Author: Darkowaa

Darkowaa is a Ghanaian-American, currently living where her heart feels most at home - Accra. She doesn't like to call herself a 'bookworm', but rather prefers to call herself an African Book Addict! Books by BLACK writers (or writers of African descent in Africa and the Diaspora) excite her the most.
Bookish Stuff, Literature News, Uzodinma Iweala

Beasts of No Nation by Uzodinma Iweala… the film?

by Darkowaa9 Comments on Beasts of No Nation by Uzodinma Iweala… the film?

Yes, yes, yes! Uzodinma Iweala’s debut novel, Beasts of No Nation: A Novel (2005) is being adapted for the big screen and will be showing in select theaters (in the U.S) and available worldwide on Netflix next month – October 16th 2015! Beasts of No Nation: A novel (which is a title adopted from Fela Kuti’s 1989 album) was released 10 years ago, but the haunting novel is still on the minds of readers who’ve enjoyed the book! Have you read Beasts of No Nation: A novel yet?
 Beasts of No Nation 

Check out the synopsis: 

In this stunning debut novel, Agu, a young boy in an unnamed West African nation, is recruited into a unit of guerrilla fighters as civil war engulfs his country. Haunted by his father’s own death at the hands of militants, Agu is vulnerable to the dangerous yet paternal nature of his new commander. While the war rages on, Agu becomes increasingly divorced from the life he had known before the conflict started—a life of school friends, church services, and time with his family still intact.

In a powerful, strikingly original voice that vividly captures Agu’s youth and confusion, Uzodinma Iweala has produced a harrowing, inventive, and deeply affecting novel.

Beasts of No Nation: A Novel has been required reading for a Political Science class: African Politics (PSCI 0202) at my alma mater, Middlebury College. I never registered for that class but I decided to start reading the book on my own back in 2011, and never finished it as I was busy with finals at the time. When I was the President of the African Students’ Association at Middlebury – UMOJA, we invited Iweala to our ‘Touch of Africa Week’ where he gave an enlightening talk on “What, Who is an ‘Authentic’ African?” After the talk we discussed his novel Beasts of No Nation, African identity and other topics pertaining to our beloved continent over dinner at a professor’s house. Check out the (grainy) pictures below:

Touch of Africa Week! (2011)
Touch of Africa Week! (2011)
Uzo and me (2011)
Uzo and me (2011)
Uzo with the Middlebury UMOJA board (2011)
Uzo with the Middlebury UMOJA board (2011)


I’m excited and proud of Uzo! It must be every author’s dream to have their novel made into a film – it’s a big deal! I’m still fascinated at Iweala’s ability to embody the sentiments of a child soldier in the novel, since his background of being a Harvard graduate seems far from the unfortunate struggle of being a child victim of civil war. That takes real talent and a vivid imagination! I will definitely finish reading Beasts of No Nation: A Novel before I watch the film. Films don’t usually capture the essence of the books they are based on. However, I’m confident this film adaptation will do Beasts of No Nation: A Novel justice. The film is set in the Eastern Region of Ghana and is directed by Emmy Award winner Cary Fukunaga. Golden Globe Award winning actor, Idris Elba plays the main warlord in the film and the talented Ghanaian actress, Ama K. Abebrese plays the child soldier – Agu’s mother. With all that talent in one film, I have faith that it will be superb!

Check out the trailer for the film below:

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Purchase Beasts of No Nation: A Novel on Amazon

Book Reviews, Edwidge Danticat

Krik? Krak! by Edwidge Danticat

by Darkowaa9 Comments on Krik? Krak! by Edwidge Danticat

Date Read: July 8th 2015

Published: 1996

Publisher: Vintage Books

Pages: 224

Edwidge Danticat

The Blurb

At an astonishingly young age, Edwidge Danticat has become one of our most celebrated new writers. She is an artist who evokes the wonder, terror, and heartache of her native Haiti – and the enduring strength of Haiti’s women – with a vibrant imagery and narrative grace that bear witness to her people’s suffereing and courage.

