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Muswell Hill, London N10, where THE CELLAR may very well take place, was named one of the five most desirable places to live in London by THE TIMES a few years ago. And it probably is, for most. But not for fourteen-year-old Muna, an African orphan spirited away by Mr and Mrs Songoli from her orphanage when she was eight, brought to London, and confined to the cellar, allowed out only to cook and clean, and never when there were any strangers in the house. Before she was transported to England, she was genitally mutilated and thereafter suffers periodic visits from Mr Ebuka Songoli, who rapes her. His wife, Yetunde, appears to encourage his activities, but beats Muna regularly with a rod, burns her with hot oil, and denies her sufficient food. She must call the man "Master," his wife "Princess," and there are two young sons, Olubayo and Abiola, who are encouraged to treat her equally badly. She is not alone in the cellar, however, or so she maintains. There is a devil, a demon, down there too and he roars his anger and laughs a terrifying laugh.
She has not left the house nor spoken to anyone outside the family for six years. The family fiction is that Muna is feeble-minded, and speaks limited Hausa and no English. They could not be more wrong. Like bright little girls throughout history, she has quietly listened behind the door as the boys of the house are tutored in English and it appears that she is better at it than they are.
Her life changes for the better one morning when the younger son, Abiola, disappears. His mother is convinced he's been kidnapped, but no ransom is demanded. The police are summoned and to protect themselves against charges of child abuse and enslavement, the Songolis present Muna as the daughter of the house, sadly mentally deficient but good and biddable all the same. For the first time in years, perhaps in her life, Muna is leading something like a normal existence and she employs all her considerable intelligence and the shrewdness fostered by adversity to hold on to it.
In many ways, THE CELLAR draws upon that rich store of fairy tales in which the abused and detested child, frequently a girl, perseveres and ultimately is delivered from her suffering as a reward for her steadfastness and virtue. It will come as no surprise to those familiar with Walters' work that neither of these qualities feature largely in Muna's survival. Walters' is a universe in which evil is palpable and active and forgives nothing. Everyone in the book gets what he or she deserves and then some, while the reader, however sympathetic to Muna, must be appalled at what has been unleashed in the cellar at Twenty Three Fortis Row En Ten.
Apparently, the ending of THE CELLAR will be changed in the US edition, due out early next year. Though I do not know what the change will be, the present ending seems at once shocking and inevitable. I wouldn't wait for the amended version. This one is perfectly fine as it is.
§ Yvonne Klein is a writer, translator, and retired college English professor who lives in Montreal.
Reviewed by Yvonne Klein, October 2015
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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