Under the Udala Trees

Published in 2015, Under the Udala Trees by Chinelo Okparanta is historical fiction set during and after the Nigerian Civil War, written in a style of literary realism that incorporates elements of Nigerian folklore. Under the Udala Trees can is also categorized as LGBT+ literature—it won “Best Lesbian Fiction” in the 2016 Lambda Literary Awards.

Plot Summary

Our first-person narrator Ijeoma is a young Igbo girl living in Ojoto during the Nigerian Civil War. After her father Uzo is killed in an air raid, her mother, Adaora, sends Ijeoma to live with a grammar school teacher in Nnewi. Right before she leaves, her childhood friend Chibundu kisses her in an orange tree.

In Nnewi, Ijeoma finds Amina, a Hausa girl, under an udala tree and brings her home to live with the grammar school teacher and his wife. The teenagers work as housegirls and fall in love. One day, the teacher discovers them making love and sends Ijeoma to live with her mother in Aba.

Several months in Aba are devoted to Bible lessons as Adaora tries to exorcise the “demon” of Ijeoma’s sexuality. Eventually, Ijeoma and Amina reunite at the Girls’ Academy, a boarding school.