When Ebun gives birth to her daughter, Eniiyi, on the day they bury her cousin Monife, there is no denying the startling resemblance between the child and the dead woman. So begins the belief, fostered and fanned by the entire family, that Eniiyi is the actual reincarnation of Monife, fated to follow in her footsteps in all ways, including that tragic end.
There is also the matter of the family curse: “No man will call your house his home. And if they try, they will not have peace…” which has been handed down from generation to generation, breaking hearts and causing three generations of abandoned Falodun women to live under the same roof.
When Eniiyi falls in love with the handsome boy she saves from drowning, she can no longer run from her family’s history. As several women in her family have done before, she ill-advisedly seeks answers in older, darker spiritual corners of Lagos, demanding solutions. Is she destined to live out the habitual story of love and heartbreak? Or can she break the pattern once and for all, not only avoiding the spiral that led Monife to her lonely death, but liberating herself from all the family secrets and unspoken traumas that have dogged her steps since before she could remember?
Cursed Daughters by Oyinkan Braithwaite is evocative and compelling, a heady mix of family obligations, sisterhood and superstition. With charismatic characters, Monife and Eniiyi, as the main characters, the narrative blends together the modern and ancient beliefs as generational trauma is carried through until the pattern is broken in this brilliant story.
One of the aspects I like the best is the blend between Monife’s narrative and Eniiyi, as the reader learns the similarities between the pair but also the differences, especially in the ways that Eniiyi tries to break away from the family’s curse and find her own way. I like how both women deal with the family curse and their compelling traits.
If you like stories of family, sisterhood, and drama, with a touch of the supernatural, I think you might like this story. It is evocative and compelling, a blend of the old superstitions and modern ideas with just enough family drama to draw you in. I loved the characters of Monife and Eniiyi, both are incredible.
Rating: 5 out of 5 keepsakes
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