By Oke Aruleba @Deprof
The byword, “Don’t judge a book by its cover” is a soft reminder to look beyond the first appearance because the brawny picture of a man on the cover-page of Yewande Adesua’s “Beyond Brawn” will tempt every reader to see the book as an appendage to Stuart McRobert’s “Beyond Brawn”, a comprehensive book dedicated to helping individuals achieve significant strength and muscle gains through weight training.
“Beyond Brawn”, is a sequel to “Beyond Lipstick”, and it is also a life-changing manual for all men!
‘Brawn’, from which “Beyond Brawn” syntactically derives its descriptor, means physical strength and muscular power.
Thematically, the book explores gender issues (masculinity versus femininity), life purpose, self-improvement, God’s supremacy, and family ties.
“Beyond Brawn” clearly differentiates between “manhood” (responsibility) and “maleness” (sexuality). It further lays bare a man’s vainglorious and Adamic nature in situating his achievements in life on the platform of his brawniness and hard-work rather than attributing his success to God.
A man’s manliness according to “Beyond Brawn” lies in his ability to harness the 3 P’s of ‘Provide’, ‘Protect’ and ‘Procreate’. In other words, procreation without provision and protection makes a man a mere and grossly irresponsible sex machine.
It is equally refreshing that the book lends credence to Sharon Angle’s position when it states, “there is a plan and purpose, a value, to every life, no matter what its location, age, gender, or disability.”
Using biblical allusion, “Beyond Brawn” removes the pangs of gender stereotypes by making mince-meat of the unwarranted “battle of the sexes” in which the female gender is seen as inferior. While the book enjoins both men and women to embrace mutual submission to each other, it further encourages men to shun egoistic tendencies arising from patriarchal dominance, repression and oppression of female folks.
As a life-changing creative work, Beyond Brawn does an exposé on the Japanese concept of “Kaizen”, meaning ‘continuous self-improvement.’ It stresses the urgent need for “personal development” which is pivotal to human development. The writer sheds light on ‘purpose’, and the requisite catalysts for fulfiling ‘purpose’ such as: knowing, running, and staying on one’s course. In other words, knowing what to do with one’s purpose offers a competitive edge. And setting goals will become realistic and achievable on a platform of sound decisions.
A new vista of the ‘making process’ which involves preparation, starting little, facing challenges with cast –iron determination, optimism and taking sound decisions for victory, which should not be celebrated prematurely, is given a space in “Beyond Brawn.”
The life-changing book places a premium attention on the triple “M” concept of ‘mentoring’, ‘modelling’ and ‘moulding’ the champions. The mentor-mentee relationships between the late renowned boxer, Mohammed Alli and Andee and other champions put “Beyond Brawn” in better stead as a useful manual for future champions.
The place of family, wife, fatherhood as a responsibility, and more importantly the role of God in men’s affairs are enunciated in “Beyond Brawn.”
The writer’s choice of words is simple and lucid. The book, no doubt, will always make enjoyable reading for an average reader. Biblical and literary allusions are copiously used to push home the writer’s thematic preoccupations.
The novel uses a mix of the first-person and third-person narrative techniques. For intimacy, subjectivity, and reliability, the story is told using the first-person point of view while third-person narration is deployed to achieve objectivity and flexibility of the storyline. The novel creates a dynamic and multi-faceted narrative.
Structurally, “Beyond Brawn” is crafted in eight (8) parts with sub-headings and an epilogue which is advisory and artistically woven for a unified whole.
The tone of the book is light-hearted and inspirational while the mood provoked is cheerful and light-hearted.
In conclusion, “Beyond Brawn” is a compelling life manual that is highly recommended for all men because it teaches the reader to learn, unlearn and relearn.