When Haitians tell a story, they say “Krik?” and the eager listeners answer “Krak!” In Krik? Krak! Danticat establishes herself as the latest heir to that narrative tradition with nine stories that encompass both the cruelties and the high ideals of Haitian life. They tell of women who continue loving behind prison walls and in the face of unfathomable loss; of a people who resist the brutality of their rulers through the powers of imagination. The result is a collection that outrages, saddens, and transports the reader with its sheer beauty.

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Review –  ★★★★ (4 stars)

Reading Krik? Krak! was a pleasant experience! It was the perfect summer read, especially since most of the short stories in this collection take place in Haiti – the island with the indigo blue skies and the sandy beaches. It is very evident that Danticat wrote this collection from her heart and I felt her love for the island in every story. All nine stories have a calm nature to them and they read smoothly. These stories were truly engaging and I loved that they all seemed interconnected with one another and had some sort of realistic twist. Danticat’s effortless talent in storytelling is wonderfully showcased in this collection and my favorite stories were:

Between the Pool and the Gardenias – This was a crazy story! A housemaid finds and keeps an abandoned baby and decides to name the baby, Rose. After a couple of days, she realizes that the baby is emitting a strong stench…because it is dead and rotting! This story startled me and I loved it.

The Missing Peace – This is a story about a precocious, brave, fourteen year old named ‘Lamort’ by her grandmother (‘Lamort’ means ‘death’ – because after she was born, her mother died. Quite eerie). I love how Lamort finds her own voice by the end of this story, grâce à her forbidden friendship with an American journalist who visits the island.

Caroline’s Wedding – This was an interesting tale of a Haitian family residing in New York City. The adult daughters in this family – Gracina and Caroline, live with their widowed mother. Their mother is very bitter that her last child – Caroline (who was born without her left forearm) is marrying a Bahamian and not a Haitian. Meanwhile, as Gracina tries to placate her mother’s resentment, she learns more about her parents’ marriage and starts to have strange dreams about her deceased father.

Epilogue: Women Like Us – This piece was a solid conclusion to the collection of stories. I’m assuming this was a true account on the struggles Danticat experienced in convincing her family of her desire to become a writer instead of the stereotypical housewife or cook most women in her family pride themselves and aspire to.

I learned a great deal about Haiti from this collection and Danticat expertly highlights the hardships Haiti has faced and how these trials have affected its citizens. I’m actually still researching things from the book to learn more, for example: the coup d’etats Haiti faced in 1988 and 1991, Papa Doc Duvalier (Haiti’s ex-president – François Duvalier) and his role in Haiti’s development etc. Krik? Krak! was an enlightening read from the diaspora and I will definitely be reading more of Danticat’s work soon. Edwidge Danticat’s books have been on my to-read list for a while now and I must say, fellow book blogger – Shannon from Reading Has Purpose (check out her book blog!), made me even more eager to indulge in Danticat’s work, as she is a huge fan and speaks highly of her novels! I think the next book I read by Danticat will be her first novel (1994), Eyes, Breath, Memory.

★★★★ (4 stars) – Great book. Highly recommend!

Purchase Krik? Krak! from Amazon

Book Reviews, Issa Rae

The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl by Issa Rae

by Darkowaa8 Comments on The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl by Issa Rae

Date Read: May 25th 2015

Published: January 2015

Publisher: 37 INK / ATRIA books

Pages: 204

Issa Rae

The Blurb

Being an introvert in a world that glorifies cool isn’t easy. But when Issa Rae, the creator of the Shorty Award – winning hit series The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl, is that introvert – whether she’s navigating love, the workplace, friendships, or ‘rapping’ – It sure is entertaining. Now, in this debut collection written in her witty and self-deprecating voice, Rae covers everything from cyber-sexing in the early days of the Internet to deflecting unsolicited comments on weight gain, from navigating the perils of eating out alone and public displays of affection to learning to accept yourself – natural hair and all.

