Ayo Deforge’s Tearless is profoundly perceptive. A good story has the duty to draw us closer to our contemplative selves, particularly regarding those aspects of the human condition that lead to intricate changes in our psychology and shape our worldview.
By Michael Chiedoziem Chukwudera
In Ayo Deforge’s Tearless, the protagonist, Olamide Davies, comes of age and realises what she must do to reconcile her present life with her past in order to live a future unburdened by the trauma that has haunted her. At 24, Olamide is a fully grown adult, and we meet her at the beginning of the story as she is visited by a friend attempting to set her up with another acquaintance. Through this interaction, we gain insight into how she navigates her issues and the subtle yet significant role her past plays in her life.
Her mother has been dead for half her life, having passed away when Olamide was 12. Her father, an abusive patriarch, separated the siblings after her mother’s death and took Olamide’s baby sister to live with an aunt in faraway London. Now a woman old enough to take control of her life, Olamide Davies sets out to mend the fractured relationships in her personal life and that of her siblings. It is as though she is destined to bring healing to the scars inflicted on her family by her mother’s death.
Ayo Deforge’s Tearless is written in the first person, giving the novel an introspective arc as the protagonist relays her story. The narrative is rendered in simple and descriptive English, with infusions of Yoruba and French. The plot alternates between the present and the past, creating an architecture that is integral to Deforge’s storytelling.
The protagonist tries to live her life forward, but she knows that to do so, she must confront her past. Thus, the novel serves as the meeting point between the present, past, and future of Olamide Davies’ life and that of her family members. Throughout her quest, we witness the varied impacts of their family tragedy on their interpersonal relationships, eliciting what we might call unprecedented emotions.
The reader’s sympathy is extended, even to her abusive father, who by the end of the novel, one cannot help wondering what became of him, and noticing that he needed healing too. Olamide Davies on the other hand is a stoic lady. She is very brave because she faces her problems head on, instead of crying or mulling over them, hence the name, “Tearless”.
She also surprisingly allows people into her life quite easily, despite having endured the trauma she has experienced. One consequence of this openness is the serendipity of falling in love with Nico, which leads to a pleasant turn in her life.
The settings of Tearless serve as perfect backdrops for the story she tells, akin to a palette for painting the picture the author seeks to create. Lagos represents the traumatic past, while Paris embodies the love-filled challenges of trying to move forward. The descriptions of Paris in the novel are so vivid that they make the famous city come alive, allowing the reader to feel as though they are truly experiencing life within its pages.
The dichotomy of trauma and romance in the book serves to counterbalance each other effectively. The interracial love between Olamide and Nico further enhances the intersection created by the novel, where different cultures converge. Their love is dreamy, romantic, and feels almost too good to be true.
If this can be regarded as one of the flaws of the novel, it is that the love between Olamide and Nico appears too effortless. Given her traumatic past, it seems likely that someone like Olamide would have pushed Nico away in real life. However, the romantic element of their relationship also serves to counterbalance the challenges she faces, adding a layer of complexity to the narrative.
Ayo Deforge’s Tearless is profoundly perceptive. A good story has the duty to draw us closer to our contemplative selves, particularly regarding those aspects of the human condition that lead to intricate changes in our psychology and shape our worldview. The novel is also inspiring, as it highlights the positivity of choosing to confront one’s problems.
While some have described the novel as a coming-of-age story, it is more accurately characterised as a having-come-of-age narrative. In it, the main character embarks on a journey of self-discovery and trauma resolution.
Its weakness lies in its similarity to many narratives prevalent in the Nigerian literary scene, which has become somewhat notorious for its trauma pornography. But it is also an arbiter of love and romance. Tearless also succeeds in its engineering of plots and settings, with a deeply moving story that at the end has its reader thinking about its characters and the incredible journey of its protagonist.
Michael Chiedoziem Chukwudera is the author of “Loss is an Aftertaste of Memories” and the director of Umuofia Arts and Books Festival. Follow him on Twitter @Chukwuderaedozi