Interview with Cheluchi Onyemelukwe-Onuobia, Author of The Son of The House By SprinNG (Uduak Akpan and Oyindamola Shoola)

Cheluchi Onyemelukwe-Onuobia is the author of the critically acclaimed novel, The Son of the House, published by Penguin Random House South Africa and Parresia Publishers, Nigeria, and forthcoming in 2021 from Durndurn Press in North America, Europa Editions in the UK, and Edizioneo in Italian. It won the Best International Fiction Book Award at the Sharjah International Book Fair in 2019 and was named a Top Ten Fiction Book by Channels Book Club. 

Cheluchi is a lawyer and academic who has done extensive work on health, gender, and other social sector issues. An advocate, she is the founder of CHELD, a nonprofit that does considerable violence against women and girls and mental health. She holds a doctorate in Law from Dalhousie University, Canada and a First-Class degree in Law from the University of Nigeria. Her writing has appeared most recently in The Johannesburg Review of Books and Entropy.

She is currently working on her second novel.

Purchase The Son of the House: The print version will return in stock June of 2021 in Nigeria but the e-book is currently available for N2,000 only on Okadabooks.
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Roving Heights

Okadabooks

Review of The Son of The House

THE INTERVIEW
 
1. In your speech at The Future of Health Conference organized by the Nigeria Health Watch in 2017, you described the story of your interest in health law during the HIV/AID pandemic of the 1980s. With conviction, you talked about finding a scholarship to pursue a doctorate in Health Law, Ethics, and Policy from Dalhousie University, Canada.

• What’s the story of your passion for writing and the decision to write a book?

 
As a child, I was a voracious reader, and I loved stories. I always imagined that I would be a writer before anything. I wrote several short stories and then my first novel at the age of 15, though it was never published. Studying law was a second choice partially because I did not really know how to go about writing as a profession. Law seemed the closest thing to writing, and that’s how I ended up a lawyer. Afterward, during my doctoral studies, I went back to writing, working on several short stories and a novel, even as I worked on my doctoral thesis. 
 
2. Like yourself, we have met individuals who have other professions by the day and are writers at night.

• First, are there any connections between your expertise in Health Law, Ethics, and Policy and your writings?
• Second, how much space does your writing life consume in your career pursuits and personal responsibilities?

 
I don’t think there are any deliberate attempts to link the two. However, I will say that law, particularly in health law, is based on stories, dilemmas, and conflicts. Personal issues related, for example, to old age, which I am writing about in my second book, or reproductive health, which comes up peripherally in The Son of the House, have legal implications, linkages, and consequences.
 
As to the time my writing takes up, amongst other things, I would say it is small, at least by comparison to what I desire. The rest of my life – work, volunteering, mothering, managing a household, other personal pursuits – takes considerably more time than my writing. I keep imagining this will change from year to year, but so far, not yet.
 
3. You are no stranger to winning prizes for your book, The Son of The House. In a brief interview with Channels Television, after winning the 2019’s Shariah Book Fair’s Best International Fiction book, you said, “I am quite surprised, pleasantly so, that I won an award. And I was also surprised to find that I was the only female. I think obviously it is an honor. Especially as a woman, you want to see more and more of us get up there and get these awards.”

• Do you think the lack of women’s representation and recognition in literary spaces results from women not participating enough or putting their foot forward? Or do you think it is because there is a (un)intentional gender bias in the publishing space?

Let me clarify first that I was speaking about that award specifically. That said, I think women are making more strides in writing. Consider for a moment the writing field in Nigeria and the writers that have made it in recent years to international circles. In Nigeria, we also have a growing number of female publishers, including my publisher, Azafi Omoluabi-Agosi. However, there is still room for improvement; women are still playing catch-up in the literary space and the world of prizes. I can hazard any number of reasons why this is the case, and I think the factors you mention all have a role, big and small in this. I am confident that the more some of us succeed, the more our confidence and our voices, and our abilities to open up doors for others will be.
 
