I would like to find a book, but I have very few clues.

It was written by a woman (I think the author is white) about a young
African woman (the story takes place in Africa, although I do not
remember in which country).  At the beginning of the book the African
woman is quite young, still attending school.  She is being pursued by
the school headmaster, although she does not like him.  She ends up
marrying another man (maybe this was an arranged marriage).

In the first chapter at least, we are introduced to her friends, one of
whom is named Baby, and the other who is called Friday or some day of the
week.  I know that Baby is correct, but I am less sure about the other
friend's name.  One of them is really stupid, and the other one is
disfigured, but quite nice.

The title of the book might have the young woman's name in it, but I am
not sure.

If anybody happens to know the book's title and author of which I am
talking about, please reply.

Thanks

---

Clarification of Question by banchan-ga on 11 Sep 2002 14:54 PDT

to help somewhat, the book was written before 1995 for sure.   thats
when i saw the book...

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Clarification of Question by banchan-ga on 11 Sep 2002 14:54 PDT

also, the author's last name probably begins with an "M" or letters
before or after that.

---

Request for Question Clarification by juggler-ga on 11 Sep 2002 20:06 PDT

Banchan:

Would you happen to remember whether the book was new (or relatively
new) in 1995? If it was a library book, was it in the new books
section? Or is it your impression that the book was relatively old
when you read it?

---

Clarification of Question by banchan-ga on 11 Sep 2002 20:18 PDT

I was under the impression that it was a brand new book at the time. 
I hope this helps you...  :-)

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Clarification of Question by banchan-ga on 11 Sep 2002 20:22 PDT

I saw it at a Barnes and Noble in Berkeley, CA.  Around the time I was
looking for a book by Murakami (that's how I know that the last name
probably begins with an "M").  There was only one copy of the book.  I
didn't buy it that day i saw it, but the next day when I went back, it
was gone.  I didn't think to hold it.

I remember reading it and laughing a lot.  It was quite comic...

I am sorry, I should have included all this info in the original post!

---

Request for Question Clarification by nellie_bly-ga on 12 Sep 2002 13:05 PDT

Hi-

I have found a book that could possibly be the one your are looking
for.
It is "Yoruba Girl Dancing" a first novel by Simi Bedford, published
in 1992 by Viking
 
Here is the Alibris synopsis:

" In the tradition of The Whiteness of Bones, the poignant, funny, and
utterly winning story of an African girl's metamorphasis into an
upper-class English schoolgirl--with an edge. Bedford, who herself
survived leaving Nigeria behind for England, turns her heroine's
passage through the labyrinth of race and culture into a bittersweet
but triumphant odyssey."

I telephoned the bookstore owner and from that conversation I gather
that this book is about a young Nigerian girl who is sent to school in
England.
He flipped through the pages but the name Baby did not catch his eye.

Does this sound like it might be your book?

It is available through my county library system, and I could get hold
of it in a few days. I could then skim it for any other clues, if it
sounds to you like it's worth the effort.

Please let me know.

One other note, this book has a very distinctive and colorful cover of
African art, making it likely one would pick it up while browsing.

---

Clarification of Question by banchan-ga on 12 Sep 2002 14:54 PDT

hi there~

thank you for your help.  i went to amazon and read parts of the first
chapter that they scanned it, but it was not the same book.

i believe that the girl attended school in africa (middle school? 
thereabouts) and she did not go to england.  also, the author is
probably white.  i remember seeing her picture in the back flap.

thank you again!

Hello banchan

Fadimatu, by Jennifer Mitton  Goose Lane (1992) 
is, I believe, the book you're looking for.

I'm pretty sure this is the right novel, even though I haven't been
able to get hold of a copy to check as I'm on the 'wrong' side of the
Atlantic. Since your question expiry date is looming, I thought I'd
better post the answer now though I'd have preferred to confirm some
of the details.

Jennifer Mitton is a white Canadian author who has lived and worked in
Nigeria.

This is part of the synopsis provided by Barnes and Noble:

"Fadimatu, a young Nigerian woman, attends Dowaya Secondary School,
where the uneasy mix of British curriculum and tribal ritual creates
an atmosphere alternately stifling and volatile. Fadimatu rejects the
principal's sexual advances....."

Mitton herself describes it as "an affectionate, darkly comic
testimony of what Chinua Achebe called, The Trouble With Nigeria."

In case you don't want to have the story spoiled by 'reading ahead'I
won't quote  more plot details.

I've made a list of the features which persuaded me that "Fadimatu"
matches your description:

It was published in 1992. 
The author's surname begins with 'M'.
It's said to be "wryly humorous" (publisher), "darkly comic" (author)
and sometimes "hilarious" (Sarah Harvey quoted by Barnes and Noble).
The title is the young woman's name.
Fadimatu has to deal with the headteacher's advances. Later she
marries someone else in an arranged marriage, as you thought.

