Strout, Aguda Novels Probe 2 Women's Sadness and Unintended Pregnancy
Updated
Updated · NPR · May 13
Strout, Aguda Novels Probe 2 Women's Sadness and Unintended Pregnancy
6 articles · Updated · NPR · May 13
'Pemi Aguda's "One Leg on Earth" follows a young woman in Nigeria confronting an unintended pregnancy, with the review casting the novel as lonely and enchanting.
Elizabeth Strout's "The Things We Never Say" centers on a high school teacher living a secret life of sadness, extending the review's focus on private emotional strain.
Together, the two new novels are framed as intimate studies of isolation, with pregnancy and hidden grief driving their emotional stakes.
What happens when the quiet, secret life of Elizabeth Strout's new hero is finally brought into the light?
Is a supernatural force or urban development the true monster in 'Pemi Aguda's celebrated debut novel?