Ada’s Realm (UK) / Ada’s Room (US)
This is one of those novels which may be termed experimental, in that the non-linear plot is challenging to describe in a pithy but easily understood way. But as there have been, and are, many such works of fiction published, which are generally given the term ‘literary’ to indicate that the reader can expect a bit more of a mental workout; then, maybe experimental is not the best descriptive term to use. On reading the book, I was reminded very much of Kate Atkinson’s 2013 novel Life after Life. Just like Atkinson’s wonderful Ursula Todd, Ada is a female who is born time and time again, the difference being Ada is incarnated throughout the ages and over the world’s continents in various times and guises. From poverty in Ghana in the 16th century, to being the computer genius Ada Lovelace in 19th-century London and then as a woman forced into state-authorized prostitution in a German concentration camp in the Second World War – Ada represents all womankind, as a victim and heroine, who struggles against the controlling patriarchal society, and sometimes wins and others suffers the harsh reality of human existence.
While Otoo lacks the literary élan of Kate Atkinson, which is not terribly surprising as this is her first published full-length work of fiction, this remains an engaging read, one which is well written and intelligent. The compartmentalized nature of the narrative makes the book seem like a vaguely connected series of short stories rather than a coherent novel, but it is sound historical fiction that delivers both a political, historical and gender-focused account.
