GADSEN, Ala., Sept. 7, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- A family is supposed to provide a place where a child can feel constantly safe and loved. However, as the last child of a wayward marriage, Safia feels less than welcome in her father's preferred family. Kosi J. Avotri, M.D., and Nella P. Avotri explore the trials of broken families and cultural tradition in the new novel, "Child of Polygamy" (now available through AuthorHouse).
Set in the Volta region of Ghana in West Africa, the novel follows the trials of Safia, the youngest daughter of her father, who has two wives and 12 children. Her first 11 years are spent in relative peace living in the house of her maternal grandfather, Mededu. In her rural surroundings, she learns the ways of traditional culture and religion while bearing witness to the events in Mededu's life.
Her peace is shattered after she turns 11. As a result of her mother's illness, Safia is sent to spend the next four years in her father's house with her stepmother and half siblings. This new life is completely foreign to Safia, and it is evident early on that she is not welcome here. She experiences conflict with her half sister, Vena, who hates Safia's mother. The older girl's motives are driven by evil and spite, and Safia endures significant isolation and humiliation at her hands. Safia must learn to deal with her half sister's behavior if she is ever to know the peace of her childhood again.
A thought-provoking animation of African culture and family, "Child of Polygamy" is an intelligent novel that explores the effects of both tradition in the modern world and the influence of Christianity on the African continent.
Born and raised in Ghana, Kosi J. Avotri was trained at the University of Ghana Medical School. He now practices pediatrics in Gadsen, Ala. His residency and fellowship have taken him throughout the United States, and Kosi has lived in Connecticut, Michigan, New York, and Ohio.
His wife, Nella P. Avotri, also hails from Ghana. She is a stay-at-home mother raising three teenagers. "Child of Polygamy" is their first novel. For more information, visit their web site at www.avotribooks.com.
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