Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.67 AVERAGE
3.67 AVERAGE
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Почело је добро - троми, досадни живот неименованог чиновника на железници, који покушава да се уклопи у ново друштво, обликовано након стицања независности Гане и његово згражавање над корупцијом са којом и сам долази у додир.
Након тог сјајног почетка долази потпуно уметнути део, као есеј (у виду разговора) о колонијализму у коме аутор жели да нам објасни зашто је колонијализам лош и све мане постколонијалног друштва. Овај део ми је био потпуно безвезе и без икакве повезаности са причом.
После тога, књига се завршава описом вечере нашег наратора и његовог пријатеља од раније који се у новом друштву много боље "снашао" тако што је ушао у политику и практично преузео обрасце понашања бивших колонијалних господара. И ту се, наравно, потцртавају све мане и негативне стране.
Да је било мање очигледног поповања од стране самог аутора, могло је ово бити изузетно. Овако је само занимљиво више са фолклорног становишта.
Након тог сјајног почетка долази потпуно уметнути део, као есеј (у виду разговора) о колонијализму у коме аутор жели да нам објасни зашто је колонијализам лош и све мане постколонијалног друштва. Овај део ми је био потпуно безвезе и без икакве повезаности са причом.
После тога, књига се завршава описом вечере нашег наратора и његовог пријатеља од раније који се у новом друштву много боље "снашао" тако што је ушао у политику и практично преузео обрасце понашања бивших колонијалних господара. И ту се, наравно, потцртавају све мане и негативне стране.
Да је било мање очигледног поповања од стране самог аутора, могло је ово бити изузетно. Овако је само занимљиво више са фолклорног становишта.
3.5 stars — Really enjoyed this book and the use of the grotesque by Armah. Underneath the filth (the literal shit) I found opportunity for change and it was just a question of how long a person is supposed to wait for change to come (and why wait for someone else). A lot of thoughts. I find it interesting that Achebe saw Armah as squandering his talents when he has so vividly depicted Ghana at a moment in time where the nation’s leaders sought to find an identity in African socialism, often at the expense of the everyday man. I’d be interested to know if Armah was anti socialist and what he thought would remedy “postcolonial” Ghana. To me, Ghana is unrecognizable (something Achebe also critiques) because it was trying to become a nation while grappling with colonial legacies—trying to assert their place in the world as a new nation.
* “So it should be easy to take the rot of the promise. It should be easy now to see there have never been people to save anybody but themselves, never in the past, never now, and there will never be any saviours if each will not save himself”
* “So it should be easy to take the rot of the promise. It should be easy now to see there have never been people to save anybody but themselves, never in the past, never now, and there will never be any saviours if each will not save himself”
Okay, so I was supposed to have finished this over a week ago for class, but the font is just so damn small in my copy (final answer). I do not think I have ever read a novel as hopeless and disgusting as this one.
Who up thinking about toilet rebirth? Just me? Okay.
Who up thinking about toilet rebirth? Just me? Okay.
dark
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It curiously resonates much with my background and upbringing on another continent in another era.
Around the World Reading Challenge: GHANA
===
An unnamed African man does his best to resit the corrosive slime of corruption taking over his country, while being openly mocked and derided by everyone around him for his principles. The writing is a bit heavy-handed for me at times, but it gets the point across. I can't say I exactly "enjoyed" this one, but it was thought-provoking for sure.
===
An unnamed African man does his best to resit the corrosive slime of corruption taking over his country, while being openly mocked and derided by everyone around him for his principles. The writing is a bit heavy-handed for me at times, but it gets the point across. I can't say I exactly "enjoyed" this one, but it was thought-provoking for sure.
Ayi Kwei Armah is very descriptive and poetic in the way he writes. We never know the main character's name. It is though he can be any one and is also no one. It could be that due to the nature of his stance against a corruption in his society, coupled with him being 'poor' not knowing his name adds to understanding his position in this society.
A beautiful piece and with the poetry in the title it lives up to this poetic nature throughout.
A beautiful piece and with the poetry in the title it lives up to this poetic nature throughout.
Hard to get through. The imagery is powerful, but it’s a slow read. Nonetheless, and important piece of literature.
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Too brutal to read in this Anthropocene era where we have our own US Strong Man (brutal, corrupt, elected by fraud)