4. You won the first SprinNG Women Authors Prize, an award that is intentionally dedicated to solving the lack of women’s representation in the publishing industry.

• What do you think SprinNG and other literary platforms or even national educational bodies can do more to help amplify, promote, and acknowledge the voices of female Nigerian writers?

 
The prize is a most welcome idea, providing a platform of success to female writers across the country, and I applaud SprinNG for conceiving the idea. I think it would be helpful for other literary platforms to consider mentorship programs for female writers, scholarship opportunities to residencies where they can meet and exchange ideas with other writers, and better promotion of work by female writers. We need to include more female representation in the curriculum, from primary schools to secondary schools to higher institutions, to instill confidence in upcoming female writers and broaden our horizons. 
 
5. We talk a lot about acknowledging female Nigerian Writers and giving them their flowers, especially at home. While the fight is still to get more opportunities and awards recognizing female Nigerian writers, we don’t often ask them how they would like to be recognized. Even the chairs of several recognition platforms are hosted by men, lacking female contribution and visions. So, when we created and planned the SprinNG Women Authors Prize, it was important to establish something for women and managed by women.

• What type of success or acknowledgment are you yet to receive as an author that you desire, and what are you doing towards attaining that goal?
• Does this desire differ when you think of it from the perspective of your identity as a female Nigerian Writer?

 
I will be honest and say that this has not been my focus because I am really busy and because I see room for growth in my output, and I have long-term goals that I am working on achieving. I also have to admit that I think of my identity as a Nigerian writer as a positive: I bring perspectives that I think add to the conversation of what it means to be human in the world, and this is informed my unique identity as female, Nigerian, African.
 
6. Still, in your interview with Channels Television, you said, “I faced quite a bit of rejection in the course of my journey to this place. So, it is extremely thrilling for me to be standing here with this award, giving all that I passed through to get this book out to the world.”

• Can you share some of the challenges you experienced bringing this book to life? What gave you hope and the desire to keep pushing?

 
I had many rejections – from agents and publishing houses, including Nigerian publishing houses. It would have been easy to give up on the book, really, given the number of ‘nos’ that I received.  There was little feedback, as is often the case. However, I really believed in the story. When I took time off from work and came back to it with fresh eyes determined to be critical and even dismissive, I found instead that the characters and their stories moved me, spoke to me. And, as someone who has always been first a reader, then a writer, I knew there was something there, something that needed to be shared with the world.  So, I kept chugging on and praying and sending it out until I got accepted by my publishers. The reader's report from Penguin was so amazing that I knew that there would be others out in the world who would love this book too.
 
7. The Son of the House is a story focused on the lives of two Nigerian women from different classes and how their fates intersect when they're kidnapped.

• What inspired that story?
• What do you think is the most important experience you want a reader to have from reading this book, or lesson and why?

 
Real-life inspired the story. I think back to all the young girls and women who served as help when I was growing up and even today, to my mom’s friends and other women I knew growing up, and I see tinges and hues of them swirling through the book. The kernel of it came from a real-life story my mom told me.
 
I would love the reader to experience different places and live inside the world of my characters, which, as it happens, might not be very different from theirs. I explore the themes of class and culture, gender, and desire in a hopefully non-didactic way. The hope is that it speaks to my readers, moves them, and causes them to think.
 
8. Our several identities influence our writing.

• Did your identity as an Igbo woman influence your telling of Julie and Eugene’s story? If yes, how? If no, what personal identities significantly influenced your writing of The Son of The House?

 
My identity as an Igbo woman is front and center in this book. The stories are primarily that of Igbo women living in a certain milieu, with certain understandings. That said, many women from other cultures can relate – the place of singleness, the revered place of marriage, fertility, and infertility, were and in some cases continue to be key life-changing matters.
 
 
9. As part of 2021’s Women History Month’s engagements, you spoke at the International Women’s Day Organized by Comercio Partners. The topic was “Choose to Challenge – Striking a balance and surmounting the Gender Bias: Politics, Workplace, and Home.”

