African Books - Page 10

Chess Garden

Brooks Hansen

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 25 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Incoherent Fantasy, Dull Allegory - What am I Missing? 2 out of 5 stars.
8 of 12 people found this review helpful.

Towards the end of Brooks Hansen's The Chess Garden, there is a conversation between the novel's hero-cum-narrator, Dr. Gustav Uyterhoeven, and a visitor to his garden in Dayton, Ohio. The visitor has spent months visiting alleged psychics, and the doctor explains to him that he does this out of a desire to find God. Although the visitor believes himself to be an atheist, he is standing outside the doors of the church, listening to the prayers going on inside and wishing he could feel that faith.

Reading the reviews of The Chess Garden, I find myself in a similar situation. All but one of the reviewers (who include Jeff VanderMeer, one of my favorite authors of modern fantasy) refer to the novel in ecstatic terms, almost as if it were a spiritual experience, whereas all I see is a rather dull, overlong, magical-realist allegory with delusions of profundity.

Partly this is my fault, as I read too much of The Chess Garden expecting a fantasy. Although a significant portion of the novel - the titular letters of Dr. Uyterhoeven - takes place in an imaginary land called The Antipodes, populated entirely by game pieces, this imaginary land is thin and unconvincing. From the moment of its introduction, allegory alarms starting going off in my head, and indeed, The Antipodes have no need for logic, consistency, character arcs, a coherent history, or any other attribute that would make the land stand up off the page. Why should it? The letters exist solely to illustrate the doctor's muddled philosophical ideas. Which is where we come to my own fault, because there are plenty of readers for whom allegory is the best kind of fantasy, and certainly there are thin, unconvincing and even allegorical fantasy worlds that nevertheless manage to draw the reader in (Narnia is a good example), but I am not usually one of those readers, and Hansen's Antipodes is not one of those worlds. I shouldn't have expected Hansen to write a convincing world, and perhaps I should have put the book down once I realized that his world wasn't drawing me in, but I told myself that I could read the novel as magical realism, and see what ideas Hansen had to sell.

Sadly, I was never able to discern those ideas. The parts of The Chess Garden that tell the story of Dr. Uyterhoeven's own life are overlong and tedious. Too many pages are taken up with obscure philosophical discussions, the importance of which is never sufficiently explained. Why does it matter that Uyterhoeven is a quasi-mystic surrounded by rationalists, if his final conclusions are the same as theirs? Invariably, when reading these passages, my eyes would glaze over and I would find myself counting pages until the end of the chapter.

When I closed the book, I found that it had left no residue in me. I was even uncertain about writing a review, as I felt I had nothing to say. I have no idea what Hansen was trying to do with The Chess Garden, and I can only regret the time I wasted trying to find out.

Editorial Review:

In Ohio in 1900, the wife of Dr Uyterhoeven recieves a series of extraordinary letters from her elderly husband. It seems that after being shipwrecked he has found the legendary Antipodes, and describes a fantastical country inhabited by warring chess pieces, dominoes and dice.

The Icarus Girl

Helen Oyeyemi

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 26 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

engrossing but disappointing 4 out of 5 stars.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful.

In her debut novel "Icarus girl" Helen Oyeyemi, a young British writer of Nigerian origin, centers on an eight-year-old girl, Jessamy Harrison. Jessamy is a daughter of Sara, a strong-willed writer from Nigeria, and Daniel, a gentle, withdrawn man. The novel begins when Jessamy hides in a cupboard, submerged in the world of her imagination. The opening cupboard scene is a good prelude to what will happen next - the atmosphere is set in this moment.

Jessamy's mother offers her a possibility of a holiday in Nigeria, and the whole family travels there to meet Sara's father, a real "pater familias", and Sara's siblings. The novel, although told in the third person, is narrated from Jessamy's viewpoint and only her thoughts and feelings are known; the other people are seen as perceived by Jessamy, a sensitive, insecure child with a vivid imagination. I liked this literary technique a lot, because the novel told from a child's perspective is always mysterious and complicated, as is the world in a child's eyes.

In Nigeria, Jessamy's insecurity grows as she tries to please everyone and find her way among the strong personalities of her aunts, and to understand and love her grandfather. Luckily, or so it seems at the beginning, she befriends a little girl - Titiola (or TillyTilly, as Jessamy calls her). They have lots of fun together, breaking many boundaries and daring to do things Jessamy could only dream of, so when the family goes back to England, Jessamy is sad to lose her new friend... But she is surprised to see her in her neighborhood and the friendship resumes. TillyTilly, however, grows more and more possessive of Jessamy, threatens to "get" people who are either unfriendly or too friendly, and, worse, the threats come true... Jessamy learns of the family secret that may lie at the heart of her internal conflict and, despite the help and despair of her parents and the nice psychiatrist, she refuses to let the friendship with TillyTilly go away.

