Title: Twin Action
Author: Linus Okechi
Genre: Novella (Faction)
Pages: 189 pages
Cover Price: Not stated
Reviewer: Josef Bel-Molokwu
Twin Action by veteran media icon Linus Okechi is a rare type of novel – at once simple and complex in story line, cosmopolitan and rural in setting, temporal and spiritual in moral tone, and low and high in appeal. It captures the pains of disappointment and the thrills of deserved victory in one swoop.
This exciting novel of true love and high values is rich in attention to details, an example being the full run of the programme for Martha’s betrothal ceremony. That is typical Li (popular appellation of Linus Okechi), at work and in everyday living.
This work is well illustrated, making it easy to ingest and digest by readers of all ages, of all interests and of all levels of education. One other thing that stands-out is that the Prologue and Epilogue are written in verse – quite a refreshing departure from the regular.
Set in the small but significant town of Oghe in Enugu State, the novella is a story of Christian (Catholic) and ‘Traditional’ values, love and rejection and love again, trust and doubt, rural and cosmopolitan lifestyles, Nigerian and English scenarios, all rolled into one piece of easy-to-read and free-flowing narrative. The product is a great reading experience packed into 189 pages which relate life in Oghe and its 10 component villages.
Such cerebral mix can only come from the hand of a master of the pen like Linus Okechi, Sunil Icheko in his days of active editorial prominence.
The story centres round the parish Catechist Jonah Ejike and his wife, their beautiful identical twin daughters Mary and Martha, the town’s traditional ruler Clement Nzekwe and his son Desmond, the crown prince.
The natural consequence of the striking beauty of Mary and Martha was that, sooner than later, inevitably, suitors would seek their hands in marriage. The quizzical element of their existence was their split-image identical nature, so striking that even their parents could not distinguish one for the other. Their inseparability seemed to have compounded issues, stirring up the principal conflict of the story – would one ever get married without the other?
A natural sub-consequence – perhaps the stuff fiction and drama are made of – was: who else but the dashing crown prince could be good enough to seek the hand of one of them in marriage. And this is what happens, ably assisted by the life-long close friendship of Catechist Ejike and King Nzekwe. Alas, there was just one crown prince.
As was conventional in traditional Igbo settings, the betrothal of a young maiden had little to do with her. Her parents and those of the suitor, in particular the fathers, did the wooing and acceptance on her behalf. So, it was assumed by many that a marriage between Crown Prince Desmond and one of Mary and Martha would be a foregone issue. And so it seemed. Catechist Ejike agreed with his bosom friend the traditional ruler. The king settled for Martha. His deciding factor was simply that he liked the name Martha!
All seemed settled until the wedding day, when Martha threw the bombshell, right there at the altar, right before the Bishop who officiated at the wedding that was not to be. Her piercing cry of “No. Nooo! NOOOO!” in response to the marriage vow questions rang out. Her parents were dumbfounded. The community was perplexed.
The series of sequences seems to race after the wedding flop.
Prior to that day several events of significance played out as if to create a status balance between the two families. Crown Prince Desmond had gone to England to study medicine and later switched to law. Ejike had in turn gone to England as well, for a Catechist training programme. King Nzekwe had also built a new palace, which he gloriously named Buckingham Palace – the name of the abode of the English monarchy.
All’s well that ends well, Shakespeare titled one of his works. After the initial disgust and the twins’ plot to scuttle the marriage (apparently for the reason of not wanting to be separated), the Bishop intervenes, and the hopes of marriage are restored. The couple gets married – and did I hear you say: And they lived happily ever after?
Linus Okechi is a highly respected media professional who began his media career in the 1960s with the flagship of Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe’s newspaper group, the West African Pilot. He was feature editor, editor and later editor-in-chief of one of Nigeria’s once top four newspapers, the Daily Star. He was also once Chief Press Secretary to the military governor of the old Anambra State, among several positions.
This novella is proof positive of his supreme command of the English language, and his smoot narration techniques.
Twin Action is bound to be a market success.
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