Dr. Frederick Mordi, winner of the Commonwealth Short Story Award, has released a new novel titled Man Makes a Home. The book, published by Grand Touch Limited, offers a powerful and moving portrayal of the tensions that emerge within families when Christian beliefs conflict with traditional cultural values.
Mr. and Mrs. Okafor, the protagonists, seem an archetype of the ideal couple. Blessed with four beautiful daughters, a steady source of income, and an idyllic marriage, the world is their oyster.
But Mr. Okafor’s failure to produce a male heir to maintain the lineage is an albatross around his neck. His status as an only son—and an only child for that matter—compounds the problem. In traditional African society where the male child is sought-after, the stakes are high.
This keeps bothering Big Mummy—a name everyone calls his mother—and his father’s kinsmen. Citing cultural exigency, they attempt to force upon him, Uju, the village beauty, as second wife—an arrangement antithetical to his inveterate Christian values. Boma, his wife’s best friend, and Bolanle, a socialite, offer a panacea.
Dr. Mordi’s dexterity in the use of African proverbs helps accentuate the gravity of the subject matter of the 137-page novel, which is divided into 15 chapters.
This is his third literary work, which comes on the heels of The Talent Coach, his second novel, and The Familiar Stranger and Other Stories, a collection of short stories. ‘The Senator’s Car,’ one of the stories in the collection, won an award at the Commonwealth Short Story Competition.
Dr. Mordi is a corporate communications practitioner with over two decades of experience cutting across journalism, public relations, government affairs, stakeholder management, change management, and reputation management.
Man Makes a Home will soon be available for purchase in leading physical bookstores across Nigeria, and on digital bookstores such as Amazon, Lulu and Selar.
For more information about the book and the author, please visit www.frederickmordi.com