• Would you call yourself a feminist? If yes, since when did you acquire or acknowledge that identity. If no, why not?
• Regardless of being a feminist or not, of all the topics covered in the discussion about women’s equality and progress in our communities, which is the most important to you and why?

 
I have and will always believe in the equality of the sexes. I have always believed that we are all equal and must have similar opportunities to resources, education, power, and leadership to navigate the world to our benefit and advantage. I can’t think of a time when I did not think of this as a child and growing up. My work in health, gender, and other social sector issues bear this conviction.
 
It would be hard for me to choose really amongst the areas, but I have worked extensively on gender-based violence issues, including domestic violence, sexual assault, and rape, and FGM, in part because it gets to the core of inequality, the use of brute force and reliance on grotesque interpretations of culture to subjugate. 
 
10. Let’s get personal. You inspire us a lot. Before getting to know you as a result of the SprinNG Women Authors Prize, the only other person who has made us feel empowered likewise is Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. What we see you doing uniquely is juggling multiple careers and responsibilities in different industries. Your ability to juggle many interests, identities, passions, and responsibilities is impressive.

• How have you managed being a writer, a health lawyer, an advocate, and a mother? What skills, practices, or platforms help you to be most effective at being Cheluchi Onyemelukwe-Onuobia?

 
I long to be all of myself, and I try to work at this. I have always wanted to tell stories for as long as I can remember, so writing and storytelling are essential parts of me. I consider myself blessed by God with a good brain. I love the work that I do as a health lawyer and as an advocate in the areas of gender, mental health, etc. I consider it meaningful so that it’s really not just work. I am ambitious, have always been, so although I don’t love work more than anyone else, and sometimes not as much as others (lol), I like succeeding and proving things to myself. I love my children, and I love being a mother. And, yes, I admit that it can be harder than all the other things combined!
 
So, what does one need? Many of the usual things: self-motivation and encouragement, patience (needed in spades for writers!), some balance (ok, not always successfully), resilience, and God’s help.
 
That said, I have had and continue to enjoy a lot of moral support over the years, from my father, who always acted as I could do anything at all and who supported my academic zeal, to my mother, who is a fierce, resilient being and who pushes me to do the work necessary, to my husband who has given me much support and as I said in the book, dreams even bigger dreams than I do for myself. I have few close friends who love me and support me in so many different ways. As with most people, I have benefited from the success of others and knowing that most goals are attainable.
 
11. SprinNG works with many young writers in several initiatives and collaborations. Many of these writers share experiences of being discouraged from their writing pursuits. Hence, we work tirelessly to create a well-rounded support system and model institution to ensure the success of their voices.

• Going about twenty years back to your much younger self, what was the support to become a writer like then? With this wealth of experience, knowledge, and accomplishments, what do you wish you did differently along the journey?

 
Very important question. Back when I finished my first novel at 15, I wish I had a platform like SprinNG. There were very few outlets to get mentorship, understand the possibilities, or be linked with writers' opportunities. So, I completely applaud what you are doing for younger writers today.
 
I am a believer in making the best of things. In part, because I did not get the support initially, I went in the direction of law, and I am thankful for the impact I have made and continue to desire to make in that area. That said, I am happy that younger writers, with the benefit of the internet, and platforms like SprinNG amongst others, can work harder on their craft, have mentors, be encouraged, be exposed to what others are doing, and push forward in their dreams.
 
12. One of my favorite quotes about purpose is by Caroline Myss. She once said at a SuperSoul interview with Oprah, “You know you are on the right path, here is your clue – you are not put in a position to betray yourself. You don’t betray yourself anymore. You are not put in a position where you feel like you have to negotiate your sense of integrity, which is an act of betrayal - your heart, an act of betrayal. You don’t feel like you gave to compromise who you are. It feels right!” 
 - What is your purpose or mission in this world? Do you think you are on the right path, and how does writing tie into it? 
My purpose in the world is to make every place I touch better, to bring light and compassion. My faith as a Christian strengthens this conviction. I know that I am on the right path in the various spaces I inhabit as a human in this world and not because one always makes the right choices, but because there is always room for growth, for change in a positive direction. My writing aims to share what it means to be human in the world and hopefully entertain while encouraging thought and perhaps even change.
 
