The Only Son

John Munonye

Pearson Education, 1966 - Fiction - 202 pages

In Munonye's first novel, a widowed mother navigates traditional expectations for Igbo women as she raises her son, who then attends a Western-oriented school and converts to Christianity.

Contents

• Section 1: 1
• Section 2: 8
• Section 3: 18

About the author

John Munonye emerged on the Nigerian literary scene in 1966 with his first novel, The Only Son. Since then, he has published six novels, including Obi (1969), The Oil Man of Obange (1970), A Wreath for the Maidens (1973), and A Dancer of Fortunes, all widely acclaimed by critics for their mature realism and close attention to ironic details of social relationships in the traditional and modern Igbo social environment in which they are set. Born in Akokwa in the Imo State of Nigeria, Munonye studied at Christ the King College, Onitsha, before he enrolled at the University College, Ibadan, where he studied Latin, Greek, and history. After obtaining a diploma in education from the University of London, Munonye joined the Eastern Nigerian Ministry of Education at Enugu as an inspector of education, where he attained the rank of deputy permanent secretary. He later served as the principal of the Advanced Teacher Training College (now Alvan Ikoku College of Education), Owerri. He retired in the early 1970s.

Bibliographic information

• Title: The Only Son; Volume 21 of African writers series, ISSN 0065-4108; H.E.B. paperback
• Author: John Munonye
• Edition: reprint
• Publisher: Pearson Education, 1966
• Original from: the University of California
• Digitized: Dec 10, 2007
• ISBN: 0435900218, 9780435900212
• Length: 202 pages
• Subjects: Fiction / General; Fiction / Literary