The Other Side of Truth
Brad Tan
The novel The Other Side of Truth was written by Beverly Naidoo. It is based on the execution of Ken Saro-Wiwa, a journalist who is writing against the government’s reluctance to protect Nigeria due to corruption. An interesting character in this novel is Sade
Solaja. Sade is an interesting character because she is only young but has had to learn to cope with the loss of her mother and the break up of her family, and so she is a brave and inspiring character.
Sade’s actions make her an interesting character in the novel. The actions start at the beginning of the novel when she is very sad and confused as she struggles after her mother is killed by the Nigerian government. She has to learn that not all people are good with the changing and violent world around her.
“she wanted to rush and grab hold of Mama, squeeze breath back into her-before it was too late” This shows how hard it is to come to terms with her mother’s death and she just hopes that she can save her mum.
Sade’s relationship with her brother is also an interesting point. Sade has to grow up quickly from this and other terrible experiences. She is protective of her brother and shoulders the responsibility of taking care of him. This change in Sade is shown when she is at the airport and about to flee Nigeria to the supposed safety of England. Femi, her brother, does not want to go, “leave me alone” he says, but Sade is able to convince her brother that they must go or die in Nigeria
“Femi couldn’t take it any more… Sade followed him as if to protect him from further attack.” The way that Sade changes and develops throughout the novel is interesting too. She and
Femi go through a series of challenges trying to survive in a strange place with no one to trust. “The truth is the truth. How can I write what’s untrue?” That is what her father always says.
However, in order to survive, she is forced to tell lies as well which is contrary to what her parents used to teach