Second-Class Citizen

Buchi Emecheta · 1944–2017 · Nigeria

Why it matters

Adah leaves Lagos for a cramped, racist London, fighting to write and raise five children while her husband unravels. Emecheta's autobiographical debut is the immigrant half of the story The Joys of Motherhood tells from home.

At a glance

Plain, direct prose; the difficulty is emotional rather than structural.