13. We hope The Son of the House becomes a book included in school curriculums in Nigeria and abroad.

• Why is The Son of the House different and important? Why should people read it?

 
I like to think that The Son of the House continues a conversation that needs to be had in Nigeria and other contexts – the place of women, the complexities of culture, history, lineage, and where justice lies in these and important questions of class. I really would like more questions asked about class in light of increasing inequality and poverty.  Although these are weighty issues, I think The Son of the House tackles them in a manner that is not simply didactic. It is first a story that hopefully lends itself to feelings, then, perhaps, thinking.
 
14. Tell us about your writing process.

• When you were writing the Son of the House, was it a gradual process? Did you have an idea of the whole plot before you began writing? What was a typical writing day for you when you wrote the book?

 
It was a gradual process. I had to write, like many writers, amidst the juggling of daily life. I wrote some parts early in the morning, some late at night, others in the middle of meetings. I had several rewrites and moving of things here and there. In terms of plot, no.  I hardly ever start with a full plot in mind, but I had an essential idea, which was fleshed out as I moved on.
 
15.The Son of the House won awards.​

• How have these awards contributed to your perspective of self and your potentials as a writer? Would you say these awards have validated or pressured you as an author?  

Receiving awards is an awesome feeling! I love it. A certain validation comes from winning awards or even being shortlisted; the sense that other people thought it is a good book is a nice feeling. Awards also help people pay attention, which is good since it means more books are likely to get out into the world, into the hands of readers. But without awards, I would still write because that has always been my dream and desire. As for pressure, it’s simply not helpful in a profession such as writing; one just has to go with the flow. The only pressure I feel at the moment is the pressure to find time to work on my second book
 
16. It is no secret that a good writer is a good reader.

• What types of books do you enjoy reading? How often do you read? What is the last book by a female Nigerian author that you read?

 
I read almost anything, fiction, non-fiction.  However, I read more literary fiction these days. I read every day, though not as much as I used to or want to – so much to do.
 
The last book I read by a Nigerian female author is Yewande Omotosho’s The Woman Next Door. 
 
17. The book’s ending is a cliffhanger of some sort.​

• Do you know what happens to the characters without spoiling anything, or is it as much an open question to you as it is to the readers? 

I am not sure, though, in imagination, I see several possibilities. Some have suggested a sequel! We will see.
 
18. Is fiction writing something you intend to do for a long time?​

• Is the Son of The House a one-time exploration for you in the genre? 

I am working on my second book. I intend to write for as long as I can.
 
19. The SprinNG Women Authors Prize​

• What does winning the SprinNG Women Authors Prize mean to you and your work? 

It is thrilling to win the SprinNG Women Authors Prize.
 
It means so much that it is a Nigerian prize. As you know, prizes are a great platform for writers looking for their books to be seen amongst the many books out there. I can imagine being the first line of a long list of shortlisted and prize-winning women who go on to do great things in the world with our writing, supported by this platform.
 
20. The Future.

• Ten years from now, how will your biography be different?
  
• What do you want as your writing legacy in Nigerian Literature?

 
I hope to have several more books in my name.
 
One never quite knows what their legacy will be, but I hope that it includes realistic portrayals of what it means to be, live in our world, and maybe even change it for the better.
 
 
About the SprinNG Women Authors Prize: 
The SprinNG Women Authors Prize (#SWAPng) selects a Nigerian Female Author annually - someone who has published a full-length book in print and invests at least N100,000 in purchasing, distributing, and marketing copies of her book nationwide through our sister literary websites and events whom we collaborate with. Cheluchi Onyemelukwe-Onuobia’s debut novel, The Son of the House won the first prize of N200,000.