A review by writerrhiannon
Aké: The Years of Childhood by Wole Soyinka

3.0

Wole Soyinka’s autobiography, Ake: the Years of Childhood, tells of a Nigerian boy’s daily life before and during World War II. His story originally focuses around his household and school, but becomes more emotionally intense as the story of his childhood progresses. This progression is not only because he is growing older, but because he has been given a political foundation from which to actively process and engage with his surroundings. He notices changes around him, specifically regarding women. Soyinka is fascinated by the unrest of the village women regarding taxes and integrates himself in the cause. Soyinka’s foundation for politics may have been laid by his father, but it is his mother’s feminist activities that seize him. The evolution presented is one of feminist awakening.



To read my paper "Wole Soyinka's Feminist Awakening" please visit: http://writerrhiannon.blogspot.com/2012/12/wole-soyinkas-feminist-awakening.html