Across The Gulf by Dul Johnson - The Review

ACROSS THE GULF

It is the time of the Nigerian-Baifran civil war. Ofala who has been enlisted to fight for the Biafran side has finished every traditional rite to marry his heartthrob, Ifunanya. But he doesn't want to wait until after the ceremony before planting his seeds in her. Just as he was about to do so, Okigboli gets hit forcing the lovers to depart. Ofala promises to come back and Ifunanya promises to wait. When the war ends, Ofala does not come with the other survivors of the war and Ifunanya soon gives up hope of his return and gives herself to another man- Janbut, a Nigerian soldier who saved her life and took care of her. It is shortly after this that Ofala returns. Will Ofala go ahead to marry Ifunanya? You'll have to read the novel, "Across the Gulf" written by Dul Johnson to find out.
"Across the Gulf" is a work of fiction about love, war, forgiveness and family bond. It centres around Ofala and Ifunanya whose dreams got altered by fate and the aftermath of this alteration.
Written in simple every day English, the novel is set mainly in the eastern part of Nigeria in a village called Okigboli and partly in the southern part of Plateau State-Langtang. The the novel is fast-paced, suspenseful and so intriguing that once one begins to read it, one would not like to put it down until one is done.

The novel which won the Association of Nigerian Authors' Prize for Prose Fiction in 2017 has 240 pages and was published in 2017 by Sevhage Kikya Enterprises.
Reading through the novel, it is clear to the reader that the author did a good work researching for it. This is seen in the seemingly effortless manner he was able to portray his Igbo characters even though he himself is from Plateau State. By so doing, the author not only succeeded in making his characters portray his messages masterfully but also made them believable.
Also, the reader gets to have a glimpse, albeit temporarily, of the less often talked about Biafran side during the time of the Nigerian civil war with the vivid descriptions of the scenes.
Towards the end of the story is a subtle message of hope for Nigeria which stems from the fact that the ties that binds us as a nation are stronger than what separates us.


Review Compiled by Abigail Abby

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