Don’t Answer When They Call Your Name by Ukamaka Olisakwe

The intentionality of the characters and the tradition-teaching made the whole reading experience thoroughly enjoyable

Don’t come out until I say so. Don’t answer if anyone calls your name. Even if you are dying or want to pee or move your bowels, you must do it inside this room…

Synopsis

A grave sin has been committed, an original sin, and the children must atone for the sin of the mother (Big Mother) against the father (Big Father) by sacrificing an Aja every ten years for their streams to flow again.

When the streams dry up, an Aja is needed to enter the unknown. The Aja is selected by the Eze Nwanyi, who is led by the spirit of the Big Father. Ada, the only child of her parents, whose father died two years earlier, is chosen to go into the unknown.

No Ajah has ever returned from this journey.

Themes

The major themes explored in this book include:

• Family
• Sibling love
• Patriarchy
• Oral tradition
• Resilience
• Magic and myth
• Faith and hope

I particularly enjoyed reading Don’t Answer When They Call Your Name. In fact, I had the time of my life reading it. I think I enjoyed it more than Ogadinma, perhaps because this was a lighter read regarding the themes.

What Olisakwe did in this book was show us how people demonize women when marriages fall apart. Big Father failed to honor his promise to Big Mother; in fact, he had no intention of doing it in the first place. He deceived her, used her, and didn’t expect her to be upset. He wanted to subdue her, believing that allowing her to farm yams would emasculate him and make her his equal.

Big Mother got upset, took matters into her own hands, and was demonized in stories. Centuries later, Big Father was projected as the savior, with Big Mother demoted to being the evil person who brought curses upon her children.

Patriarchy empowers men in a way that makes them feel superior and also makes them want to maintain that superiority. When their masculinity is threatened, their best defense is to subdue the threat. This reflects real-life relationships and is important to discourses about patriarchy, social expectations, and narratives.

Another thing I enjoyed about Don’t Answer When They Call Your Name was how pets were represented. Ada named a dog Obi and constantly corrected people who referred to it as simply dog. She would say, “he is my brother, not a dog.” Obi was close to her and treated as a part of her, someone she adored, and in turn, Obi reciprocated her affection with unwavering loyalty.

When people feel like a part of you, they will always stand with you.

I also loved how the author used Igbo words without italicizing or explaining their meaning. It was unapologetically done, and I loved it. The intentionality of the characters and the tradition-teaching made the whole reading experience thoroughly enjoyable.

Final Thoughts

I love everything about this book, including the language, setting, representation, myth, and mystery. The old Nollywood movies, particularly the epic ones, have never failed to thrill me, and Don’t Answer When They Call Your Name was reminiscent of timeless classics like Kòtò Ayé and Ṣaworo Idẹ. I believe the book would make for a very good movie.

Finally, there are important lessons to learn from Don’t Answer When They Call Your Name. This is the kind of book you must read to understand, and you can’t talk about it without spoilers.

I’d like to warn you that this book is either an instant love or hate. You either enjoy myth, storytelling, and epic movies, or you don’t! I don’t think there are any in-betweens.

P.S. Many thanks to Ukamaka OIisakwe for the gift of a review copy. The cover is awesome!