The Wondrous Life and Loves of Nella Carter by Brionni Nwosu (2025)
āGive me a book or a boy, and Iāll always choose the book any day.ā
Over the years of reading, watching, touching, breathing, engaging in conversations, loving, hating, not feeling anything at all, Iāve been looking for objects or words or feelings that could make sense in this insensible existence and inspire me to be something more than just a collection of particles with the only purpose to form and then disintegrate into something else. And to my astonishment, I always find those small inspirations in the most unexpected places, like this book by Brionni Nwosu, which I came into possession of by accident. But now I wonder: what if? What if I never did, and never learned of her beautifully poetic approach to life, love, and death?
āSomething as beautiful as this would not last forever. But does it have to? He knew fabric would fade. The threads would disintegrate, eventually leaving the glorious garment for rags. But is it better? Better to have a beautiful thing for even a short while rather than not at all?ā
If you donāt recognise some of your own thoughts in Nella, regardless of your gender, age, or nationality, I would be surprised. To live and love and to lose people is her burden, but who doesnāt? Perhaps, unlike Nella, we donāt have to repeatedly do that for centuries without end, but that doesnāt make it easier. There is an end to all the love and all the suffering, but itās an extensive journey, with so many years of starting over, finding space for people who come into our lives, and learning to trust them with our hearts and our souls again. And more often than not, we, just like Nella, refuse to let anyone in to relieve that burden and give ourselves a break.
āIf I went, he would ask again. And again. I would come to care for him. Something terrible would happen, and I would need to leave the life Iād made.ā
But does that constitute a good life? Refusing to feel at all rather than deal with a broken heart after whatever loss we experience: a lover, a friend, a parent, or our children. Would it be better not to have experienced those things and die without the knowledge of what your own heart is capable of?
āAnd what of you, Carmella? Are you a lover or a fighter?ā
āIāve been a lover sometimes, sometimes a fighter, but I suppose it hasnāt mattered until now. What about you?ā
āA lover, of course. If you must fight for your love, was it even yours?ā
The themes of loss are the most bittersweet in this book. Itās Nella's curse to lose everyone she loves, but somehow it makes her even more human and more alive in the eyes of the reader.
āBut thatās the deal. Thatās humanity. We will all lose the ones we love ā either them or us. From birth, we make our way in this world. The gift is the choice of who we spend it with.ā
And death, oh death. Heās the partner in crime, both the devil and the creator, the punisher and the pardoner in this story. āDeath isnāt always a punishment. Sometimes it is a release.ā Death is Nellaās oldest friend and the only one capable of giving her the well-deserved freedom she finally obtains after proving to him that humanity is indeed worth saving.
āThatās the part people miss. They think the worst thing is death. Death is the easy part. What they miss is the loneliness, all-consuming, that occurs as everything and everyone slips away, lost to the sands of time.ā
It still surprises me how this book manages to be both light reading and yet contain the multitudes of human experiences and emotions. I am almost convinced that dear Brionni Nwosu has herself travelled through time and convinced death to grant us this living. If so, we thank her kindly.
Itās a 10 out of 10 for me.