I’ve got a lot of opinions on African politics, and a lot of interest in keeping up. Ever since I got back from living in Sierra Leone in 2003-2004, I’ve continued my reading on African, West African and Sierra Leonean politics. This weekend, I went to visit a friend in Montreal and started reading What is the What; The Autobiography Of Valentino Achak Deng by Dave Eggers, and got immediately sucked into it, enough to go out and buy my own copy before heading home. I’m at page 105, and it’s reminding me why I like some african literature more than others. Here are my picks:
The Devil That Danced on the Water by Aminatta Forna. This is an amazing memoir about the daughter of a Sierra Leonean politician. It explains in depth what happened in post-colonial Sierra Leone, and how Siaka Stevens turned Sierra Leone into a single party state (with himself as the leader). When I visited the UN in New York City, I remember the part of the tour which turned to the success of decolonization, and I wasn’t so sure I could appreciate their sentiment unequivocally.
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. I read this Nigerian novel as a high school student for my independent study in grade 12. I am glad I did, since Achebe is a prominent African literary figure it is required reading for students in Sierra Leone in high school, and I got to talk about it with my friends there. This novel takes a look at how social structures were broken down through colonialism through the story of a traditional Ibo man.
My grade 12 independent studies also let me to read The Joys of Motherhood by Buchi Emecheta. Another Nigerian novel, set later than Achebe’s, but about the same culture (Ibo).
Aya by Marguerite Abouet and Clement Oubrerie, (there are 3 in the series) is a comic book! It’s about a teenage girl in Ivory Coast, when the country was going through economic growth in the 1970s. I love this book because it’s colourful, depicts the scenery of a West African city (it’s only missing the smells and the heat…) and tells funny stories about teenage girls while painting accurate portrayals of male-female relationships in West Africa. I really love these books.
a long way gone; memoirs of a boy soldier, by Ishmael Beah. A dear friend of mine gave this book to me due to my connection to Sierra Leone. I really enjoy how articulate Beah is in his writing, and I think one of the best revelations in this book is the power of music for Sierra Leoneans. Beah writes about his love of hip hop as a child, and how music helped him through the rehabilitation process. When he came to Toronto for a book reading I asked a question from the audience on what he thought about the prospects for music to help rebuild Sierra Leone. He lit up and talked about his favourite bands and their messages–Sierra Leoneans love their homegrown music more than anything else, and many of the artists challenge the politicians to really serve the people. However, I think that this book misses the opportunity to have this articulate person (with a BA in political science to boot) describe the politics of this war more deeply, which is unfortunate, and probably has more to do with the publisher than the writer. I understand that as a vehicle to promote more understanding of how child soldiers are really victimized children underneath it all, and to support UNICEF’s work, it’s a little too focused on the conflict than on insights into how it all happened and what it all means. I really hope that Beah decides to work with his success and write a book giving more insight into the politics of Sierra Leone and the war, which I think is still lacking in current literature.
BBC Focus on Africa. This magazine has a real knack for tapping into politics, elections, and pop culture across the continent. I remember opening up an issue on Sierra Leonean hip hop (see above) and seeing the picture of my friend’s uncle! It was so startling and fun to have that connection from the other side of the world.
Not my faves:
How de body? by Toen Voeten. Maybe he had good intentions, I dunno. It’s a horrible, sensational novel. I’m glad he found a noble cause in the end to give the proceeds of the book to, but why was he there in the first place? It reminds me of many other westerners I met there (and worked for) on ego trips, who went there to be able to depict themselves as heroes. This book promotes so many negative stereotypes of Africans, and African bureaucrats, which are all countered in most of the above books or by the above mentioned authors, it really annoys me. Actually, I think this is the only not my favourite right now. It probably is useful if you are planning to go work there in an international aid/development context, because it definitely describes accurately all the characters you will meet. And I don’t mean the Africans.
(but I am shocked they even addressed the webbed toe issue on the website anyways showing wider recognition for my condition!)