaction with characters, and would also establish a sense of intimacy with their concerns. For instance, Iheoma is worried that her husband will now marry all the harems of Dede Okoro, the author tells us what she did to secure her marriage. She meets with Criswell and pleads him to wed her and her husband, Òbia, so that Obia would not be obliged to marry more than one wife. This makes her concern clear, and readers are committed to the characters’ outcomes, and feel quite bonded to their behaviours and internal yearnings. For the author layering in more distinct scenes that include additional dialogue exchanges for the same reason: it allows his reader greater insight into his characters’ perceptions of themselves and one another.
Erin McKnight, New York.
Editor’s Notes
In Widows in the Web of Grief, Fortune Emerence Chinemerem Nwaiwu tells an emotional story about the trials that new widows must undergo in the name of tradition. The author contrasts the ways of yesterday’s traditions with the new beliefs of Christianity - the “new religion” which has begun to spread throughout the widow’s village - very boldly and intelligently, creating a story characterised as much by hope, perseverance, and faith as much as it is by sorrow.
While proofreading this book for its Fortune Nwaiwu, it became very clear to me that he is very enthusiastic and passionate about the religious path he follows. Widows in the Web of Grief has surely taken him a few large steps further down this path, and I am sure it will do the same for many of its readers.
Widows in the Web of Grief may even inspire many readers who are not devoutly religious. The theme of having faith in extremely negative circumstances is one that any reader can appreciate and be inspired by.
The best stories are those in which the author has written from the heart. It is these kinds of stories that add true value to the world and can truly enrich the lives of those who read them. Widows in the Wrreb of Grief is indeed one of these stories, as there is no question that the author has written in with the intent of improving the lives of its readers.
JAKE MAGNUM
CANADA.
FOREWORD
‘My God, my God! Why have you forsaken us?’ Paralleling the words of Jesus Christ when on the cross, the plea of three African widows sentenced to death seemed to go unheard by their God. Just as the psalm from which those words arose, Psalm 22, ends by re-affirming God’s care and protection, so does this powerful novel give its readers hope that God’s will shall be done, and it shall be to the good.
The author has set out to show the terrible injustices heaped upon women who become widows in certain backward areas of the country. As the story unfolds, the reader is struck by the multitude of foolish beliefs held by the members of such communities. One can only hope that education and Christianity can off-set the terrible influence of certain tribal traditions. As such traditions are displaced and replaced, allowance must be made for the impacts of those changes on the lives of those who have been faithful to their early upbringing. Here, a man with four wives must separate from three of them to fulfil his Christian duty, but the remaining three are cast into the base status of widows. In advanced societies, such women are not discriminated against, but in parts of Africa, they still are, and their fates can be horrible.
Fortune Emerence Chinemerem Nwaiwu deserves much credit for bringing the plight of such widows to the attention of his audience in a novel that is enlightened, enlightening, and engaging. These women should not, shall not, be forsaken.
Douglas Winslow Cooper, Ph.D.
Writer, Author Coach, Former Harvard University Professor
Walden, NY, USA
Synopsis
Widows in the Web of Grief explores the psychological pain and trauma women experience in their daily lives after the deaths of their husbands. The most grievous pain that tortures their bitter hearts occurs when they have no children to warm their homes and to care for them in their old age. They are generally the first to be accused of the deaths of their husbands, should the death occur under suspicious circumstances; forced to confess to sins that they might have committed while their husbands were alive; forced to drink libation water, stripped naked, and raped through a ritual cleansing; and locked indoors with the bodies of their dead husbands for days, a deeply traumatic experience that also exposes them to illness. Since society does not listen to the teachings of the clergymen, the author C.E.F. Nwaiwu uses divine power as the deus ex machina to rescue the widows from their cyclical web of unspeakable grief and to drive the people to obey a divine order from the Holy Writ, thereby abolishing their barbaric customs.
This novel centres on three women, Adanma, Nworie and Onyebuenyi, who are abandoned by their husband Dede Okoro, fondly called Fafor, due to unrelenting pressure from the parish priest, Criswell. The clergyman believes that a man ought not to have more than one wife. For Dede Okoro, a new convert, to be enshrined into the Christian faith, he must choose one of his four wives to marry in a white wedding, and divorce the others. Since the parish priest does not know much about the people's culture, Dede Okoro feigns obeisance and then sends his other three wives away to their parents' homes in the early morning. In the people's culture, this indicates that he has not in fact divorced them. Years later, Dede Okoro dies with no one to care for him as his first wife Aluonye has been taken away to an herbalist to cure her illness. The three other widows return home to face the challenges, griefs and pains of widowhood. They are isolated like lepers and become the objects of ridicule in their society. They are subjected to a brutal series of rituals. Their hair is shaved off, and they are forced to drink libation water to purge them of the sins they may have committed when their husband was alive. They are stripped naked, kept indoors with their dead husband’s body, and forced to undergo a humiliating ritual cleansing through sexual abuse, which is believed to exorcise the spirit of the dead from them. But the men who abuse them in the name of this barbaric ritual cleansing reap the doom of madness and death. Òbia, the expected levir, dies in the act of performing the widows’ ritual cleansing while the other men, Aham and Ikem, become mad from the anger of Dede Okoro's spirit. With Òbia dead, the widows are relinquished to marry the nearest kinsman, Chinedu. As Chinedu ventures to pass the night with Onyebuenyi, the youngest widow, he expires. Fear grips the hearts of the people. The next man to inherit the widows as the levirate law demands sees the widows as his deathbed and fears marrying them. He believes the widows should be burnt alive. The widows run away to hide themselves in the sanctuary of God for protection. This religious harlotry is frown upon and is forbidden in the people’s culture. The experts in the custom order that the widows should be immolated. Sam, a station pastor, cannot send the faceless men who make this order away as he is threatened with death. The widows then face prosecution. They are stripped naked, tied up, bundles of firewood are heaped on them, tyres are hung around their necks, and gallons of fuel are poured on them to sacrifice them to the gods of the land. At this point of their despair, they surrender their lives to Christ, and pray for the forgiveness of their sins. They also pray for God to deliver them from their vitiating predicament, since it is in their faith to serve him and denounce the custom for which they are being sentenced for immolation. But the fire prepared for them consumes the twenty-four elders who circle them as witnesses to their deaths, and their lives are spared. This miraculous power of God stuns the hearts of the unbelievers, and each turns to God.
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