If a multi-generational curse, superstitious Nigerian folk traditions and a crumbling old house aren’t enough to get your book club talking, I don’t know what will. Cursed Daughters asks whether curses are real or just a self-fulfilling prophesy fueled by poor decision making. Additional themes feature the price of keeping secrets, whether you’re able to escape generational legacy, and the high price that women often pay for love.
That’s a lot! Use these book club questions for Cursed Daughters to help you figure out where to start the conversation and how to keep it going. This discussion guide includes a synopsis, 10 book club questions and some selected reviews (spoiler, not everyone loved it). But if you did love it, I’ve also got some suggestions for related reads, either for your book group or just for yourself.
(This article contains affiliate links. This means that if you choose to purchase, I’ll make a small commission.)
Cursed Daughters Synopsis
(We always chose to provide the publisher synopsis because we feel that it’s worthwhile to discuss whether the official book description actually squared with your experience of the book.)
Cursed Daughters, Oyinkan Braithwaite
When Ebun gives birth to her daughter, Eniiyi, on the day they bury her cousin Monife, there is no denying the startling resemblance between the child and the dead woman. So begins the belief, fostered and fanned by the entire family, that Eniiyi is the actual reincarnation of Monife, fated to follow in her footsteps in all ways, including that tragic end.
There is also the matter of the family curse: “No man will call your house his home. And if they try, they will not have peace…” which has been handed down from generation to generation, breaking hearts and causing three generations of abandoned Falodun women to live under the same roof.
When Eniiyi falls in love with the handsome boy she saves from drowning, she can no longer run from her family’s history. As several women in her family have done before, she ill-advisedly seeks answers in older, darker spiritual corners of Lagos, demanding solutions. Is she destined to live out the habitual story of love and heartbreak? Or can she break the pattern once and for all, not only avoiding the spiral that led Monife to her lonely death, but liberating herself from all the family secrets and unspoken traumas that have dogged her steps since before she could remember?
Cursed Daughters is a brilliant cocktail of modernity and superstition, vibrant humor and hard-won wisdom, romantic love and familial obligation. With its unforgettable cast of characters, it asks us what it means to be given a second chance and how to live both wisely and well with what we’ve been given.
10 Book Club Questions for Cursed Daughters
- It all starts with The Curse– ”No man will call your house home. And if they try, they will not have peace. Your daughters are cursed. They will pursue men— but the men will be like water in their palms”[…]”Your daughters, your daughters daughters and all women will suffer for man’s sake”[…]
The central question of the book asks whether the curse itself was destiny, or whether the women cursed themselves with poor decision making and familial pressure? What do you think?
- Ebun responds to the curse saying “I don’t believe in curses”. Mo responds “that’s fine, but what if the curse believes in you?”
This is another way to consider the question of the curse. Do you believe in them? Is there one that believes in you? - And in yet a third take, Injiiyi wonders if the curse isn’t simply epigenics in action; generational trauma so deeply coded that it forces the women to make bad choices. Do you agree?
- The Falodun family tree at the beginning of the book simply X’s out much of the male parentage. What was the author saying by presenting the genealogy that way?
- Talk about “Sango the immortal”. During the Enjiiyi timeline, he’s 30 years old! Was Braithwaite injecting a bit of magical realism? How did the immortal dog further the storyline?
- The book features a lot of superstitious cultural traditions, especially with Mama G. Is she a true spiritualist or a con?
- Considering that it’s a legal given in the US, perhaps you were asking yourself, “where’s the child support?” Nigeria ratified the Child Rights Act only in 2003 which, among other things, requires parents to support their children. So, in theory, it would have only been in place for Enjiiyi.
With the exception of Kemi, the prior generations didn’t press for any sort of support, monetary or otherwise. Surely even when Bunmi lived in London, she would have had some recourse. Discuss those choices and how it impacted Ebun, Monica and Enjiiyi. - Ebun has a lot to answer for. She encouraged Monica to have an abortion and then couldn’t do it herself. After Monica’s suicide, she tried to shut the door on that tragedy, refusing to discuss it. And she also kept Enjiiyi’s father a secret, even though he would have been willing to help out.
