Kinna @ kinnareads is hosting the Africa Reading Challenge, a year-long activity which begins on January 1st, 2012 and ends December 31st, 2012. The goal: to read at least five (5) books by African authors or books about Africa. Genres include fiction and non-fiction. I am particularly excited about this challenge because my wish list of African books is nowhere near exhausted. Join me, and many others, in this historic event. For further information please click here.
The story of Umuofia continues…
Two generations after the protagonist’s tragic demise in Achebe’s timeless Things Fall Apart, the British Colonial Administration is deeply entrenched in Nigeria. The descendants of native tribesmen walk in the footsteps of both their ancestors and the strangers they now call their government.
Lagos has become the city of dreams where anyone who wants to be someone lives. From time to time, a war veteran in need of attention will amaze naïve villagers with stories about the big city.
‘There is no darkness there,’ he told his admiring listeners, ‘ because at night the electric shines like the sun, and people are always walking about, that is, those who want to walk. If you don’t want to walk you only have to wave your hand and a pleasure car stops for you.’
Little Obi Okonkwo drank in such stories without a doubt in his young mind.
For many years afterwards, Lagos was always associated with electric lights and motor-cars in Obi’s mind. Even after he had at last visited the city and spent a few days there before flying to the United Kingdom his views did not change very much.
But Obi returns from England to meet a very different Nigeria. Slums are springing up in Lagos and the people’s proclivity for bribery and corruption is insatiable. He is expected to pay back his scholarship to the Umuofia Progressive Union and support his family back in Umuofia from the meager salary he earns as a civil servant in Lagos. Meanwhile, he intends to marry his unwilling fiancée Clara, the young Nigerian nurse he met in England.
Obi’s expenditure inevitably exceeds his income and he finds himself in a quandary that borders on a conflict between the idealism he had learned in England and the temptation of accepting gifts and tokens from his fellow countrymen in exchange for favours.
Though Achebe’s No Longer At Ease is another masterpiece, its brilliance is overshadowed by its predecessor. The novel explores the cultural, sociological and economic divide that European influence brings to Africa. Family bonds begin to weaken. The ‘white man’s religion’ now competes with African traditional beliefs and technology like cars and electricity makes the cities more alluring to the younger generation who in having an affinity for Western culture, gradually forget theirs. Education suddenly becomes the yardstick of prominence instead of the customary titles bestowed on men. The literate are said to have ‘the white man’s power’.
… Obi heard his father talk with deep feeling about the mystery of the written word to an illiterate kinsman.
‘Our women made black patterns on their bodies with the juice of the uli tree. It was beautiful, but it soon faded. If it lasted two market weeks it lasted a long time. But sometimes our elders spoke about uli that never faded, although no one had ever seen it. We see it today in the writing of the white man. If you go to the native court and look at the books which clerks wrote twenty years ago or more, they are still as they wrote them. They do not say one thing today and another thing tomorrow, or one thing this year and another next year. Okoye in the book today cannot become Okonkwo tomorrow. In the Bible Pilate said: “What is written is written.” It is uli that never fades.’
Achebe is one of my favourite authors because of the versatility in his narration. He is able to blend excellent grammar with transliterations of his native Igbo dialect, making it easy for anyone who speaks a West African dialect to relate to such dialogue and at the same time whets the appetite of those who don’t for a better understanding of the language.
In this novel, he cleverly juxtaposes the benefits of European influence with its adverse effect on pre-colonial West African culture and family values as he paints a vivid picture of life during the Colonial era. Although No Longer At Ease is not as popular as the legendary Things Fall Apart, I think it is every bit a classic as the latter.
We have come to the cross-roads
And I must either leave or come with you.
I lingered over the choice
But in the darkness of my doubts
You lifted the lamp of love
And I saw in your face
The road that I should take.
Kwesi Brew (1928-2007) was and still is one of Ghana’s foremost poets. He is known for his simplicity in writing and that, perhaps, is what made me fall in love with The Mesh.
I am not a big fan of academic commentary on poems, with all the technical details and huge words that sometimes overshadow the poem itself. There are times when I have seen some of my poems butchered by those who consider themselves analysts of poetry.
Poetry offers a kaleidoscope of perspectives to any given subject, acting as a prism that separates the light of human thoughts and emotions into a stream of resplendent words. Each reader will approach a poem from a different perspective, gaining a unique insight that even the accredited poet may not be aware of.
