12/05/2026
Review of Sally sadie Singhateh's "The Sun Will Soon Shine"
Review by Kebba S. Juwara
At first, The Sun Will Soon Shine appears as a normal female-authored novel on purely feminism issues. However, when one continues reading with an open mind, you come to discover that the central theme of the book is neither feminism nor patriarchy. Admittedly, feminism issues cannot be disregarded. However, the book's most enduring theme is resilience; the resilience of Nyima against all odds.
Nyima was growing in a traditional Gambian village where education, especially Western education was specially a designation for the males. While still a very young girl, Nyima had dreams of becoming a teacher. Her admiration for her teacher drew her to the love for sharing knowledge. Unfortunately, she would not have this dream achieved on a silver platter. Her uncle gets her married to Pa Momat, claiming this was the decision of her late father.
As expected, Nyima puts up her little resistance but the weight of patriarchy in her society was too much for her to face. Even her loving mother could not help her. And despite her performance in school and scholarship to continue to a high school, she was married off to Pa Momat as his fourth wife.
Her marriage to Pa Momat would not just be a barrier to her education, but the very destroyer of joy and dignity in her life. She was first shunned for not being circumcised and thus got forcefully circumcised. As she managed to move on from that, she was accused of being barren and therefore forced into a ritual purportedly done to cleanse her and make her fertile.
In the interim, her love for education made her sneak into one of Pa Momat's son's house to take a book and read. When found, she was accused of attempting to charm the boy. She got seriously beaten by Pa Momat.
Her luck came when her cousin, Jainaba came visiting and found her in that situation. Against the refusal and threats by Pa Momat, Jainaba took Nyima with her to Banjul. She returned to school and did well.
Going to Banjul did not mean an end to her ordeals. She became a constant target of molestation and r**e by Jainaba's husband. She however kept her head up with studies and earned a scholarship to further her studies in France.
After studies, she came back, reconnected with her mother before her demise, found a descent job with Gambia Radio and Television Services, and finally found love and settled down with Mohisse, her schoolmate in France who now practiced medical research. And again, though with difficulty, the couple made efforts and were blessed with a daughter.
Commentary
I still stand by my earlier claim, that The Sun Will Soon Shine is not a feminist book. Rather, it is a book that calls for resilience and constancy. The story concludes with a happy ending. However, it is worth noting that this happiness came at a huge cost... resilience being the greatest tool on the journey. Despite the all the social structures that stood against her dream of becoming an educated girl, Nyima fought hard to earn herself the education that created the difference.
Admittedly, one can claim that it was not entirely her courage and resilience, in fact, she had already given up at some point. It was Jainaba who restored her courage, charged her resilience, and stood with her all along the journey. However, it is also Jainaba's education that made gave her the courage and bravery to take Nyima out of her predicament. So it is quite accurate to say education made the difference.
Moving on, the book also explored the theme of patriarchy– a system that gives total and absolute control of the women folk to the men. Both Nyima and her mother were not in support of her marriage, but her uncle, Modou made the decision. Moreover, Pa Momat's brutal rule over his wives is another proof of patriarchy. He ruled with an iron fist and beats his wives if they did anything that displeases him.
Another subtle, yet powerful theme in the book is female circumcision. This is a very sensitive issue but as a critic, I cannot avoid it. I do not particularly think Singhateh advocates for the eradication of female circumcision. To a great extent, it seemed her presentation of female circumcision was an effort to add a layer of difficulty Nyima had to endure. In chapter four of the book, Singhateh gives a very graphic presentation of the circumcision and what follows it. However, though Nyima is our protagonist, her case may not be taken as the exemplary one. This is simply because the other girls did not experience the pain and humiliation she faced. Rather, it seemed Nyima was just the unlucky one, the isolated case.
Other themes that run through the book include motherhood, love, academic pursuit, and gender inequality in other forms.
Overall, the book is highly recommendable and I therefore recommend it to all those interested in Gambian stories. The book is told from an 'insider' perspective and therefore, very raw.
A few reservations I have are the occasional spelling/ grammar issues and perhaps few events that were less explored (such as the death of Ya). Nevertheless, I rate the book highly and you are encouraged to grab a copy today and read it.
Finally, I want to say the sun has risen. Yes, after so much struggle, but it did. So was Nyima's story, and such can be anyone's.
