Reviewing Yinka, Where is Your Huzband?
Updated: Apr 1
Yinka, Where is Your Huzband? is a laugh out loud romcom. Bringing the cultural elements of a British-Nigerian family who meddles and pressures Yinka into finding a husband asap, this was a joy to read and listen to.
Yinka is 30 and way too old to be single in her family’s eyes. There were times when her family prayed together and the prayers they said when it was for Yinka had me in stitches. You could feel the humiliation/dread while reading Yinka’s thoughts whenever she was anticipating another prayer for her.
I also loved the KPIs Yinka set up for herself in her quest of re-inventing herself and landing a man. Not only were they hilarious, but they reminded me of work where we have to set up KPIs when developing communications plans.
There were a lot of elements in this book that I enjoyed. It was funny, relatable and my favourite part; a flawed protagonist who eventually realizes her self-worth. And the narration by Ronke Adékoluejo was superb as she flawlessly switched between British and Nigerian accents to narrate this great story.
Yinka Where is Your Huzband? is this month’s Penguin Book Club’s pick and I look forward to chatting about it!
Thank you Penguin Random House Canada for the gifted copy and Penguin Random House Audio for the advanced listener’s copy. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Book Description
Meet Yinka: a thirty-something, Oxford-educated, British Nigerian woman with a well-paid job, good friends, and a mother whose constant refrain is "Yinka, where is your huzband?"
Yinka's Nigerian aunties frequently pray for her delivery from singledom, her work friends think she's too traditional (she's saving herself for marriage!), her girlfriends think she needs to get over her ex already, and the men in her life...well, that's a whole other story. But Yinka herself has always believed that true love will find her when the time is right.
Still, when her cousin gets engaged, Yinka commences Operation Find-A-Date for Rachel's Wedding. Aided by a spreadsheet and her best friend, Yinka is determined to succeed. Will Yinka find herself a huzband? And what if the thing she really needs to find is herself?
Yinka, Where is Your Huzband? brilliantly subverts the traditional romantic comedy with an unconventional heroine who bravely asks the questions we all have about love. Wry, acerbic, moving, this is a love story that makes you smile but also makes you think--and explores what it means to find your way between two cultures, both of which are yours.