What a Godly Privilege to Be Born a Man
by Tabitha Biel Luak
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GENRE: Fiction / African American / General
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BLURB:
This book is inspired by true events.
Chosen from among the mob of her boyfriend's girlfriends, married in the most secure, respectful, and honourable way known to the people, Nyayang Jock, a girl born without a brother, won the race, defeating her top co-girlfriend, Sarah, by being the youngest over Sarah born with brothers. At the least, unlike ninety-nine percent of the girls of her generation and how they were married, it is safe for Nyayang to say she was married for love to Chuol Malual, a businessman who was born into a big, rich family.
Nonetheless, unlike the expectation of her in-laws, the unattended attitude of the nature secretly stabbed Nyayang in the back, leaving her to fail and creating the family Chuol and his family fundamentally paid the forty cows for. After waiting for what seemed like a decade for her to get pregnant, she gave birth to a girl, a thing that only fueled the resultant ager. Taking a long time to get pregnant and only giving birth to a girl when she should have birthed a boy called for a quick search for another wife. For Chuol's parents, this was a search for a working womb, but for Chuol it was just a search for wife number two, which he found hard now that he realized most girls showed many of the characteristics Nyayang had shown; however, eventually all displayed some problem.
But that all changed when he accidentally stumbled upon Sarah again, who instantly restored his manhood. Sarah not only filled Chuol's life with the boys he had been looking for, but she had her chance one more time to not only show Nyayang that it is the woman born with brothers who wins, but that the woman who has the ability to birth boys is the ultimate winner. But values-setting, worth-determining, and love are all weaknesses in society. There is only one true winner, and that is the neighbor, the seasonal enemy, the chaff buyer, the Murlen man.
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EXCERPT TWO:
“Have you thought about what we discussed?” asks Mr. Malual as the two still stand. But Chuol, who is reluctant to discuss this mindboggling matter again, decides to remain quiet.
Mr. Malual gently puts his hand on his son’s shoulder and leads him to the “daddy room.”
Inside the room, the two sit down opposite each other. “Chuol,” his father says, “I’m getting old and your mother is, too. You see, my son, all of these come to pass: fame, girls, all of it. But when a man passes and leaves a family behind, there is a legacy. If I pass away today, I wouldn’t worry because I would know I have you. But what if you were to die today, what would you leave?” The tension in the room can be felt.
“I want you to find the woman of your dreams. But I have one thing to say on that matter.” Chuol glances at his father sharply. “You are walking to the girl’s parents in the daytime and telling them ‘I’m marrying your daughter,’” says his father.
“What?” Chuol jumps to the sky. “Baba, you know I can’t do that, I’m a young man. That is for old people.”
“I don’t care,” his father rebukes him. “What makes you think you have to steal at night?”
“It’s not stealing.” Chuol raises his manly voice and is almost at the point of leaving the room.
“Chuol, you know I’m a very respected man in this community. And I have enough to give in return to the girl’s parents you choose. Don’t try to make me feel small among men.” His father slams the arm of the chair he sits on as he pushes the discussion onto the little man’s throat.
Chuol looks at his father for a moment and remains quiet. “So, are we agreeing on this?” his father demands. His son throws his head aside, for he doesn’t want to acknowledge the way this discussion is going against his will. I’m not going to do this, he thinks to himself while frowning.
To him, life’s freedom is about making decisions on one’s own. Especially when you are this young. Having had ten most sought-after girls as his girlfriends, Chuol cannot not picture himself arriving in front of one girl and explaining in detail that he is marrying her in the daytime. He just cannot not wrap his head around it.
“I’m not ready,” exclaims Chuol. But unfortunately, this beautiful notion is not negotiable. It’s a father’s obligation to be involved in finalizing the legacy of his son.
The father drops his head upon hearing his son deceitfully grabbing at a worn-out branch.
The two go quiet for a minute. “So, when are you going to be ready?” asks Mr. Malual. Chuol still makes it his business to be quiet.
“Okay, then. Let’s open up a different chapter.” Chuol brings back his head after hearing his father say this.
“So, if I’m not banned from asking questions. What kind of women do you prefer? Or attributes, I should say.”
“Baba, I told you I’m not ready. I will let you know what I’m looking for in a woman once I’m ready,” he responds to his father in an irritable voice.
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GUEST POST:
How the Cover of My Book Came About
The cover of my book is a light blue-grey kind of cover with the title placed in the middle. The title is in a descendant position with clouds wandering around. Prior to sending my manuscript for publication, I had always had an image of how the cover should look like and it was always something in grey. I had wanted grey for this specific cover not because grey is in fact is my favourite color, but that, grey had always resonated with the message that is now covered inside this beautiful book cover. I must say first and foremost, the experience of publishing for the very first time was quite amazing. It was a mixture of so many emotions that for me at the very end formed one big emotion. And that was a pure joy.
However, the most rewarding part of publishing this book was surprisingly the thoughts it took to make the cover the way it turned out. This was not in relation with time but rather what message I sudden felt the need to incorporate on its cover. Book covers are important, I came to realize with my book. They are that important for they are the first images readers come to notice. They also convey a deeper or give clues as far as the message inside the books.
If someone briefly looks at my book, what will he or she see? And if I want to add or place an image on its cover, what sort of images will that image evoke on the readers’ minds and how will the images they form as a result make them think? I asked myself those questions. It was because of those question that made me pulled out three of the most thought-provoking images inside this covered message. On the book cover, there is a woman with tears dripping down her cheek. There is a child with water container on her head. There is an old church building build with bricks in a distant from the child. The design came as it is now out of a need to send a message and that is, if all you see is the cover of this book, how will it make you think? How will you interpret the flowing tears of the woman? How will the child carrying the water container resonate with you? How will you stop seeing the church for how it has metaphorically been seen for but for what it has been build for? And so, the cover was born.
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AUTHOR BIO:
Tabitha Biel Luak is a South Sudanese-Canadian author. Tabitha was born in South Sudan, Africa. She relocated to Edmonton, Canada in 2011. Tabitha is a mother of two beautiful girls. She is currently taking her bachelor degree in Psychology. She is very passionate about helping her community grow. She is involved with youth in helping them reconnect to their roots by learning about where they come from. Tabitha is a gospel singer who also writes and sings songs about social issues.
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ReplyDeleteI liked the excerpt.
ReplyDeleteGreat excerpt.
ReplyDelete