The short story Birdsong, written by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, is about a Nigerian woman living in Lagos who recounts her love affair with a well-to-do, married Nigerian Businessman.
The protagonist, who works as a community-relations worker for a telecom company, remembers her ill-fated relationship with her lover while stuck in traffic. Also while caught in the gridlock, she grows concerned about a woman sitting in a car next to hers, who is staring at her. She can't help but wonder if the woman in the car next to her is her former lover's wife.
One recurring theme that is buried within the story is the veiled references to the impacts of modernity on Nigerian society. Whether it's references to new lifestyles - the fact that the protagonist is one of two women working in her company, unmarried at 32, and engaged in an affair - and the suggestions that the ways of the past were backwards - references to tribes.
The relationship the protagonist and her lover are engaged in is a product of changing societal pressures in Nigeria. The lover is from the new gentry, pursuing the same lavish lifestyles - mistresses included.
In my opinion, the story's greatest strength is the way the protagonist goes from present to past throughout the story. The narrative flows from the protagonist's experience in the car, to experiences she had with her coworker and friend Chikwado, and the experiences she shared with her lover. The author effortlessly jumps from one setting and memory to the next without making the story feel cumbersome and hard to follow.
The story appeared in the New Yorker, the September 2010 edition. Ngozi Adichie, born in Nigeria, is an accomplished writer whose work has been published in several journals and anthologies, and has also written novels, poems, and a play. She holds a master's degree in creative writing from John Hopkins University. For a more detailed biography of the author, including a full list of publications and awards, visit Ngozi Adichie's website.
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