The Other Side of Truth

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I am very sorry, Mr. Solaja. Your wife had no chance. Straight into the heart. The doctor pronounced the verdict in a low purr. I shall inform the authorities—and, if you wish, New Era Hospital? For the post-mortem. One of the main topics in The Other Side of Truth by Beverly Naidoo is family. A family is a close-knit unit that stands for each other even during difficult times. Sade, Femi, and their father are a Nigerian family that faces tribulations but still bonds to the end. The father is a prominent journalist for the opposition, and his role is to expose the ills of corruption and military violence. Unfortunately, the father becomes a wanted man for exposing a major government scandal, and he secretly flees the country. The father sends his two children to England to stay with their uncle. However, Sade and Femi never meet their uncle, and they stay with foster families. The father is later arrested when he arrives in England because he is an illegal immigrant. Despite the separation from his children, the father keeps in touch with his children until the end, when they meet. Naidoo shows readers that a family gives one a sense of belonging and hope. Therefore, the Nigerian family described in the novel manages to bond, despite living in different places. Trauma I particularly enjoyed how the author drew parallels between bullying in British schools and political repression in opressed countries. As our schools become a melting pot of multiculturalism it is important for the younger generations to become acquainted with the wider world and the issues that come with it. Sade lives in Nigeria with her mother (a nurse), her father (a journalist), and her younger brother, Femi. Her father writes articles for the last remaining newspaper in Nigeria that dares to publish the truth about Nigeria's brutal military government.

The Other Side of Truth' is a harrowing account of how the lives of Sade and her brother, Femi, are turned upside down. The story it set during the Autumn of 1995 in the aftermath of Ken Saro-Wiwa's execution in Nigeria for alleged political crimes. Sade's father, a controversial journalist for the Newspaper 'Speak' is determined to unveil the oppressive military regime in Nigeria. In an attempted assassination on his life, his wife is shot in the chest and it is made known that the culprits will return and the family must flee Nigeria. Sade and Femi are sent ahead to London with a shady woman, Mrs Bankole. On arrival in London, the children are abandoned by the Nigerian woman and have to find their own means of living. Walking through the concrete jungle of London the siblings are met with a series of unfortunate events. They are soon swept into care and have to deal with the despair of not knowing if their father is even alive whilst attending a school system which is completely foreign to them and applying for political asylum. year old Sade and her 10 year old brother Femi witness their mother being shot in broad daylight as she throws herself in front of their father when gunmen pull up in a car outside their house in a suburb of Lagos. Their father, Folarin Solaja, is a political journalist who has been openly critical of the military government. It is the time he regularly sets off for work. Their father carries Mama, who is bleeding profusely, into the house. When he lays her on the sofa, they know she is dead. Neighbours rush in to help and call a doctor. When the phone rings shortly afterwards, Sade answers. A man's voice tells her to give Folarin a message: " If we get the family first, what does it matter?" When Uncle Tunde arrives, their father insists that he arrange for the children to be got out of the country immediately, "by any means"….

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Elisa—Princess Lucero-Elisa de Riqueza of Orovalle—has been chosen for Service since the day she was born, when a beam of holy light put a Godstone in her navel. She's a devout reader of holy books and is well-versed in the military strategy text Belleza Guerra, but she has been kept in ignorance of world affairs. With no warning, this fat, self-loathing princess is married off to a distant king and is embroiled in political and spiritual intrigue. War is coming, and perhaps only Elisa's Godstone—and knowledge from the Belleza Guerra—can save them. Elisa uses her untried strategic knowledge to always-good effect. With a character so smart that she doesn't have much to learn, body size is stereotypically substituted for character development. Elisa’s "mountainous" body shrivels away when she spends a month on forced march eating rat, and thus she is a better person. Still, it's wonderfully refreshing to see a heroine using her brain to win a war rather than strapping on a sword and charging into battle. Her name is Mrs. Bankole. She has a British passport with a girl and boy on it—just the right ages for you both—but they aren’t traveling with her. She has agreed to say you are her children—and also to take you to your Uncle Dele. How does The Other Side of Truth explore human dilemmas through Sade and Femi's experiences in London? But this story, the first I have read by Naidoo is also excellent and in some ways the language is more beguiling. Also the cultural hints and stories from Nigeria are there as well as connecting the dots to other military regimes in Africa like Somalia.