Reflective of the millennial experience yet wholly universal, The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl is a book no one – awkward or cool, black, white (or other) – will want to miss.

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Review – ★★★★ (4 stars)

I love Jo-Issa (aka: Issa Rae) even more after reading this book! I wouldn’t call this book a memoir… its more like a collection of essays where Issa Rae talks about her life happenings. From the reviews I’ve seen on Goodreads, some readers seemed disappointed that this book wasn’t as funny as they had expected, since Issa Rae is hilarious on Youtube. I started this book with no expectations at all; I am simply a fan who wanted to support Issa Rae’s brand, and I must say I was not disappointed! I learned a lot about Issa Rae from The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl: Issa Rae is fluent in French, she grew up in Maryland, Los Angeles and Senegal, she went to Stanford University, she has 4 siblings (they are the Diop 5!) and her father is a Senegalese doctor in Los Angeles.

My favorite chapter, entitled ‘Halfrican’, is where Issa Rae talks about her (half) Senegalese heritage and upbringing (in the United States and frequently in Dakar, Senegal). I commend Issa Rae for writing a chapter on her father – entitled ‘African Dad’, where she discusses her family dynamics and the divorce of her parents. She really poured her heart out in some of these chapters, and I was impressed! Another thing I like about this book is how Issa’s claim to fame ‘awkwardness’ lingers throughout every chapter, even as she candidly discusses her college experiences (where she produced and directed four theatrical productions), love life, experiences of being a black actress/writer and weight issues (once you read the book, you will understand what I mean by this).

It was great to finally read a narrative of a black woman, who is of a privileged background. The ‘started from the bottom’, impoverished childhood narrative most people of color claim is not generic to all people of color. Some black folks actually grew up well-off, and that is perfectly okay! The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl was a great jump-start to my summer reading as it was enjoyable, light-hearted and of course some bits were hilarious – duh, it’s Issa Rae!

More on Issa Rae

With her own unique flare and infectious sense of humor, Issa Rae’s content has garnered more than 20 million views and hundreds of thousands of YouTube subscribers (and counting). In addition to making Glamour magazine’s ’35 Under 35’ list as well as Forbes’s ‘30 Under 30’ list, and winning the Shorty Award for best Web Show for her hit series The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl, Issa Rae has worked on web content for Pharrell Williams, Tracey Edmonds, and numerous others. Issa has received national attention with major media outlets, including the New York Times, CNN, Elle, Seventeen, Rolling Stone, VIBE, Fast Company, MSNBC, Essence, Fader and more.

Issa Rae 2

If you are not familiar with Issa Rae, please watch her YouTube web-series: The Misadventures of AWKWARD Black Girl and have a good laugh. I eagerly look forward to Issa Rae’s future projects and her breakthrough to television!

 ★★★★ (4 stars) – Great book. Highly recommend!

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Purchase The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl on Amazon

Book Reviews, Chigozie Obioma

The Fishermen by Chigozie Obioma

by Darkowaa23 Comments on The Fishermen by Chigozie Obioma

Date Read: June 4th 2015

Published: April 2015

Publisher: Little, Brown and Company

Pages: 304

The Fishermen

 The Blurb

In a Nigerian town in the mid-1990’s, four brothers encounter a madman whose mystic prophecy of violence threatens the core of their close-knit family.

Told from the point of view of nine-year-old Benjamin, the youngest of four brothers, The Fishermen is the Cain and Abel-esque story of the unforgettable childhood in 1990s Nigeria, in the small town of Akure. When their strict father has to travel to a distant city for work, the brothers take advantage of his extended absence to skip school and go fishing. At the omnious, forbidden nearby river, they meet a dangerous local madman who persuades the oldest of the boys that he is destined to be killed by one of his siblings.

