Jagua Nana

Jagua Nana

Author	Cyprian Ekwensi
Language	English
Genre	Novel
Publisher	Heinemann
Publication date	1961
Publication place	Nigeria
Media type	Print (Paperback)
Pages	192 pp

Jagua Nana is a 1961 novel by Nigerian novelist Cyprian Ekwensi. ^[1] The novel was later republished in 1975 as part of the influential Heinemann African Writers Series.

The novel focuses on the contradictions within the life of an aging sex worker, the title character Jagua Nana. ^[2] The novel is mainly set in the city of Lagos. ^[3] The novel has been compared to works by Charles Dickens, in terms of its moral assessment of the city and city life, and its critique of the social problems faced by people living in those cities. ^{[2] [3]} Critics of the work in the 1980s noted that the novel relies heavily on stereotypical depictions of women, hampering its depiction of life in Africa. ^[1] another International edition was published June 26, 2018.

Plot

Jagua Nana is a story about the life and affairs of a Lagos prostitute in her mid-forties. Jagua, in her pursuit of happiness, takes on a much younger boyfriend whom she offers to send to England to study law with her savings on the condition that they become husband and wife. In other adventures she resolves a bloody war between rival village chiefs and becomes an apparently successful political campaigner on behalf of one of her lovers. In the final stages of the novel she returns to her home village, gives birth to a son, and discovers a cache of money which she intends to use to set herself up as a businesswoman ("merchant queen").

References

1. Onyeoziri-Miller, Gloria (2012). "Intertextuality in Contemporary African Literature: Looking Forward (review)" . Research in African Literatures. 43 (3): 140–141. doi:10.2979/reseafrilite.43.3.140. ISSN   1527-2044. S2CID   161119914.
2. Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi (2008-02-02). "Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie on the joy of reading the late Nigerian novelist Cyprian Ekwensi". The Guardian. Retrieved 2016-05-04.
3. Pr. B. Riche and Pr.M. Bensemanne. "CITY LIFE AND WOMEN IN CYPRIAN EKWENSI'S THE PEOPLE OF THE CITY AND JAGUA NANA" (PDF). Revue Campus (8): 37–47.

Further reading

• OFOR, G.N (April 5, 2014). "A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE PROTAGONISTS NANA AND JAGUA NANA IN EMILE ZOLA'S NANA AND CYPRIAN EKWENSI'S JAGUA NANA". Icheke Journal. Archived from the original on 2016-06-05. Retrieved 2016-05-04.