“The moral of the story is, if you want something, don’t half want it. Either want it properly and go and get it, or forget about it so you will not be drawn into someone else’s magic and get the decision taken out of your hands” – Excerpt from ‘Reading the Ceiling’ by Dayo Forster.

‘Reading the ceiling’ is a must read for any woman that has walked the walk of indecision. This novel opens up with an eighteen years old protagonist, Ayodele, a Gambian teenager, who has to decide which of the young men in her life to give her virginity to. The reader is immediately struck with an image of an independent young woman who has her own ideals and is quite logical in her decision process. The novel is also packed with several colorful characters, Taiwo and Kainda who are her sisters, her mother who is quite stuck in her ways, her Aunt who has managed to cross the generational gap between the old and the new, her friends who definitely change with time, as well as the men in her life who breeze through her life with their resounding joys and heartbreaks.

After reading her book which has such a strong story – I knew that I just had to speak to this Gambian author. I got a chance to have a telephone conversation with Dayo Forster about her book. This is the interview.

PS: How long did it take you to choose that title?

Dayo: Actually, the title was chosen by the agent. It came from a phrase at the end of the first chapter. When my agent mentioned that title – it seemed quite right.

PS: Are the characters in your book based on your life experiences or the experiences of others around you?

Dayo: No, not really. I can’t write other people’s life’s without their permission. That will not be right. This work is a fictional work and it is me stepping into the lives of an 18 years old Gambian girl and writing her story. Her story shows her reaction to the world around her.

PS: I read your book and I noticed that none of her choices had a happy ending and I wondered why you chose to write in that way.

Dayo: Most books have happy endings which are kind of surreal. Her happy ending is being content in how things are. This book allowed me to explore the land in which people stay regardless of the situation that they are put through. Ayodele, maintained her independent mind irrespective of where her choice led her.

PS: In the book – you seem to define Ayodele relationship to men in a negative light. She hardly seems at peace in any of her male – female relationships. Why is that?

Dayo: Ayodele’s character enabled me to explore African relationships. A lot of Africans are stuck in relationships that are not perfect.

PS: Ayodele’s relationship with her mother is definitely not a peaceful one. Was that your intention to write a character (Ayodele’s mother) such as this in your work?

Dayo: Her mother was used to explore the idea that many times we become what we fear. Ayodele and her mother made similar decisions. The fact is that many times we become a bit like our mothers. The older generation finds it very difficult to talk about certain issues with their children and Ayodele faces that same kind of restraint when she has to tell her son the story of his birth.

PS: In your book, you touch upon polygamy and paint it in a positive light – I know a lot of modern day women will have a bit of problem with that depiction. Was there a particular reason why you chose to do that?

Dayo: I grew up amongst people who came from peaceful polygamous homes. Everyone treated each other like brothers and sisters and with respect. Polygamy, sometimes has a positive side to it, which is what I showed.

PS: In the three choices that Ayodele has to make, she seems to eventually end up with much older men, were you trying to tell us something by that choice?

Dayo: (laughs) The story just panned out that way. I actually realized what I had done when the story was already written.

PS: You seemed to have explored all available options in female relationships as a daughter, mother, sister, wife, friend, stepmother but you don’t seem to explore one of being a mistress….

Dayo: (laughs) I think I explored that slightly when I discussed the option of being a second wife. In being a second wife, she becomes the other woman.

PS: To be quite honest, when I came across the title, “Reading the Ceiling” – sex crossed my mind, in that it might be a situation in which a woman has to define herself from her sexual place which might mean being underneath a man.

Dayo: Actually, you are the second person that has mentioned that imagery. When I ‘accepted’ the title, the image that crossed my mind was one that was dreamy. One in which, a young girl has to see the future as the clouds which is beyond the ceiling. The future is often fuzzy, unclear and sometimes one has to pick up certain shapes from those clouds. Not sexual at all.

PS: A lot of people at reading your book might have a bit of a problem with your making Ayodele make that decision to have sex at 18 years old, particularly since she seems to make that decision quite logically. They might believe that Ayodele should be focused on other things?

Dayo: Actually, the decision to have sex should be one that should be thought through. I wish more young people thought it through before participating in the act. I do not think that it is right for people go ahead with their feelings. Here in East Africa, STD and HIV is a mixing matrix in which older men choose much younger women to have sex with. These younger women accept without thinking it through. If a young person is questioning if she should participate in the act then she has no business doing it just then – she should wait. By having sex without really thinking about it, you accidentally shift power from you to someone else without your permission.

PS: So how did you begin writing – tell me your story?

Dayo: I come from a very technical background. I signed for a character development course at the Adult education centre in Cambridge, my intention was to write non fiction. One day in class, I was told to take the story of a co student (Minisha) further and as I continued her story, I found myself stepping into another world in which you have an image in your head and you can control what actually happens.

PS: So what advice will you give any body out there that really wants to write?

Dayo: You have to read a lot, so you know exactly what you like and then you have to start writing and keep on writing. Don’t give up. It took me four years before I could get published.

PS: Let’s get back to this book briefly – religion seems to play a significant role in her three choices?

Dayo: I find it fascinating how a lot of Africans are becoming very dogmatic in their religious beliefs. I just wanted to investigate these beliefs – do we try to impose our beliefs on someone else. I try to say, look choosing a religion is an individual’s choice.

PS: I believe your book is the only book written by a Gambian author that I have read – How is the literary scene in Gambia? Why isn’t it as developed as other regions of Africa?

Dayo: Well, Gambia has about 1.2 million people in it. When I was growing up, the college of nursing was the highest level of education that anyone could attain in Gambia. To get educated in other fields you had to leave the country. You can find a lot of Gambians in Sierria Leonne, Nigeria and Senegal. But, there are a lot of Gambian writers, their works are just published and marketed locally.

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