Why did Ebun make these choices? Are they excusable? - Talk about the six-roomed house. What began as a refuge for the cursed women, fell apart by the third generation, becoming a leaky marooned albatross. Was the house a character? Was it a metaphor?
- Mo, thinking about the curse and her forebears muses that “But surely she wasn’t making the same mistakes. Those women has chosen the wrong partners for the wrong reasons. This was different”
Was it? Talk about Monica and Golden Boy’s relationship. Was it doomed from the beginning? What might you have done differently?
Selected Reviews for Cursed Daughters
“The background of Lagos is beautifully rendered from the tribal frictions through to the modern city with an undertow of superstition – and the use of an African local mythology in the epilogue was an unexpected delight that changes the story we thought we knew.”
“Only once, at the very end, does a side character call out his female relatives about their obsession with the curse – or rather, he points out how rather than being about keeping the family’s women from finding happiness with a man, the curse seems to be about them being doomed to obsess over men[…] As another reviewer put it, none of these women have friendships, interests or even familial love. All of these characters seemed so empty, completely dominated by some overblown obsession with random guys. Again, this is probably what the “curse” is all about, but to not even acknowledge this? I think because of all this, I found the stakes of the story to be very low and didn’t really care about any of the characters at all.”
“Ms. Braithwaite’s prose is lyrical and beautifully engaging making this book unputdownable. She weaves indigenous beliefs with modern youthful skepticism, always bounded by familial love and wisdom. Eniiyi is a complicated protagonist, because her birth is believed to be a reincarnation of her Aunt who died the same day she was born, hmmm? Is that possible? Ms. Brathwaite skillfully builds this novel in a non-linear manner jumping back and forth in time and shifting the perspective between generations all the while balancing tensions and imbuing the characters with real life emotions! This is very clearly a 5⭐️ effort.”
“Ebun sucks, flat out. And all of the women in her family were so cold to each other all the time that I just didn’t like anything about their dynamic. It really came across as toxic and miserable, with practically no redeeming qualities. I loved the dog consistently being there for all three storylines, though. And the question of Reincarnation was interesting.”
What to Read Next
The following recommendations link to my book club guides. There’s a non-spoiler synopsis toward the top of each along with a Amazon link for pricing and reviews.
For more female-centric stories involving curses, try the Covenant of Water, The Many Daughters of Afong Moy, or The Unmaking of June Farrow. If it’s messed-up family secrets you want, try Broken Country, Buckeye or Hang the Moon.
And here are a few more ideas for you:
Americanah, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
This is a great pick if you want more of Lagos, Nigeria and complicated romantic relationships.
Ifemelu and Obinze were young, dumb and in love, but they had to emigrate out of Nigeria during a military dictatorship. Ifemelu emigrates to the United States while Obinze ends up in London. They later reconnect back in Lagos. And while this story is partly about their reconnection, it’s also an interesting commentary on what it means to be an “American African” rather than an “African American”.
Here’s a discussion guide for Americanah.
The Seven Daughters of Dupree, Nikesha Elise Williams
These cursed daughters are also dealing with multi-generational secrets. For generations, the Dupree women have only given birth to daughters. in 1995 Tati is determined to discover the identity of her father, but her mother Nadia isn’t talking. Grandmother Gladys is also keeping some serious secrets and Tati uncovers a well of both pain and resilience.
Akata Witch, Nnedi Okorafor
If you liked the superstitious elements in Cursed Daughters, then try Akata Witch. Sunny was born in the US but relocated to Nigeria for her father’s work. If that doesn’t make her an outlier, her albinism certainly does. Then she discovers that she has innate magical powers. She’s a member of the Leopard People, a subset of humans who have strong links to the spirit world. The book draws heavily on Nigerian folk beliefs and myths.
Recent Fiction Guides for Jenna’s Book Club Pics
Buckeye Book Club Questions & Discuss Guide
The Names Book Club Questions and Discussion Guide
Heartwood Book Club Questions and Discussion Guide
The Husbands Book Club Questions and Discussion Guide