What happens next is an almost mythic even whose impact – both tragic and redemptive – will transcend the lives and imaginations of the book’s characters and its readers.

◊◊

Review– ★★★★★ (5 stars)

The Fishermen is a dark, haunting, mythical story about brotherhood, love and madness. Ikenna, Boja, Obembe and Ben are four of six children of the Agwu family in Akure, Nigeria. Ikenna, who is 15 years old is the leader of the pack. Boja is the adventurous 14-year-old, Obembe is the book smart 11-year-old and Ben – who is the innocent narrator of this lyrical tale, is 9 years old. Once their father is assigned to work at a new location of the Central Bank of Nigeria, quite far away from his home, disorder slowly overtakes this family. I believe the absence of the boys’ father is the root of all the evil things that occur in this story. How crazy is it that the prophecy of the neighborhood madman Abulu, who the boys encounter on one of their forbidden fishing adventures to the Omi-Ala river, could be the catalyst for all the twists and turns that the Agwu family endures?

When you think things are getting better and the craziness of this story plateaus, something pops up! I feel like I know/knew Ikenna, Boja, Obembe and Ben – their love and brotherhood are so dear to me, I don’t know why! I felt helpless during many parts of this story. At certain parts I just had to close the book, sit still… and pray. I desperately wanted to help Ikenna. I wanted to whisper into his ear and reassure him that his brothers loved him so much and that nobody was out to kill him. I wanted to goad Boja to have more patience with Ikenna since he (Ikenna) was going through a dark, miserable phase in his life where his faith and confidence were shaken.

Chigozie Obioma wrote about these boys in such a tender way that evoked lots of emotions in me. Obioma actually wrote this novel as a tribute to his own brothers and he discusses this more in interviews with Michigan Quarterly Review and Bookanista. I believe Obioma does a great job at painting the picture of a typical Nigerian household in The Fishermen. He captures classic Nigerian idiosyncrasies through the characters, for example: the way the boys’ mother would shout ‘Chineke!’ (which is an Igbo word that means ‘God!’) whenever she was startled; or how she would vigorously tie her wrapper whenever she was frustrated with the boys; or how their chauvinistic father would shout ‘my friend!’ whenever he was irritated and demanded quick responses from the boys and their mother. If you’ve ever watched a Nollywood film, you would definitely appreciate these entertaining gestures!

The power of Obioma’s lyrical writing style is augmented by his metaphors, which are mostly rooted in animism. This may seem corny, but trust me – it certainly works in making the characters and different incidents in the story feel too real… and every word counts! References to Chinua Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart, M.K.O Abiola – a popular Nigerian political figure, alongside other contemporary happenings (during 1997) made this all the more a satisfying and realistic read. I’m super proud of this author and I wish him nothing but more success! This has been the best book I’ve read all summer and maybe even this year.

Side note: After reading this book, I’ve had second thoughts about my desire to give birth to only boys – as if I even have a choice, am I God? haha. But I’ve come to the realization that raising boys (and children in general) is truly a challenge. Parental guidance is needed at all times!

The Fishermen needs more attention in the blogosphere! I’m still trying to digest some stuff from the book and I would love to discuss The Fishermen in detail with anyone who has already read it. I’m waiting for my Mom to finish reading the book so we can discuss the ending which slightly threw me off. I hope bookworms around the world catch on and rave about this book as much as they did Adichie’s Americanah. I expect The Fishermen to win some literary awards soon.

Chigozie Obioma definitely took fiction to another level with this book. Please, please pick this up if you get a chance!

★★★★★ (5 stars) – Amazing book, I loved it. Absolutely recommend!

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Purchase The Fishermen on Amazon

Book Covers, Book Hauls, Bookish Stuff

2015 Summer Book Haul!

by Darkowaa22 Comments on 2015 Summer Book Haul!
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Hey everyone! Since May of this year, I have received the bulk of my book orders from the mail and I’d love to share some of them with you. Please click on the title to go read more about the book on Goodreads.

