Buchi Emecheta was born of Ibuza parentage near Lagos, Nigeria, and has lived in England since 1962. She is the author of two young adult books and seven novels, including Second-Class Citizen, The Bride Price, The Joys of Motherhood, and The Rape of Shavi, all published by George Braziller.

Double Yoke
by Buchi Emecheta

Paperback, 163 pages

ISBN: 978-0-8076-1128-9
$13.50

Set on the campus of a Nigerian university, Double Yoke tells the story of Nko and Ete Kamba, a young undergraduate couple that must confront the conflicting demands of tradition and modernity. Nko pursues an education despite the resistance and rigid attitudes of those, like her husband, who feel that a woman’s identity is defined through marriage. Her desire for an education severely tests her husband’s love for her, and they both struggle with choices that are neither clear-cut nor perfect. Nko must further contend with unscrupulous professors who attempt to take advantage of her tenuous role as a woman in a male-dominated environment.

In Double Yoke, Emecheta candidly portrays the status of women in emerging African nations and captures the urgency and complexity of the dilemmas they face.

Praise For Buchi Emecheta

“Miss Emecheta’s prose has a shimmer of originality, of English being re-invented....Issues of survival lie inherent in her material and give her tales weight.”
—John Updike, The New Yorker

“The novel’s perspective is a mature feminism sensitive to the struggle of both men and women to free themselves from double standards and hypocrisy.”
—The Washington Post

“For readers interested in what modern-day Africa is like, this unusual novel about university life in Nigeria is a must....Disturbing and fascinating."
—Publishers Weekly