FOR FASTER ANSWERS, CHECK THESE LINKS BEFORE YOU EMAIL US:

Received an email from us, or wondering if something changed at Smashwords?
Check our 'Site Updates' for the latest news.

Have a question not already answered in the links at left or on our FAQ? Ask it below.

Your E-mail:
Subject:

Location: United States

Member Since: March 22, 2016

Donkeymama

Yetunde: An Ode to My Mother on April 14, 2016

This story is told from the point of view of a 9 month old baby named Yetunde. It is very interesting to see the world from the perspective of this young yet wizened baby. The cultural Yoruba tales are excellent. The main tale is a touching story of the fierceness of a mother's devotion for her daughter. I am a person who speaks English and I started this book knowing no Yoruba words or cultural information. I learned the meanings of a few of the words on sight but I never really figured out how to pronounce them. There are quite a lot of Yoruba words and poetry in the book. All of it is translated into English. I'm glad the author translated the Yoruba words into English. Eventually I just skipped over the Yoruba words. There is a Yoruba alphabet at the end of the book which is a great feature. Unfortunately, I couldn't use the alphabet included because I couldn't figure out the phonetics in it. For example, the author tells us "R pronounced ree as in Rayo". For me as a person who speaks English, Rayo is pronounced "Ray" as in "sun ray". Perhaps phonetic symbols would help. Overall I enjoyed the book though. There the main story sheds light on a universal truth. A mother's love holds great power.