DAUGHTERS OF SWALLOW REVIEW

By the end of the last chapter of the novel, the reader would get a clearer understanding of what true friendship or commitment is- where one can literally sacrifice everything to save another person and how the past could help make or unmake the future.

When Afosua was sidelined during a meeting with the Swedes, her curiousity heightened as that wasn’t the promise her employers made her when she joined Phillips & Boakye, a start- up in the financial field in Ghana with specialty in providing actuary services and data analysis to a host of clients. A closer look at the ‘fine accounts’ showed something didn’t add up. 

However, it was the ‘don’t touch this account’ caution by Harold Boakye that set her on a roll to investigate what was amiss, albeit the danger such investigation could arouse.

Daughters of Swallow revolves around three female characters-Afosua, Annette Fawaz and Naa Akweley Blankson- and captures their struggles and stark secrets which the three have conveniently tugged away with brilliance. 

When Afosua, a managing partner at Phillips & Boakye, came back to Ghana after her studies in the United Kingdom, she buried herself in her work as data analyst. Despite her abrasive demeanor, she carried an empathetic and loving heart; one which has been shut from the world courtesy a bad experience during her student days.

Naa Akweley is the humble, respectful wife of a revered man of God who is living a lie. Her home is not a sanctuary of love as she tries to project. Rather a den of gross abuse and infidelity. Her husband’s high handedness had turned her into a hideous, unforgiving woman.

When she was taken away at age of thirteen after her dad failed to honour a debt owned a business partner, Annette Fawaz became the ‘slave wife’ of Mr. Kwame Prah, a shrewd businessman with a ruthless persona. To buy her freedom she had to fight and she needed a thick backbone to survive.

The novel explored the themes of racism; of abuse; of infidelity and gayism. Here, the racial conflict was not between the typical caucasian and a black fellow. It was between the family of Ahmed, an Algerian (Arab) and a black skinned Ghanaian lady, Afosua. This bit of tension between these two classes has not really been explored much by novelists.

One interesting feature about this novel is the disregard of self censorship when describing sexual episodes. The author presented sex scenes in vivid terms devoid of the usual self censorship. In most situations, writers of novels especially those with African roots are excessively careful and tend to self censor their writings on the subject of sex. Malaka didn’t. She wrote it the way it must be as captured in page 94: 

‘’With his free hand, he removed his penis from his trousers and pushed Annette’s head towards his lap. She began to suck it robotically. Mr. Prah leaned back and groaned, leaving Annette’s mouth full of semen and her tears’’.

The starring of an all women cast I suppose was a deliberate move by the author to showcase the power or strength buried within the breast of women, not to only stand abuse but rise above it. Both women- Akosua, Naa Akweley, Annette- had to exhibit great resilience to survive in a fierce patriarchal world where female subjugation is ‘OKed’. Her choice of main characters I surmise had to do with her feminist leanings (she’ll disagree).

 For me it was the free flowing narrative and the sheer readability of the novel with the issues raised by the author, Malaka that makes Daughters of Swallow such an interesting, delectable read. But be warned that once you start with the first chapter, you will be gripped till the last leaf of the 273 page novel.

Grab a copy of the book at www.amazon.com.