Akuko na Egwu: Music, a Critically Un(der)played Leitmotif in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Storytelling

ABSTRACT:This essay attempts to draw close attention to Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s leitmotif of sound(s), more specifically music. This is a major theme that has perplexingly received such minor scholarly interest, despite its extensive incorporations in Adichie’s storytelling and her signaling, in part through her 2009 TED Talk “The Danger of a Single Story,” that it is one of the cornerstones of her world and works. The huge significance of this critical gap is clearest when one considers the astonishing and still growing body of commentary on Adichie’s other concerns and craft, as even a cursory visit to the “Bibliography” section of Daria Tunca’s impressive, Adichie-tracking website would reveal.