ZOOLOO’S BOOK TOURS | WHERE THE DEAD BRIDES GATHER

December 18, 2024

ZOOLOO’S BOOK TOURS | WHERE THE DEAD BRIDES GATHER | NUZO ONOH

Hello, today I join ZOOLOO’S book tours again. This time it is to shine a spotlight on the new book by Nuzo Onoh called Where the Dead Brides Gather.

The Book was originally released on 22 OCTOBER 2024 by Titan Books.

I was really excited to read this one as Nuzo Onoh has been on my radar for quite a while and would like to thank both ZOOLOO’S book yours and Titan for the opportunity to read the book.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Bata, an eleven-year-old girl tormented by nightmares, wakes up one night to find herself standing sentinel before her cousin's door. Her skin, hair, and eyes have turned a dazzling white colour, which even the medicine-man can't heal.

Her cousin is to get married the next morning, but only if she can escape the murderous attack of a ghost-bride, who used to be engaged to her groom.

Through the night, Bata battles the vengeful ghost and finally vanquishes it before collapsing. On awakening, she has no recollection of the events. And when the medicine-man tries to exorcise the entities clinging to her body as a result of her supernatural possession, Bata dies on the exorcism mat.

There begins her journey.

She is taken into Ibaja-La, the realm of dead brides, by Mmuọ-Ka-Mmuọ, the ghost-collector of the spirit realm.

There she meets the ghosts of brides from every culture who died tragically before their weddings; both the kind and the malevolent.

Bata is given secret powers to fight the evil ghost-brides before being sent back to the human realm, where she must learn to harness her new abilities as she strives to protect those whom she loves.

REVIEW

Following a near fatal fall, Bata, the ten-year-old girl at the centre of Where The Dead Brides Gather has suffered with terrible nightmares. Her father has taken her to the local medicine man in her village, but this has not helped her dispel the terrors that she experiences when she sleeps.

On the night that Bata’s cousin is due to be married, Bata is possessed by the spirit of the bride sentinel and engages in a fight with a vengeful spirit that is determined to possess her cousin. We soon find out that the spirit was a vengeful bride and that Bata had taken on the mantle of Bride Sentinel. A spiritual being whose sole purpose is to protect brides from becoming possessed from these malicious spirits.

She is then spirited away to Ibaja – La by the seven guardians to receive and hone her powers, where she learns about the magical land of Ibaja – la, the home of the Ghost Brides and how to recognise those with ill intent.

Set sometime in the late seventies, early eighties, this is a fascinating and enthralling read that had me gripped from the first page. Whilst Bata is a ten year old girl, this is not a story for children and Nuzo Onoh uses the child’s perspectives brilliantly to highlight the social and political cultures of a Nigerian village of the time and how different cultures, perspective and religions clash.

Throughout the book, Nuzo Onoh captures the child’s helplessness of the situations that she finds herself in, and we see the impact that some of her decisions have on those around her and how others impose their will on her.

The plot moves along at a good pace. It slows down a little when Bata enters the Ibaja – La, but we soon learn that this is the calm before the storm. In addition, the plot never goes the way that you would expect it, and this proves to be one of the books greater strengths as Nuzo Onoh stays away from the tropes that you would generally find in this type of book and takes it in very unexpected directions.

Where the Dead Brides Gather is an engrossing read from start to finish and is well worth a read.