“[C]losure is something I may never obtain”: (In)consolation in Yewande Omotoso’s An Unusual Grief (2022) and Onyi Nwabineli’s Someday, Maybe (2022)
Both Yewande Omotoso’s An Unusual Grief (2022) and Onyi Nwabineli’s Someday, Maybe (2022) address the shattering effects of grief after the sudden and tragic loss of a loved one to suicide. They tackle “the ugliness” and “the untidiness” of grief and question the possibility of finding any consolati...
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| Language: | English |
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Laboratoire d’Etudes et de Recherches sur le Monde Anglophone (LERMA)
2024-12-01
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| Series: | E-REA |
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| Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/erea/18958 |
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| author | Cédric COURTOIS |
| author_facet | Cédric COURTOIS |
| author_sort | Cédric COURTOIS |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Both Yewande Omotoso’s An Unusual Grief (2022) and Onyi Nwabineli’s Someday, Maybe (2022) address the shattering effects of grief after the sudden and tragic loss of a loved one to suicide. They tackle “the ugliness” and “the untidiness” of grief and question the possibility of finding any consolation in this context. First, I analyse the stakes behind both diasporic writers’ exploration of the shattering “desolation” that grief represents, by delving into the formal elements that enable them to articulate desolation and trauma. I then explore issues related to repairing, caring and consoling in both novels by taking a look at the tears that are shed and the modalities of this time of and for consolation, before I finally take a look at the metaphor of excavation as the main characters search for meaning and, possibly, comfort, after the aforementioned loss. The issue of the (im)possibility of “closure” will be raised as the characters’ excavating endeavour aims to “unravel the mystery” of these deaths, notably through working and writing through loss and grief. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-1ec9ba03adc34f39b64a3ddf01711615 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1638-1718 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | Laboratoire d’Etudes et de Recherches sur le Monde Anglophone (LERMA) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | E-REA |
| spelling | doaj-art-1ec9ba03adc34f39b64a3ddf017116152025-01-09T12:55:13ZengLaboratoire d’Etudes et de Recherches sur le Monde Anglophone (LERMA)E-REA1638-17182024-12-0122110.4000/12xgu“[C]losure is something I may never obtain”: (In)consolation in Yewande Omotoso’s An Unusual Grief (2022) and Onyi Nwabineli’s Someday, Maybe (2022)Cédric COURTOISBoth Yewande Omotoso’s An Unusual Grief (2022) and Onyi Nwabineli’s Someday, Maybe (2022) address the shattering effects of grief after the sudden and tragic loss of a loved one to suicide. They tackle “the ugliness” and “the untidiness” of grief and question the possibility of finding any consolation in this context. First, I analyse the stakes behind both diasporic writers’ exploration of the shattering “desolation” that grief represents, by delving into the formal elements that enable them to articulate desolation and trauma. I then explore issues related to repairing, caring and consoling in both novels by taking a look at the tears that are shed and the modalities of this time of and for consolation, before I finally take a look at the metaphor of excavation as the main characters search for meaning and, possibly, comfort, after the aforementioned loss. The issue of the (im)possibility of “closure” will be raised as the characters’ excavating endeavour aims to “unravel the mystery” of these deaths, notably through working and writing through loss and grief.https://journals.openedition.org/erea/18958traumagriefsuicidetearsclosureconsolation |
| spellingShingle | Cédric COURTOIS “[C]losure is something I may never obtain”: (In)consolation in Yewande Omotoso’s An Unusual Grief (2022) and Onyi Nwabineli’s Someday, Maybe (2022) E-REA trauma grief suicide tears closure consolation |
| title | “[C]losure is something I may never obtain”: (In)consolation in Yewande Omotoso’s An Unusual Grief (2022) and Onyi Nwabineli’s Someday, Maybe (2022) |
| title_full | “[C]losure is something I may never obtain”: (In)consolation in Yewande Omotoso’s An Unusual Grief (2022) and Onyi Nwabineli’s Someday, Maybe (2022) |
| title_fullStr | “[C]losure is something I may never obtain”: (In)consolation in Yewande Omotoso’s An Unusual Grief (2022) and Onyi Nwabineli’s Someday, Maybe (2022) |
| title_full_unstemmed | “[C]losure is something I may never obtain”: (In)consolation in Yewande Omotoso’s An Unusual Grief (2022) and Onyi Nwabineli’s Someday, Maybe (2022) |
| title_short | “[C]losure is something I may never obtain”: (In)consolation in Yewande Omotoso’s An Unusual Grief (2022) and Onyi Nwabineli’s Someday, Maybe (2022) |
| title_sort | c losure is something i may never obtain in consolation in yewande omotoso s an unusual grief 2022 and onyi nwabineli s someday maybe 2022 |
| topic | trauma grief suicide tears closure consolation |
| url | https://journals.openedition.org/erea/18958 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT cedriccourtois closureissomethingimayneverobtaininconsolationinyewandeomotososanunusualgrief2022andonyinwabinelissomedaymaybe2022 |