Emeka Nwakobi
Narrated by a child in vernacular, the first thing that strikes one is the language, easy to read yet a daunting task for the writer, this fit is commendable.
True Happiness, follows the story of a family sinking in the mud of poverty. Their father loses his job because of a layoff, he ought to have put himself together and device a means to survive with his family; instead he takes to drinking. He soon starts staying away from home for months running, completely ignoring his responsibilities to his young family. And his return which surprisingly makes his overburdened wife happy, leaves her with a black-eye and an empty purse.
Their thirteen year old boy, upset by the turn of events in their lives and his inability to make any real difference, discovers from his pastor in church, that there is something greater than a filled belly and a fat bank account; True Happiness. He is perplexed by the concept, and would do just about anything to understand and perhaps find True Happiness. But he soon discovers, that the burden of need, so heavy, so indispensable, will at all times suppress, supersede, if not conquer the need for True Happiness.
Determined to return Mrs. Ogunyemi’s purse, the purse he stole out of old habit, regardless of the huge amount of money inside. As his happiness begin to return, owing to his decision to return the stolen purse first thing in the morning, he walks into a scene where his mother is pleading with the landlord over rent, and decides he is not yet ready for True Happiness.
Traoré unveils with this beautiful piece, the reality of poverty, the root of crime and the role of the family in all of this. One if forced to ask, why it is so common for men to take to drinking and wife battery, as soon as they lose their jobs and hardship sets in. Does this phenomenon have a psychological backing for men or is it just a leverage given them by the society we live? Women are always strong, always there in times like this especially for the children. Does this too, have a psychological backing for women? Whatever be the case, Traoré sends a clear message, serious, yet one cannot take away the humour from it, like banana and its peel, one would have to consume both in this case.
Efua Traoré is a Nigerian writer, and the regional winner of the 2018 Commonwealth Short Story Prize. She is also a recipient of the Glimmer Train Prize for the first 1,000 words of her first novel.