Tendai HuchuThe Maestro, the Magistrate and the Mathematician by Tendai Huchu 

I’ve read the first 15 pages of this and its decent thus far! I love a book on African (in this case, Zimbabwean) immigrant experiences abroad. But the font in the book is small, so reading this might take a while.

 

 

Saturday's Shadows Saturday’s Shadows by Ayesha Harruna Attah

I’m glad this book is thick! I can’t wait to enjoy this story which focuses on the Avoka family. Hopefully I’ll read Saturday’s Shadows before the year ends. Recommendation: check out Ayesha’s first novel- Harmattan Rain.

 

 Hiding in Plain Sight by Nuruddin Farah Farah

Hiding in Plain Sight is my first novel from Somalia. Nuruddin Farah has written several books and I hope to read more of his work in the future. The cover art is lovely if you see the physical copy. I love the iridescent details! This is on my 2016 *TBR list.

 

 Some Love, Some Pain, Sometime: stories by J. California Cooper 

J. California Cooper

I’ve heard and read nothing but great things about Ms Cooper. I hope I love her work as much as others do! Hopefully I can add her to my favorite African-American pioneer writers: Gwendolyn Brooks, Lorraine Hansberry, Maya Angelou, Richard Wright and Alice Walker.

 The Fishermen by Chigozie Obioma The Fishermen

*sigh* This tale on love, brotherhood and madness has been the best book I’ve read this summer… and maybe all year (expect the book review soon)! Please pick this up if you get the chance. Obioma took fiction to another level with this book.

 nalo hopkinsonThe Salt Roads by Nalo Hopkinson

I’m not a huge fan of science-fiction, but Nalo Hopkinson seems pretty amazing from what I’ve read/heard. And her stories feature Afro-Caribbean folk, so I’m sure I’ll enjoy this!

 

 

Love is Power or Something Like That by A. Igoni Barrett igoni

I enjoy short stories and I look forward to reading this collection by half-Jamaican & half-Nigerian – A. Igoni Barrett. His latest novel, Blackass was released about two weeks ago!

 

Samuelsson_Yes-Chef_pbYes, Chef by Marcus Samuelsson

This is a memoir that I’m excited to read! I love Chef Marcus Samuelsson from the Food Network on television and I’d love to read more about his life, especially since he is of Ethiopian heritage. Can’t wait.

 

Krik? Krak! by Edgwige Danticat Edwidge Danticat

I recently finished reading this short stories collection and I must say, it was a perfect summer read! Edwidge Danticat, who is well-known in the Caribbean Literature sphere ‘reps’ hard for Haiti – and I love it.

 

 fine boysFine Boys by Eghosa Imasuen 

How cool is the book cover art? I was sooo glad when I finally got my hands on this book! I had been searching for the physical copy since 2013 since it is only available on Kindle (I don’t prefer e-books). So when Imasuen came to Accra last month for a reading hosted by Writers Project Ghana, I  did not hesitate to attend the event, purchase the book and stand in line for it to be signed. #winning!

 My Brother by Jamaica Kincaid My Brother Jamaica Kincaid

Well-known Caribbean writer – Kincaid’s work is always a joy to read as she writes with palpable emotion. This is the third Kincaid novel I own – her books Annie John and Lucy are must reads! I love her writing style and learning more about Antigua from the characters in her novels. Oh, and her books are usually in large fonts, so that’s always wonderful.

 

MabanckouTomorrowTomorrow I’ll be Twenty by Alain Mabanckou

The cover art of this book made me buy it! Alain Mabanckou is a renowned Congolese writer and I’m curious to read on the twists and turns in this memoir-esque novel. His books are usually written in French; Tomorrow I’ll be Twenty or Demain J’Aurais Vingt Ans originally in French, was translated to English by Helen Stevenson. This novel has been compared to J.D Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye which I loved when I was 13, so I should enjoy this too! This is high up on my 2016 TBR list.

