👁️🗨️ Book Review: The Visit by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Black Stars Series, Kindle Edition)
A sharp, unsettling speculative short story that flips the gender power dynamic—Adichie’s provocative narrative invites readers to rethink patriarchy by imagining its reversal.
🧠 Overview
Published as part of Amazon’s Black Stars series in August 2021, The Visit is a 20-page speculative fiction short story by acclaimed Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Known for her powerful explorations of identity, feminism, and social justice, Adichie uses this compact tale to explore a world where women hold systemic power—and men live under surveillance, social scrutiny, and legal restrictions.
Set in Lagos, the story follows Obinna, a stay-at-home husband married to a powerful businesswoman, and his old friend Eze, a single man whose arrival disrupts Obinna’s carefully managed domestic life.
🔍 Key Themes
- ♀️ Matriarchal society: The story imagines a world where women dominate politics, law, and social norms—men are expected to be submissive, domestic, and deferential
- 🧠 Gender role reversal: Adichie cleverly mirrors real-world patriarchal dynamics, making familiar injustices feel newly jarring when experienced by male characters
- 🗣️ Power and voice: Through Obinna and Eze’s conversations, the story explores autonomy, shame, and the quiet rebellion of questioning the status quo
- ⚖️ Legal control of bodies: A fictional law criminalizing male masturbation echoes real-world debates about reproductive rights, adding a chilling layer of satire
💬 Reader Reception
- ⭐ Goodreads rating: 3.95/5 from over 9,000 readers
- 📖 Readers praise the story’s bold concept, tight prose, and thought-provoking social critique
- 🧾 Some found the ending abrupt, but many appreciated the open-ended nature that invites reflection
- 💬 “The story managed to say so much in so few words… unsettling and brilliant.” — Wizardencil review
⚠️ Considerations
- 📄 Short format: At 20 pages, it’s a vignette rather than a full narrative arc
- 📚 Best for readers familiar with feminist discourse: The story’s impact deepens with awareness of real-world gender politics
- 🧾 Satirical tone: While not overtly comedic, the story uses irony and inversion to provoke discomfort and insight
🏁 Final Verdict
The Visit is a brilliantly inverted mirror held up to patriarchy, offering a speculative lens through which readers can re-examine power, gender, and justice. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s storytelling is concise yet piercing, making this Kindle Original a must-read for fans of feminist fiction and speculative social commentary.