That said, I would like to present my views on Brew’s The Mesh.
As a poet, I always face the challenge of summarizing my message in a single stanza. There is always the possibility of digressing or overdoing it. Brew, however, is able to present his message about love in seven lines. In its brevity, it speaks of dilemma, contemplation and then guidance.
We all lose our bearings concerning one issue or another in our journey through life, especially when it comes to love. To stay or not to stay? To love again after being betrayed and heartbroken? And isn’t it such a blessing when we meet that person who is willing to stay by our side and help us through those difficult moments.
Many love poems focus on imagery and metaphors about romance, feelings, the looks of the beloved and so on and so forth. There a scores of lines that talk about moments shared and moments lost. The pain one suffered when they lost their true love to some unforeseen catastrophe or how another stole said loved one. Brew on the other hand, focuses on the most important moment of all. The moment of commitment, without which one cannot truly love.
Love is not a game we play when we are bored. Neither is it the kissing and fondling often seen in movies and soap operas. It is a serious commitment we each have to make at some point in our lives to family, friends and most importantly, to that special person we want to spend the rest of our life with.
The Mesh tells me that loving someone may come with moments of doubt, but the right person will always accept your love and give all of theirs in return, no matter what the circumstances. This, perhaps, is what makes the title such a paradox.
Congratulations are in order to these Winners of THE CONCUBINE by Elechi Amadi:
- Rhonda Lomazow
- Daniel Appiah
- Obed Sarpong
There are no geographic limitations to the 
Everyone is welcome to take part in it during my next book review.
Elechi Amadi’s premier novel initiated me into the world of African Writers. I remember being so immersed in the story each time I picked up the book, I was oblivious to everything else.
In simple language, Amadi narrates the story of Ihuoma, the beauty of Omigwe, whose character and conduct are beyond reproach in Omokachi and all the neighbouring villages. Her near-perfect qualities make her a role model to her peers and the ideal wife for most men who wish to take one.
Yet her comeliness does not exempt her from the inevitable trials of life. Widowed too early in marriage for most women, she has to struggle against loneliness and the advances of men. Her equanimity in such trying moments makes the respect she commands soar even higher. But the price she pays to uphold her reputation seems to increase with passing time.
As her prestige mounted its maintenance became more trying. She became more sensitive to criticism and would go to any lengths to avoid it. The women adored her. Men were awestruck before her. She was becoming something of a phenomenon. But she alone knew her internal struggles. She knew she was not better than anyone else. She thought her virtues were the products of chance. As the days went by she began to loathe her so-called good manners. She became less delighted when people praised her. It was as if they were confining her to an ever-narrowing prison.
Amadi weaves a tale of beleaguered romance between Ihuoma and Ekwueme, her new suitor, in a society where every facet of human existence is governed by the mores of the people and the statutes of their gods.
Omokachi village life was known for its tradition, propriety and decorum. Excessive or fanatical feelings over anything were frowned upon and even described as crazy. Anyone who could not control his feelings was regarded as being unduly influenced by his agwu.
The author’s use of imagery, folklore and West African proverbs, interspersed with the occasional humor of witty Wodu Wakiri the Wag, makes The Concubine a mélange of spicy adages, anecdotes, allegories and amusement. His elaborate dissection of tribal customs makes this book not just another African novel, but an exposé on West African culture.
The plot flows from communal living and good-neighbourliness into a tributary of greed, jealousy, potions and encounters with the spirit world in an era when people had to wrestle with deities to secure their destiny.
AKWAABA!
logo-ligi is a virtual platform for comments, contributions and discussions on authors, books, literature, art and about life in a world of creativity.
This blog will showcase works of creativity such as fiction, poetry, art et cetera.
Its sole purpose is to inform readers and art aficionados and to inspire creative talent.
The logo-ligi icon is an Adinkra symbol called Ananse Ntontan (Spider’s Web), which stands for wisdom and creativity.
I will review books, post poems, cartoons and other works of creativity, especially by fellow writers.
Be on the look-out for my review of The Concubine by Elechi Amadi, tomorrow January 1st, 2012.
Do well to enter the Reading Relay for a chance to win one of three copies to be given away.
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Enjoy!
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