 

 

The Wine of Astonishment by Earl Lovelace Earl Lovelace

Trinidadian author, Earl Lovelace is another big name in Caribbean literature. The Wine of Astonishment is a classic and I’m glad I finally own it. This is the first novel I own from the Caribbean Writers Series.

 

 

Toni MorrisonGod Help the Child by Toni Morrison

This is ToMo’s latest baby. I’ve seen lots of mixed reviews of this book on Goodreads, so I don’t know when I’ll get to it. Maybe in 2016? (Sula is the only ToMo I’ve read thus far. Meh).

Pig Tails ‘n Breadfruit by Austin Clarke Austin Clarke

Have you ever read a culinary memoir? Well, in Austin Clarke’s book Pig Tails ‘n Breadfruit ‘each chapter is devoted to a detailed description of the ritual surrounding the preparation of a particular native dish—Oxtails with Mushrooms, Smoked Ham Hocks with Lima Beans, or Breadfruit Cou-Cou with Braising Beef.’ This is a (culinary) memoir of Austin Clarke’s childhood in Barbados. Clarke is a preeminent writer of the Caribbean and I’m ready to indulge – literally!

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Have you read any of these? What are you reading this summer? Please let me know!

*TBR : ‘to be read’

Literature News, The Caine Prize

And the 2015 Caine Prize winner is… Namwali Serpell!

by Darkowaa3 Comments on And the 2015 Caine Prize winner is… Namwali Serpell!

A big congratulations to Zambia’s Namwali Serpell for winning the 2015 Caine Prize for African Writing!!

Namwali Serpell is the 16th winner of the Caine Prize, which is recognized as Africa’s leading literary award for short stories. The winner was announced last night at a dinner held at the Weston Library, Oxford, England for all the shortlisted candidates.

Namwali Serpell won the £10,000 prize for her short story, ‘The Sack’. Initially I was miffed at how this year’s shortlist was more or less a dichotomy between South Africa and Nigeria, with one story from Zambia. Even though I was more in love with Elnathan’s story ‘Flying‘, I’m happy Zambia won this for once! I look forward to more of Serpell’s work in the future. Her short story, ‘The Sack’ can also be found in the Africa39 anthology which was published in October of last year (2014). Check out Africa39 to read more new short stories by young African writers, under the age of 39!

Namwali Serpell winner

 Read ‘The Sack’ by Namwali Serpell – here

Alice Walker, Book Reviews

The Color Purple by Alice Walker

by Darkowaa11 Comments on The Color Purple by Alice Walker

Date Read: June 10th 2015

Published: 1985

Publisher: Pocket Books/Washington Square Press

Pages: 295

TheColorPurple2

The Blurb

Life wasn’t easy for Celie. But she knew how to survive, needing little to get by.
Then her husband’s lover, a flamboyant blues singer, barreled into her world and gave Celie the courage to ask for more – to laugh, to play, and finally – to love.

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Review – ★★★★ (4 stars)

The Color Purple is an excellent book and it has won several awards: the Pulitzer Prize (1983), The National Book Award for Fiction (1983), National Book Critics Circle Award Nominee (1982); plus a (Steven Spielberg directed) movie adaptation starring Danny Glover, Whoopi Goldberg, Oprah Winfrey among others! But I think I would have been more blown away by this novel if I read it when I was younger. I’m sure the plot and some incidents from this book would have been quite traumatizing to me had I read this if I were 13 years old. Anyways, The Color Purple is my second Alice Walker novel of the year and I love love love her writing! Check out my review of her excellent short stories collection: You Can’t Keep a Good Woman Down.

The Color Purple is about the survival of Celie in the world, during the 1930’s over about forty years. This novel is in epistolary form where Celie and her sister Nettie write letters to each other. In the beginning of the novel, Celie mostly writes letters to God and these letters seem more like diary entries where Celie expresses her sincere feelings of joy and pain. Celie is a loving, kind, docile soul who wouldn’t even hurt an ant. She is initially perceived to be ugly, dumb and worthy of being abused by her ‘father’. At the age of twenty Celie is married off to Mr. ____ to help raise his three children.