The novel intriguingly weaves together myths and reality, magic and reason, creating a rich internal world of a girl who does not know herself. Instead of making sense of reality, though, Jessamy sinks deeper and deeper into the darkness and the unknown. The ending is blurred and confusing - I was lost and frustrated when I finished reading, not knowing how to interpret the final events. I am not sure if the author's intention was to leave the readers in a state of confusion comparable to Jessamy's, or if Oyeyemi really could not find a better solution, lacking the experience? Perhaps her next novel would be an answer to this question.

Editorial Review:

Jessamy “Jess” Harrison, age eight, is the child of an English father and a Nigerian mother. Possessed of an extraordinary imagination, she has a hard time fitting in at school. It is only when she visits Nigeria for the first time that she makes a friend who understands her: a ragged little girl named TillyTilly. But soon TillyTilly’s visits become more disturbing, until Jess realizes she doesn’t actually know who her friend is at all. Drawing on Nigerian mythology, Helen Oyeyemi presents a striking variation on the classic literary theme of doubles — both real and spiritual — in this lyrical and bold debut.

Fools & Other Stories

Njabulo Ndebele

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

it's a smashing south african success. 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Njabulo Ndebele's "Fools and Other Stories" is masterfully written. An enchanting blend of traditional South African storytelling and riveting modern prose, Ndebele poetically tells of the post-apartheid struggle that plagues his nation. A must read for any fan of Coetzee or Gordimer.

Excellent stories! 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

The stories in this collection are vignettes of South African lives masterfully written. I was very impressed with how well developed the characters are. I read this book for a grad course under a grueling deadline, but still found it very enjoyable.

Editorial Review:

Ndebele evokes South African township life with humor and subtlety in this novel.

My Son's Story

Nadine Gordimer

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 11 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

The Message is Worth the Work 3 out of 5 stars.
5 of 6 people found this review helpful.

Nadine Gordimer deserves her Nobel Prize, her books are wonderful and terrifying and frustrating and enlightening all at once.

Gordimer's world is the world of the white anti apartheid activist (at the time of this book). She writes what she knows and it's an unusual and interesting perspective. My Son's Story is a political book no doubt but told from a very personal space, which is the mark of a great story. Thing is, Gordimer doesn't always write in the most accessible of ways, it is often difficult to get to the larger point she's trying to make, you know it's there but you have to work hard to get it and frankly, there were times when I wasn't sure I was seeing what she wanted me to see. Gordimer likes to use literary tools to make these macro points, lots of metaphor and at times, it's tiring to try and keep up, I did quite a bit of going back and re-reading. That said, I believe this to be a great book, it's worth the work I put in but frustrating as well.

I encourage others to read Gordimer for her insights into a culture which is thankfully nearly dead by now. Just go into it knowing that this is not a casual beach read, but you know, a good book sometimes takes work.

Editorial Review:

Playing truant, Will slips off to a movie theatre near Johannesburg and is shocked to see his father there--with a woman he doesn't know. The father is a "colored" schoolteacher who has become a hero in the struggle against apartheid; his companion is a white activist fiercely dedicated to the cause. "A bold, unnerving tour de force."--The New York Times Book Review.

Everything Good Will Come

Sefi Atta

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Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Everything Good Will Come introduces an important new voice in contemporary fiction. With insight and a lyrical wisdom, Nigerian-born Sefi Atta has written a powerful and eloquent story set in her African homeland. It is 1971, and Nigeria is under military rule-- though the politics of the state matter less than those of her home to Enitan Taiwo, an eleven-year-old girl tired of waiting for school to start. Will her mother, who has become deeply religious since the death of Enitan's brother, allow her friendship with the new girl next door, Sheri Bakare? This novel charts the fate of these two Nigerian girls, one who is prepared to manipulate the traditional system and one who attempts to defy it. Written in the voice of Enitan, against the backdrop of political turmoil in Nigeria, Everything Good Will Come is Enitan's story; one of a fiercely intelligent, strong young woman living in a culture that still insists on feminine submission.

