What Everyone Should Know Before Building Their First Home- A Review of Brenda Unu’s Brick by Brick

Title: Brick by Brick: A couple’s journey to building their home and the lessons learnt
Author: Brenda Unu
Publisher: Worital
Year of Publication: 2020
Number of Pages: 225
Category: Real Estate

Brick by Brick, by Brenda Unu, tells the story of a couple’s ambition to build their home, as well as the stress, joy, and pride that comes with it, through the protagonists Lara and Lanre. The author takes the reader through every step of the home-building process, from foundation work to home completion. Readers may be unsure whether the book is a true autobiography or pure fiction based on Unu’s life. This book, regardless of genre, will undoubtedly pique the interest of prospective home buyers.

Unu writes with such vivid intensity that you will be transformed from a first-time homeowner to a seasoned homeowner before you even step foot in your first home. This is an easy read that you’ll return to again and again because of its plain language and refreshing and realistic issues.
While frantically planning for their future, the couple bonds as they learn how to understand the real estate sector. Lara appears to be preoccupied with paperwork and Pinterest boards of dream furniture. Lanre is perplexed about the financial aspects of homeownership, and his perplexity is likely to be shared by many readers, as his concerns are reasonable. Unu’s characters are used to spark lively discussions about money, commitment, perseverance, and other topics.

Unu sets the book in modern-day Lagos, capturing much of what the average woman experiences in her daily life in Lagos, as well as the challenges that women face simply because they are women. Every woman will be able to relate to this story because she, too, has or will experience something similar to what Lara did at some point in her life.
Building your first home should be an exciting experience, but it will almost certainly be fraught with questions and can be overwhelming. Unu’s work is noteworthy in that it raises questions that you might not have thought to ask your architect.

The flow of the story is occasionally disrupted by grammatical and formatting errors. The inclusion of architectural drawings, on the other hand, is a lovely touch that elevates the book.
Unu’s architectural training shines through in the way she simplifies complex building principles in her books. In this book, she draws on her vast experience to provide a one-stop-shop for everything you need to know about building a home in Nigeria.
The book concludes with a final chapter that includes interviews with real homeowners. This somehow adds to the book’s worth.

Author Unu’s goal with this book is to demonstrate that homeownership is not an impossibility. If you’re looking for a book that walks you through the home-building process, this could be a good place to start.

About the reviewer
Titilade Oyemade is a business executive in a leading organisation and holds a degree in Russian Language. She’s the convener of the Hangoutwithtee Ladies Event and the publisher of Hangoutwithtee magazine. She spends her weekends attending women conferences, events and book readings. She loves to have fun and to help other women have the same in their lives. Email: [email protected] Social: @tiipree