After she moves in with Mr. ____, Celie meets Shug Avery – her husband’s lover, and they eventually form a strong bond. Shug’s sassiness and confidence begins to rub off on Celie and she starts to evolve into a brave, outspoken woman, still full of love in her heart. I believe Celie’s transformation allows her to reap huge blessings for the many years of verbal, physical, mental and emotional abuse she endured during her childhood and marriage.

In my eyes, Celie was a lesbian. The sisterhood and love story between Celie and Shug Avery was very interesting to read – I always enjoy stories that feature same-sex relationships. The same-sex relationship in this story keeps The Color Purple very relevant, even in present day 2015. This book has a lot of characters with a lot of subplots, and I absolutely loved three characters:

Nettie: Celie seems to be everyone’s heroine, but my favorite character is Nettie – Celie’s younger sister. Nettie is an intelligent, respectful, good-spirited woman. The love Nettie and Celie share is the driving force that pervades this novel. I gained a lot of appreciation for Nettie as she wrote Celie letters on the happenings of her missionary adventures in Africa with the ‘Olinka’ tribe (this is a fictional tribe). In the letters she wrote Celie, it is evident that Nettie is more educated than Celie, as she writes in standard English instead of vernacular/broken English as seen in Celie’s letters.

Shug Avery: Shug is a mystery to me. She’s the type of woman who makes men fall in love with her lustful ways of singing and crooning crowds, but would also have relations with a woman. Is Shug bisexual? Shug isn’t the typical woman of her time. I loved Shug’s ability to live her life as she pleased without allowing the public’s negative perception of her lifestyle to taint her confidence and goals.

Sofia: Sofia is Harpo’s wife (Harpo is Mr. ____’s oldest son / Celie’s step-son). I have never read about any character like her before. She is crazy! Sofia is big, aggressive, abusive, brave, loud, rude, strong, wild, carefree! She’s the type of woman that fixes the roof on a house. She’s the type of woman that makes her husband weep! (No, not tears of joy). I enjoyed reading about Sofia’s boisterous ways and I was satisfied with her character development by the end of the novel.

Alice Walker’s ability to develop these characters so thoroughly made me forget that they were fictitious beings! This classic carries a lot of (heavy) themes that I’d love to discuss! But if I say more, I will surely give away some spoilers and that wouldn’t be right. I recommend this to anyone who enjoys Alice Walker’s work, anyone who loves reading about African-Americans (of the South), anyone who appreciates feminism/womanism concepts, anyone who can stomach some pain, and anyone who simply desires to cuddle up with an uplifting book!

Given that The Color Purple was published over 30 years ago and it is such a classic, I observed that it has several lovely book covers!

(Check out the new and improved Book Covers Showcase section of the blog that features collages of colorful book covers from my favorite literature genres – HERE).

 

★★★★ (4 stars) – Great book. Highly recommend!

This is another oldie but goodie from my Mom’s bookshelf. The Color Purple can be purchased on Amazon.

Literature News, The Caine Prize

And the 2015 Caine Prize winner is…

by Darkowaa4 Comments on And the 2015 Caine Prize winner is…

Its that time of year again! In about two weeks, the 2015 Caine Prize winner will be announced!

For those who are not familiar, the Caine Prize for African Writing, which was first awarded in 2000 is an award “open to writers from anywhere in Africa for work published in English. Its focus is on the short story, reflecting the contemporary development of the African story-telling tradition” (source).