These are the opening words of the novel. The story opens with this scene of horrific violence that no schoolgirl should ever have to see or hear or experience. Nothing is known about this family yet except the daughter's name. Therefore, the scene creates no emotional resonance in particular. What this opening succeeds in doing instantly is establishing a setting and milieu. The only contextual information are the words "Lagos, Nigeria" between the chapter number and the chapter title, "Survivors." Since most readers are unlikely to know much detail about that setting, the effect—and possibly purpose—of this scene is to alert them that they are about to read a story where violence is part of the norm. When twelve-year-old Sade's mother is killed, she and her little brother Femi are forced to flee from their home in Nigeria to Britain. They're not allowed to tell anyone - not even their best friends - as their whole journey is secret, dangerous - and illegal. Their dad promises to follow when he can, but once the children arrive in London, things go from bad to worse when they're abandoned by the people they had been told would protect them. The next morning, Sade wakes up with a plan. She asks Femi to meet her at the bus stop after school so they can help Papa. Femi has acted silent and grumpy for days, and now he says he will miss his TV shows if he does not go straight home. Sade shouts at him: Sade and Femi were the protagonists all throughout the book. The children had to leave their own country for their safety. The Nigerian government was the antagonists. At the beginning of the book they killed Sade’s mother and threatened their family.

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When I came to write the first chapter, instead of Sade directly witnessing the shooting, she hears the sounds. As I imagined myself into the situation more fully, that seemed more powerful. We can be profoundly affected by what we don’t directly see - and when imagination takes over. Memory becomes an important theme in the novel as Sade experiences the loss of mother, family, home. I am intrigued to see the note I made to myself in this early synopsis about how the opening scene should be told: ‘sparsely and shown in the form of images imprinted on Sade’s mind.’ I ended up using the technique throughout the novel. The images in Sade’s head play an important part in creating her interior life. What factors should be considered when discussing the empowerment of readers by modern children's books?

Grief burst around them like a pierced boil. All about her, Sade heard people repeat fragments of the story. Mr. Falana, one of their neighbors and also Papa’s editor-in-chief, had heard both the gunshots and the getaway car. In the deathly hush that followed, he had peeped out from his own gate on the other side of the road. Seeing the entrance to the Solaja house wide open, he feared the worst and rushed across, followed by his wife still in her dressing gown. It was he who had helped Papa carry Mama inside. Now he had to hurry away to warn his other staff. Papa was the most outspoken journalist on Speak, one of the weekly newspapers in English, but he might not be the only target. Even before any newspaper headlines, the news would be darting by word and mouth along the pavements, highways and cables of Lagos. When the news reached Mama’s friends at the hospital where she worked, there would be no end of visitors. Suffocated by arms and voices and with the echo of the gunshots still in her head, Sade felt the urge to escape.

A shot. Two shots at the gate in the early morning and a car screeches away down an avenue of palm trees. A tragedy – and a terrible loss for Sade and her younger brother Femi, children of an outspoken Nigerian journalist. Now terror is all around them and they must flee their country. At once. And alone. Plans for their journey have to be hastily arranged. Everything must be done in secret. But once Sade and Femi reach England, they will be safe – won’t they? Beverly Naidoo writes about political and social issues and injustices, showing the reality of what happens in brutal and hostile regimes and creating children who are survivors hoping and fighting for a better future. The Other Side of Truth was silver runner up for the 2000 Nestlé Smarties Book Prize, was named an International Board on Books for Young People Honour Book in 2002, and won the 2002 Jane Addams Children's Book Award. [3] Allusions to historical events [ edit ]