Ties that Tether By by Jane Igharo (Review by Karina Kaushal)

This was an engaging romantic novel about an interracial couple facing family pressure to marry within their culture. The story is told from the point of view of a Nigerian woman, Azere, who falls in love with a Spanish man, Rafael, despite trying her best to please her mother and avoid her feelings toward him. As a first generation Canadian, the cultural expectations were so relatable even though I’m not Nigerian. I recognized so many parallels between Nigerians and Indians. Azere’s determination to please her parents was so unnerving, I wanted nothing more than for her to come to her senses. If you can understand that compromise is necessary for any relationship to work, the book forces you to look at culture differences as nothing more than a matter of compromise. It also shows that even among people of the same culture, values can be vastly different. I was fascinated to learn so much about the Nigerian culture and was impressed by the author’s ability to show that some people truly belong together despite their backgrounds and visible differences. I recommend this to anyone who enjoys a heart-warming love story.