Some notable winners of the Caine Prize include:

  • Leila Aboulela, from Sudan (2000)– author of novels Minaret, Lyrics Alley amongst other works. 
  • Binyavanga Wainaina, from Kenya (2002)– founding editor of Kwani?, author of novel, One Day I Will Write About This Place and the essay “How To Write About Africa” found in various literary magazines.
  • Yvonne A. Owuor, from Kenya (2003)– author of the novel, Dust.
  • E.C Osondu, from Nigeria (2009) – author of the novel, Voice of America: stories.
  • NoViolet Bulawayo, from Zimbabwe (2011) – author of the novel, We Need New Names. 

This year, the Caine Prize shortlist comprises of five talented young writers with unique short stories (left to right):

caine prize for african writing 2015
  • Elnathan John (Nigeria) for “Flying” in Per Contra (Per Contra, International, 2014)
    Shortlisted in 2013 for “Bayan Layi”
    Read “Flying”
  • Masande Ntshanga (South Africa) for “Space” in Twenty in 20 (Times Media, South Africa, 2014)
    Read “Space”
  • Namwali Serpell (Zambia) for “The Sack” in Africa39 (Bloomsbury, London, 2014)
    Shortlisted in 2010 for “Muzungu”
    Read “The Sack”
  • F. T. Kola (South Africa) for “A Party for the Colonel” in One Story (One Story, inc. Brooklyn, New York City, 2014)
    Read “A Party for the Colonel”
  • Segun Afolabi (Nigeria) for “The Folded Leaf” in Wasafiri (Wasafiri, London, 2014)
    Caine Prize winner 2005 for “Monday Morning”
    Read “The Folded Leaf”

(The biographies for the shortlisted candidates can be found – here).

To be honest, I was a bit disappointed that this year’s countries shortlist was more of a dichotomy between Nigeria and South Africa. I expected a more diverse pool of stories to enjoy. But hey! Its the stories that matter, right?

I read Namwali Serpell’s story ‘The Sack‘, as it is one of the short stories in the Africa39 anthology that I own. I don’t know how I feel about her story…It’s a little confusing to me! From what I gather, the story is about the protagonist (I don’t know if this is a boy or girl) having nightmares about being killed, while the men he/she lives with use a young black orphan to go fishing and later debate whether the orphan should live with them or not. There also seems to be a feud between the men in the house, as one is elderly and seems to be sick and grumpy. Humph! If anyone has read the story and understands it, please do explain!

My favorite story so far is ‘Flying’ by Elnathan John. ‘Flying’ is how a short story should be: simple yet moving. The story is about Tachio – a JSS3 (9th grade) dorm leader of a refuge home/school, who believes he can fly once he falls asleep. This feeling of flying brings him peace and joy. He shares his joy of flying with his friend Samson, but is deemed mad. Once Tachio tells foul-mouthed Aunty Ketura, who is the founder of Kachiro Refuge Home, she appreciates his belief of flying and assumes Tachio was a bat, vulture or eagle in his past life. Since Tachio is the dorm leader, he frequently cleans Aunty Ketura’s office and later finds the drawer where she keeps all the records of the boys and girls in the home. Finding out that some of his friends were initially found near trash cans, in market places and in toilets, makes Tachio (who was born in a hospital) feel like he has an edge over his classmates who have no idea of their origins. The story ends with the sudden death of Aunty Ketura, which shocks the whole school, especially Tachio. But the strange presence of a big brown chicken with a limp on their school compound gives Tachio solace, as he believes Aunty Ketura has been incarnated into this bird.

Elnathan’s use of metaphors in comparing human appearances to animals gave the story some spice. I mostly appreciated how readers can get the full scope of Tachio’s wavering feelings of being a dorm leader, wanting to be mischievous with his friends, to wanting to please Aunty Ketura, seeking advice and comfort from Aunty Ketura etc. I’m yet to read the last three stories on the shortlist, but ‘Flying’ is the most enjoyable story to me thus far. It’s simple, understandable and moving.

Which story is your favorite? Who do you think will win the Caine Prize this year?

The winner will be announced on the 6th of July at the Weston Library, Oxford, England. Good luck to all the shortlisted candidates!