"Atta's achievement in this novel is impressive in many ways. Thematically, her work is wide-ranging and yet powerfully focused, the different areas of concern drawn together so that they inform each other."--Chris Dunton, The Sunday Independent

"Reading Everything Good Will Come, you can feel the dust and the sun. This award-winning novel is an iridescent introduction to a fascinating nation."--Tom Templeton, The Observer Magazine

"Again and again Atta's writing tugs at the heart, at the conscience. At the same time, reflecting the resilience of the Lagosians whose lives she explores..."--Sunday Independent, South Africa

"This is a courageous story about friendship and self-discovery, it is a rallying cry to women to speak out in a world that tries to muzzle them."--Helen Habila, author of Waiting for an Angel

Song of Lawino & Song of Ocol (African Writers Series)

Okot P'Bitek

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Song of Lawino and Song of Ocol 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Okot P'Bitek did what most writers dream of doing when he completed this book. Song of Lawino and Song of Ocol is a fulfiling work of art. It is poetry in the best sense of the word and is based in Africa in the advent of the revolution to mordernize the continent, it shows the stuggles between the overlaping cultures;tradition(African)and the western(European).

He makes sense of what people dismiss as minute details, and empasis' on the importance of change while still empasising on the the role of tradition in the Afircan society. The book is most humorous and at the same time gives a different point of view on the effects of the european presence in Africa. I have recomeded this book to a lot of my friends

Editorial Review:

Two African literary works by Okot P'Bitek available together in the African Writers Series.

And They Didn't Die: A Novel

Lauretta Ngcobo

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Editorial Review:

"Harsh yet poignant, this novel rescues the experience of so many whose stories have remained untold."--Gillian Slovo

"And They Didn't Die brilliantly chronicles the untold predicaments of women caught between custom, white law, and the migrant system. Much of its power lies in Ngcobo's talent for complication and nuance, and for her refusal of dogma. . . . It explores what happens when women start asking questions: about cattle and the land, about female power, about tradition, about violence, about sex."--Anne McClintock, Voice Literary Supplement

"Ngcobo writes with grace and compassion about one woman's suffering, meanwhile providing insights into . . . village culture, the injustices of the legal system, the routines and atmosphere of black prisons, and the indomitable spirit of an oppressed people." --Publishers Weekly

"Unique in its thoroughness . . . in portraying the scourge of apartheid in South Africa. . . . Certainly, the life of South African dispossessed rural people has not been so precisely portrayed in literature."--Sechaba, Journal of the African National Congress

Unconfessed

Yvette Christianse

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Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

A fiercely poetic literary debut re-creating the life of an 18th-century slave woman in South Africa.

Slavery as it existed in Africa has seldom been portrayed—and never with such texture, detail, and authentic emotion. Inspired by actual 18th-century court records, Unconfessed is a breathtaking literary tour de force.

They called her Sila van den Kaap, slave woman of Jacobus Stephanus Van der Wat of Plettenberg Bay, South Africa. A woman moved from master to master, farm to farm, and—driven by the horrors of slavery to commit an unspeakable crime—from prison to prison. A woman fit for hanging…condemned to death on April 30, 1823, but whose sentence the English, having recently wrested authority from the Dutch settlers, saw fit to commute to a lengthy term on the notorious Robben Island.

Sila spends her days in the prison quarry, breaking stones for Cape Town's streets and walls. She remembers the day her childhood ended, when slave catchers came "whipping the air and the ground and we were like deer whipped into the smaller and smaller circle of our fear." Sila remembers her masters, especially Oumiesies ("old Missus"), who in her will granted Sila her freedom, but Theron, Oumiesies' vicious and mercenary son, destroys the will and with it Sila's life. Sila remembers her children, with joy and with pain, and imagines herself a great bird that could sweep them up in her wings and set them safely on a branch above all harm. Unconfessed is an epic novel that connects the reader to the unimaginable through the force of poetry and a far-reaching imagination.

The Bacchae of Euripides: A Communion Rite

Wole Soyinka

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

a communion rite 3 out of 5 stars.
3 of 5 people found this review helpful.

I read Euripides' original The Bakkhai, and I found Soyinka's version to be a pretty faithful adaptation of it. Soyinka's Bacchae was written as an African-influence stage play, and though I never saw it performed I think it would work wonderfully. I would recommend this play for anyone interested in either the Classics, or just Greek/Roman tragedies in general.

Editorial Review:

A wholly fresh interpretation of the timeless play by a Nobel Prize-winning author.