"First novels as good as this are rare", said a review in 'Quire and
Quill'.  The novel was shortlisted for the F.G.Bressani prize, but it
was also criticised for "cultural bias". (Dieter Riemenschneider
quoted at Barnes and Noble) This accusation may be part of the reason
the novel's been so hard for us to track down. Someone - probably
Mitton herself - claims it was subject to " censorship
from....academics ", see:

http://www.artistsinourmidst.com/kits/a18/artist.htm

On the author's own website you'll find a picture of the cover and
more details about this story of a "string-willed and impulsive young
woman". For example: "Capturing the rhythm of everyday life with an
eye for detail and an ear for the cadences of speech, Mitton has
written an episodic novel which charts a young woman's journey through
a turbulent world of change...."
You'll also find some hints of how the story unfolds so don't click if
you want everything to be a complete surprise:

http://www3.telus.net/nelcyjen/fadimatu.htm

Apart from that, Barnes and Noble have been my main source of
information. You can search for "Fadimatu" and, if you don't scroll
down the page, you won't have to read about how things turn out. You
will, however, get a clear picture of the distinctive cover to jog
your memory:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/index.asp



Other scraps of information about "Fadimatu"

It was reviewed in the Summer 1994 edition of 'Canadian Quarterly',
but the review's not online:

http://www.canlit.ca/archive/cl_141.html

Short biography of the author:

http://www.writersunion.ca/m/mitton.htm

Here's where I got the information about the Bressani prize:

http://www.greatnorthwestbooks.com/b_books/b_LB5bios.html

The ISBN number is 0864921217

There are used copies at:

http://www.alibris.com/


I hope I'm right in thinking this answers your question. If there's
any doubt, of course you must get back to me (using 'request
clarification' and I'll see what I can do. Anyway, I've had a lot of
interest out of researching this, added many books to my 'must read
soon list' and would like to think I've been able to come up with the
right novel for you.

Hope the book seems just as good now as it did then.

Regards - Leli

search notes:
When you first asked the question I searched many African literature
sites, book recommendation lists, course descriptions etc. without
success. I came back to the question recently and decided to try out
an assortment of search term combinations. In the end I got lucky by
searching google with 'novel school comic' plus names of various
countries:

://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=novel++school+comic+nigeria&btnG=Google+Search&meta=

Then, of course, I searched with 'Mitton' and 'Fadimatu' on google and
some bookstore and library databases.

---

Clarification of Answer by leli-ga on 09 Oct 2002 11:26 PDT

Perhaps I should have said that you can buy Fadimatu at Amazon as well
as Barnes and Noble:

http://www.amazon.com

---

Clarification of Answer by leli-ga on 10 Oct 2002 13:23 PDT

Banchan - I'm happy that you're happy - and thank-you for the great
feedback. I really want to read 'Fadimatu' myself now - will have to
order it to be airlifted across the ocean to me!

dear leli,

THANK YOU!  this has been killing me for 7 years.  i dont know how
many hours (DAYS) i have spent on this book search.  if i were to
charge for the number of fruitless hours i spent on the search, it
would have easily gone over the $160 that i am giving to google and to
you.  it has been such a frustrating experience.  i thought i would
die without getting a chance to read this book.  :P  (sounds kind of
silly, but yes, i had thought such thoughts.  but you know, it wouldnt
have been a big deal if i did die like that.  life goes on.  but it's
going to be so much better dying now that i will be able to read it,
dont you think?  ;)

ive ordered it and from what i could see from the links, i am 99% sure
that you have found the book.  so sure that i am going to give you the
5 stars as a rating without having seen the book.  reading about some
of the darker sides of the book (like how the father drops fadimatu's
mom just bc she can't read) and the circumcision, etc ring true to my
memory.  kind of horrific, yet there is a sense of humor...  it is
those sort of books that attract me and im sure that is why i wanted
to buy the book back in 1995.

extra stars given for the excellent link to the web page that had the
following text "One anthologist loved Fadimatu, until she learned that
Jennifer Mitton was not a black Canadian who had lived in Nigeria, but
a white Canadian who had lived in Nigeria."   i am sure that the
writing of fadimatu is to my taste and i am sure im going to love the
book.  as i stated, i can remember laughing aloud in the bookstore
while browsing through the book.

thank you for your patience, for your expertise and especially for the
insightful information relating how you got the answer.  i am VERY
VERY VERY GRATEFUL.  what a wonderful service!  THANK YOU LELI THANK
YOU LELI!!!

did i say thank you yet?   ;)

banchan

Just to let you know --  I'm still working on this banchan.  I'm
waiting for responses from a couple of sources.

Nellie