Book Review: Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

Book Review: Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

The speaker in the novel is all knowing and employs omniscient narration in the description of the events unfolding in the novel. Nothing is hidden from the eye of the narrator, which enables him to explore the characters and events going on in the novel effectively.

African Literature Reviews

Things fall apart is a tragic novel by Nigerian author – Chinua Achebe. The book was first published in 1958. The motivation of the author to write the book might have arisen from the changes that were taking place in his society at the time. Things Fall Apart is set in Pre-colonial Nigeria and reflects the struggle between colonialism and cultural traditions. It is also part of a novel sequel, with the other novels by the author being: No Longer at Ease (1960), Arrow of God (1964), A man of the People (1966) and Anthills of the Savannah (1987).

speaking at Asbury Hall (Buffalo) during the “Babel: Season II” series by Just Buffalo Literary Center, Hallwalls, & the International Institute.[image sourse:Wikipedia]

The storyline of the novel follows the life of Okonkwo, who is the main character in the novel. The authors’ main aim in writing the novel is to…

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Book Review: A Journey Within, by Florence Mbaya

Book Review: A Journey Within, by Florence Mbaya

The author has employed third person narrative voice (omniscient narrator), which has enabled her to narrate and portray the various characters and events in her story with ease. Further, she has used jargon-free and easy to understand language making her narrative friendly to people of different academic levels.

African Literature Reviews

A journey within is a novel by Kenyan author Florence Mbaya. The storyline revolves around the career life of the leading character in the novel – Monika Saliku. At the beginning of the novel, Monika appears as a fresh graduate hopeful of acquiring a job within the city. On the contrary she lands a job in a remote part of the country. She leaves behind friends such as Stella (her former college mate and best friend) and family such as Miriam (her sister). Having to settle for a career she dislikes (teaching) turns out as the opportunity she needed to have the chance of self discovery.

As the title of the novel suggests, the novel focuses on Monikas’ journey of self discovery and insight. On arrival at Kostas Secondary school following her posting, she receives a cold welcome from most of the fellow teachers, among them Max, a male teacher…

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Book review: Disgrace, by J. M. Coetzee

Book review: Disgrace, by J. M. Coetzee

Throughout the novel, David is seen to remain emotionally-detached from all the subjects with whom he engages in sexual liaisons. At the beginning of the novel, there is Soraya, a married woman with whom he has an affair, but who later cuts communication with him and cautions him to keep distant. Later in the novel he is ensnared in his own escapades through sexual involvement with one of his students at the University – Melanie Isaacs.

African Literature Reviews

John M. Coetzee, in his novel, Disgrace (1999), explores the challenges that members of European community face in post-apartheid South Africa. The author focuses on the career and private life of the main character in the novel, David Lurie, as a pointer to the injustices meted against European minorities within the South African society. It would occur to one as common knowledge, for reference and attribution of social oppression and injustices as directed towards African individuals within the given African state. However, in the course of the novel, Coetzee manages to weave out a clear picture on the sufferings of European individuals, as they are faced with animosity and are forced out their homes and property. The author additionally explores controversial topics that face individuals not only within the African context, but universally.

As the author engages the reader in the course of reading the novel, one cannot help but identify with situation…

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Book Review: Scarlet Song by Mariama Ba

Scarlet Song – Mariama Ba

The novel, Scarlet Song, by Mariama Ba, is centred on the theme of love, and focuses on the lives of two young people; Ousmane Gueye (a Senegalese) and Mireille (daughter of a French diplomat). The two youngsters come from totally different backgrounds but are bound together by the bond of love.

African Literature Reviews

Scarlet Song – Mariama Ba

The novel, Scarlet Song, by Mariama Ba, is centred on the theme of love, and focuses on the lives of two young people; Ousmane Gueye (a Senegalese) and Mireille (daughter of a French diplomat). The two youngsters come from totally different backgrounds but are bound together by the bond of love.

At the beginning of the novel, the reader is introduced to Ousmane Gueye, of whom the writer gives a description of the kind of environment he had been brought up in- a humble background.

Book: Scarlet Song
Author: Mariama Ba

The novel is divided into three main parts, each of which is further divided into several smaller parts. Each main part of the novel presents a major milestone for the couple’s relationship. Ousmane Gueye is from a humble Muslim family and has overcome numerous challenges to acquire education. Mireille, on the other hand is…

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A Beautiful Place to Die by An Emmanuel Cooper Mystery

A Beautiful Place to Die: An Emmanuel Cooper Mystery

Award-winning screenwriter Malla Nunn delivers a stunning and darkly romantic crime novel set in 1950s apartheid South Africa, featuring Detective Emmanuel Cooper — a man caught up in a time and place where racial tensions and the raw hunger for power make life very dangerous indeed.

In a morally complex tale rich with authenticity, Nunn takes readers to Jacob’s Rest, a tiny town on the border between South Africa and Mozambique. It is 1952, and new apartheid laws have recently gone into effect, dividing a nation into black and white while supposedly healing the political rifts between the Afrikaners and the English. Tensions simmer as the fault line between the oppressed and the oppressors cuts deeper, but it’s not until an Afrikaner police officer is found dead that emotions more dangerous than anyone thought possible boil to the surface.

So Long a Letter by Mariama Ba

So Long a Letter by Mariama Ba

Written by award-winning African novelist Mariama Ba and translated from the original French, So Long a Letter has been recognized as one of Africa’s 100 Best Books of the 20th Century. The brief narrative, written as an extended letter, is a sequence of reminiscences—some wistful, some bitter—recounted by recently widowed Senegalese schoolteacher Ramatoulaye Fall.