About the book: (from Penguin Books South Africa)
Riotously funny and full of heart, Yinka is the heroine we’ve all been waiting for… Set to be the biggest word-of-mouth hit in Spring 2022
Yinka wants to find love. Her mum wants to find it for her.
She also has too many aunties who frequently pray for her delivery from singledom, a preference for chicken and chips over traditional Nigerian food, and a bum she’s sure is far too small as a result. Oh, and the fact that she’s a thirty-one-year-old South-Londoner who doesn’t believe in sex before marriage is a bit of an obstacle too…
When her cousin gets engaged, Yinka commences ‘Operation Find A Date for Rachel’s Wedding’. Armed with a totally flawless, incredibly specific plan, will Yinka find herself a huzband?
What if the thing she really needs to find is herself?
My thoughts:
My knee-jerk reaction was to compare this book with Nikki May’s Wahala – because, in broad strokes, it involves the interaction with a group of British-Nigerian female friends in London, as they navigate real-life, relationships, and traditions.
That is basically where the comparison stops though, as I was getting into the book. It is very much centred around our main character, Yinka Oladeji, a thirty-something (thirsty-ONE she will remind you) who have to deal with the constant and unrelenting pressure from her mother, amongst others, to be “delivered” from singledom. Also, she decides to ‘put herself out there’ to find a date to her cousin’s wedding. And not just a date, possibly a husband. The often unrealistic pressures of cultures and traditions (and meddling aunties), being a woman of colour and also the fact that, if things goes off the rails, it often does so properly – was beautifully and vibrantly depicted. It also begs the question: ‘how much of yourself will you give up to find your happy ever after’? I found “Yinka” a bit of a contradiction of itself in some places, but in general, I quite enjoyed reading this!
Thank you to Penguin Books SA for the opportunity to read this book, in exchange for an honest review.
Read an extract here: Extract: Yinka, Where is your Huzband? by Lizzie Damilola Blackburn Penguin Random House South Africa