Wole Soyinka has translated—in both language and spirit—a great classic of ancient Greek theater. He does so with a poet's ear for the cadences and rhythms of chorus and solo verse as well as a commanding dramatic use of the central social and religious myth. In his hands The Bacchae becomes a communal feast, a tumultuous celebration of life, and a robust ritual of the human and social psyche. "The Bacchae is the rites of an extravagant banquet, a monstrous feast," Soyinka writes. "Man reaffirms his indebtedness to earth, dedicates himself to the demands of continuity, and invokes the energies of productivity. Reabsorbed within the communal psyche he provokes the resources of nature; in turn he is replenished for the cyclic rain in his fragile individual potency." The blending of two master playwrights—Euripides and Soyinka—makes for an unforgettable experience.

Matigari (African Writers Series)

Ngugi wa Thiong'o

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Matigari is a fascinating story. Must read~! 5 out of 5 stars.
7 of 7 people found this review helpful.

Matigari by Ngugi wa Thiong'o is a fascinating story. Since from the very beginning, Matigari captures readers with foreshadowing, uses of similes, and many techniques that European writers use. However, the structure is different from a novel written in the European tradition. The language is kept rather simple, as someone would speak when telling a story. There are many repetitive words and phrases in Matigari and readers should not underestimate the significant value of every one of them. In addition, the repetition is one of many things that Ngugi used to make readers read the book like a hidden charisma of the book. In my opinion, one of many quotes that give more insight to the story is the following: There is no night so long that it does not end with dawn." This metaphorical expression has a very significant meaning in the context of the story. It expresses the endless sufferings of people in that land. Most importantly, it emphasizes their hope for a better tomorrow. Thins have not changed after the settlers left. The Imperialism system sets a worldwide system in which the sorrow of the many is the joy of the few. The wealth of an entire nation is in the hands of five percent of the population, while the other ninety five percent are dying of starvation. "I have girded myself with the belt of peace." That is another important phrase. It illustrates the non-violent attitude of the hero. Matigari was a nationalist, a peaceful messenger who wished for harmony in his community. Another phrase that provides the most insight into the text is house and home. It is repeated countless times throughout the story, sometimes as many as eight times on a single page. It is like a mantra-home. The home is the center of our life. It is where families are centered. We go home to our loved ones every night. Muriuki's mother was killed in a fire set by her proprietor when she could not afford to pay for and refused to leave her home. Guthera turned to prostitution after she and her sibling were orphaned and it was the only means by which she could provide for them. John Boy is sent away to school by his family and instead of coming back to help them to improve their lives he becomes just like the wealthy settlers and his main goal is making money at the expense of the natives. Matigari's home appears to represent unity, love, and power. Home has connotations that go even further than that of immediate family and a place to live. Home is their country and home is the life they knew before colonization. Decolorizing Mind novel, that Ngugi used a biblical element to grab readers such as myself into completing the novel Matigari. I could not put down the book, Matigari's attitude and outward demeanor could all be summed up in one outline: his grace, his compassion, his love, his patience, his peacefulness, gentleness are all the qualities of Christ. I especially loved how he captured Matigari's voice, "Something in Matigari's voice made them listen to him attentively," when Christ spoke the people all listened o him diligently. When Matigari said " a prudent person keeps their mouth shut, in the Bible James 1:19, says everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to anger...." In addition, when Matigari was in the jail cell, he shared food with other people in the jail. It is parallel to Jesus when he shares his bread to twelve other people. In literally, the food Matigari had and shared could be the last supper. Matigari is not only the bitter experience of post independence African society, but it is a picture of timeless suffering and struggle for freedom and independence. In a dictatorship, questions of truth and justice are paramount because these two are the first to disappear in such an environment. Matigari's patriotism for his country and his people haunted his soul. His search for truth and justice eventually let him to the forest and mountains. The myths of Matigari have wonder people. Who is this man People even compared him with the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Who ever that man is or whatever people think about him or his mission, I think the Matigari as an inspiration to the search for truth and justice.

Editorial Review:

Who is Matigari? Is he young or old; a man or fate; dead or living...or even a resurrection of Jesus Christ? These are the questions asked by the people of this unnamed country, when a man who has survived the war for independence emerges from the mountains and starts making strange claims and demands. Matigari is in search of his family to rebuild his home and start a new and peaceful future. But his search becomes a quest for truth and justice as he finds the people still dispossessed and the land he loves ruled by corruption, fear, and misery. Rumors spring up that a man with superhuman qualities has risen to renew the freedom struggle. The novel races toward its climax as Matigari realizes that words alone cannot defeat the enemy. He vows to use the force of arms to achieve his true liberation. Lyrical and hilarious in turn, Matigari is a memorable satire on the betrayal of human ideals and on the bitter experience of post-independence African society.