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In his debut novel, The Only Son, John Munonye sheds a light on how changing cultures under British colonialism inflicted deep personal conflict amongst the everyday people of Igboland.Recently made a widow and single mother to her only child, Chiaku decides to move her family to a small remote village in east-central Nigeria where she hopes to instill in her son the importance of their culture's traditions and, importantly, devotion to the Igbo god Igwe. However, just as Chiaku begins to have hopes of her son's bright future in their religion, a Roman Catholic missionary school opens up in their village. Although wary at first of the school's strange Western ways, Chiaku's son soon finds himself drawn into the teachings of the missionary priests there, sparking a conflict that threatens to split his small family apart...
About the author
John Munonye was a prominent Igbo writer born in Akokwa, Nigeria in 1929.
Raised a Roman Catholic, Munonye was educated at Christ the King College in Onitsha and graduated from the University of Ibadan in 1952 before continuing his education at the Institute of Education, London.
His debut novel,
The Only Son, was published in 1966 and was the twenty-first novel published in the Heinemann African Writers Series. Alongside releasing five more books for the series, he continued to work for the Nigerian Ministry of Education. He left in 1977, deciding to dedicate his time to writing. Munonye died in 1999.
Summary
In his debut novel, The Only Son, John Munonye sheds a light on how changing cultures under British colonialism inflicted deep conflict amongst the everyday people of Igboland.
Recently made a widow and a single mother to her only child, Chiaku decides to move her family to a small remote village in east Nigeria where she hopes to instill in her son the importance of their culture's traditions and a devotion to the Igbo god Igwe. However, just as he begins to show promise in a religious career, a Roman Catholic missionary school opens up in their village. Although wary at first of the school's strange Western ways, Chiaku's son soon finds himself drawn to the teachings of the missionary priests there, sparking a conflict that threatens to split his small family apart...
Foreword
In his debut novel, The Only Son, John Munonye sheds a light on how changing cultures under British colonialism inflicted deep conflict amongst the everyday people of Igboland.
Additional text
Not even Chinua Achebe, a contemporary with the same background and a similar folkloric imagination, paints rural characters with as much sympathy.'
